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Qualifications for Intership

The student is solely responsible for adhering to the following guidelines, prior to being awarded internship/externship/cooperative:

1. During the term in which the internship/externship/cooperative will take place, the student must be considered to be a full-time student, carrying 12 or more credit hours of classes at Shepherd University, in addition to the internship/externship/cooperative.

2. The student must have an overall grade point average (GPA) of 2.50 on a 4.00 scale; only credits earned at Shepherd University will count toward the calculation of the grade point average.

3. To be eligible, the student must have successfully completed 30 credit hours. This CIS Department requirement is more stringent than and supersedes the requirement of the University Co-Op Program: http://www.shepherd.edu/jobweb/coop/

4. The student must have completed 12 credit hours in the CIS Department.

5. For students receiving financial aid, the student is responsible for maintaining sufficient credit hours to continue qualifying for financial aid, if the internship/externship/cooperative is withdrawn for any reason. If the internship/externship/cooperative is a paid position, the student is responsible for determining what impact the paid internship/externship/cooperative might have on their receiving financial aid.

Student's Responsibilities

1. Secure the approval of a qualifying firm.

2. For paid internships/externships/cooperatives, successfully complete a minimum of 150 hours of internship/externship/cooperative work experience during the term in which the student is registered for the internship/externship/cooperative (including summer terms). For non-paid internships/externships/cooperatives, the student must successfully complete a minimum of 90 hours of internship/externship/cooperative work experience during the term in which the student is registered for the internship/externship/cooperative (including summer terms).

3. Receive an overall satisfactory employee evaluation from the employer (see Employee Evaluation Form). This form will be sent to the instructor when completed by the student's supervisor.

4. The student must prepare a written report on an agreed-upon aspect of the job.

5. The specific details of the report must be approved by the instructor.

6. The student will present his/her report orally to the seminar class and Review Committee at least one week prior to the end of the term in which the internship/externship/cooperative occurred.

7. It is the student's responsibility to be certain that he/she meets all the requirements for an internship/externship/cooperative (see Qualifications for Internship/Externship/Cooperative above) before applying. If the student is awarded an internship/externship/cooperative by an employer without having met all the qualifications, the University reserves the right to withdraw the internship/externship/cooperative at any time, and the student will not receive credit for the internship/externship/cooperative. Students are strongly advised to talk with the internship/externship/cooperative instructor before applying to determine their eligibility for the program.

8. Read and sign the "Student Agreement" form.

[See the Shepherd University Co-op Web Site and Internship/Externship/Cooperative Position Available Forms.]

Employer's Responsibility

The employer must agree to the following stipulations:

1. The employer agrees to provide the paid student with a minimum of 150 hours of internship/externship/cooperative work experience per term (including summer terms). For non-paid internships/externships/cooperatives, the employer agrees to provide the non-paid student with a minimum of 90 hours of internship/ externship/cooperative work experience per term (including summer terms).

2. The employer agrees not to engage the paid student in more than 20 hours of internship/externship/cooperative work experience per week or 300 hours per term. For non-paid internships/externships/cooperatives, the employer agrees not to engage the student in more than 12 hours of internship/externship/cooperative work per week or 180 hours per term. The employer must stipulate the desired number of hours the student is expected work per week (see Internship/ Externship/Cooperative Position Available form).

3. The student¹s supervisor will provide the instructor with a completed copy of the ³Employee Evaluation Form,² at the completion of the internship/externship/ cooperative.

4. Under certain circumstances, an employer may engage the student in more than the maximum internship/externship/cooperative hours stated above (see, Three or Six Credits).

5. The employer agrees to engage the student in a position suitable for a CIS major that will allow the student to gain practical computer related experience. In the event the Review Committee determines that the intern is not acquiring a sufficient level of practical and/or academic computer experience, the employer and University will enter into negotiations to resolve the situation to the satisfaction of both parties. If a mutually agreeable solution cannot be found within a reasonable length of time, the College reserves the right to discontinue the internship/externship/cooperative in question.

6. All responsibility for supervising the student while in an intern/extern/cooperative position is the responsibility of the employer.

Review Committee

A Review Committee comprised of three faculty/administrators (including the instructor) will be established each term to determine if the student has fulfilled all the requirements of the internship/externship/cooperative (see Qualifications for Internship/Externship/ Cooperative, and Student's Responsibilities). If, for any reason, the student is unable to complete all the requirements of the internship/externship/cooperative, it will be up to the discretion of the Review Committee to determine if the student is eligible for an incomplete grade for the term in which the internship/externship/cooperative was conducted. If the student is permitted to receive the incomplete grade, the student must complete the internship/externship/cooperative requirements during the next term (the summer term will count as the next term for students receiving an incomplete grade for the spring term). If the employer will not permit the student to return for a second term to complete the internship/externship/cooperative, the student will be considered as not having completed the requirements for the internship/externship/cooperative, and an appropriate failing grade will be assigned to the student.

If the Review Committee determines that the student was unable to complete the internship/externship/cooperative requirements through no fault of their own, the Review Committee will determine the appropriateness of a passing or incomplete grade for the term.

It will be the sole responsibility of the student to initiate any incomplete grade requests. In addition, the student must comply with all other university rules and regulations governing the issuance of incomplete grades.

Three OR Six Credits

If a student successfully completes all the requirements of their internship/externship/ cooperative, the student will be awarded three elective credits for the practicum. With the approvals of the employer and the Review Committee, the student may elect to participate in a second internship/externship/cooperative with the original employer. Upon the successful completion of the second internship/externship/cooperative, the student will be awarded three more elective credits for a total of six elective credits for the two internships/externships/cooperatives. The two experiences may not occur within the same semester, they must involve separate projects; and separate, independent written and oral reports will be required for each experience. With the approval of the review committee, the second experience may be an expansion of or develop from the first experience.

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