INTERNSHIP GUIDELINES

The following information is intended to serve as a guide to the fieldwork and internship components of Department of Conservation Social Sciences curriculum requirements. Included is information regarding eligibility, specifications, securing approval, registering suggestions regarding the scope of the field experience, recommendations of materials and information to be gathered and/or understood during the fieldwork portion, and information about the on-campus, post-fieldwork experiences.

I. Internship Description and Eligibility

A.The internship field experience is limited to CSS students who are in good standing, have completed all degree and specialization requirements through the junior year including all indicated professional coursework with a minimum grade point average of 2.0. Students taking a CSS minor, or non-majors with a career interest in CSS, recreation, and tourism, may in special cases take an internship.

B.Preferably, the student is to be within one or two semesters of graduation before the internship. However, we understand that in some circumstances, an excellent internship opportunity may present itself prior to this point.

C.Internships are typically undertaken during summer session. However, an internship may be undertaken at any time during the year. Many excellent fieldwork experiences are available during the spring or fall semesters. In these cases, work closely with your advisor to see if the opportunity is appropriate for an internship.

D.The student must obtain approval to participate in the internship in advance from their academic advisor and the Internship Program Coordinator (Item III, Internship Eligibility and Approval – Form 1).

E.The internship should be a full-time affiliation for a period of not less than eight weeks duration and not less than 400 hours. However, in some cases, it is necessary for the internship to be part-time work spread out over a longer period of time, or part-time work with two different organizations.

F.The internship should be compatible with the student's chosen career specialization within the major and should provide exposure to professional opportunities in their field.

II. Finding an appropriate internship

1. It is the responsibility of students to seek out the field placement opportunity with advice and consent of their advisor. Identifying employment opportunities and applying for jobs are integral parts of the learning that can be gained from an internship. Listings are available on the Web and job information notebooks.

2. It is not the practice of the faculty to make direct internship placement of students. We will give you as much help as we can in locating a suitable intern experience, but we do not “place” students in internship positions. Approval is required in advance and prior to enrollment in CSS 498.

3. There are many sources of information to aid you in finding a suitable internship or seasonal job:

1.The Department of Conservation Social Sciences maintains job information notebooks placed in the department’s entry. We make every effort to keep them current.

2.Cheri Cole in the Office of the Dean of the College of Natural Resources gathers and distributes information on all kinds of jobs (temporary, seasonal, part-time, permanent) in many different natural resource areas. She maintains a job list at http://www.cnrhome.uidaho.edu/default.aspx?pid=51236 (ask Cheri for a password) and also sends out email reminders when it has been updated (ask to be placed on her email list). In addition, Ms. Cole receives the generic information about applying for seasonal positions with some of the major federal agencies such as the National Park Service and the U. S. Forest Service. Usually applications for seasonal positions with these agencies are due sometime during the winter holiday break between the fall and spring semesters.

3.The University maintains a Career Services department that provides many services to help you find seasonal or permanent employment. They schedule interviews by various businesses and government employers, help with the preparation of resumés and job applications, and provide insight in how to apply and interview for jobs. In the fall, UI Career Services sponsors, in cooperation with the Washington State University Career Services, a Career Expo which brings nearly 150 employers from all over the country to the campus. Web site: http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/careerservices.

4.The University of Idaho Cooperative Education (Co-op Ed) offers students an opportunity to participate in work experiences to help clarify career and academic goals. The Cooperative Education program serves undergraduate and graduate students of all career interests and majors. To be eligible for Cooperative Education experience, students must be in good academic standing in their degree programs. Students must continue to be in good academic standing and perform to the employer's satisfaction at the worksite to remain in the Cooperative Education placement. Placement opportunities are available with a wide range of national, regional, and local employers in the private and public sectors. Cooperative Education works in partnership with faculty and employers to ensure that opportunities are academically relevant and helps students fulfill their career goals and develop transferable work skills. Web site: http://www.webs.uidaho.edu/cooped/

5.The College’s Student Activity Council (SAC) sponsors an annual job fair that attracts 25 to 30 area employers in many natural resource fields. The participants can tell you about the types of opportunities their organizations have and how to apply for employment.

III. Getting Your Internship Approved

Once you have found what you believe is a suitable internship, discuss it with your advisor. A suitable internship provides professional experiences. Maintenance-only or summer jobs working in concessions will not qualify for internship credit. Let your advisor know the nature of the internship, when you will be working, and how long you will be employed. Approval to participate in the internship must be obtained in advance from the student’s academic advisor and the Internship Program Coordinator (Form 1). Once you’ve received your approval, you may enroll for CSS 498 and complete the reporting requirements as listed below.

IV. Registering for Your Internship

After you have had your internship approved by your advisor and the internship advisor, you will need to enroll for 6-9 credits of CSS 498. You should enroll for credit in the period you will be doing your internship. If you plan to work longer than the minimum period necessary to fulfill the intern requirement you may enroll for additional credit. Likewise, if you have more than one work experience, you may enroll in CSS 498 additional times.

V. The Internship Organization

A.    Internships may be completed with private for-profit, non-profit, or governmental organizations.

B.    The student may accept either:
        ·    An appropriate, full-time position with a wage.
        ·    A non-wage internship operated by an established organization, such as SCA.
        ·    A combination of the above.

C.    The faculty in the Department of Conservation Social Sciences believe that fair wages should be paid for labor and services provided. Ordinarily, therefore, we discourage students from seeking “volunteer”-type internships and encourage you to find a position that will financially compensate you for work provided.

D.    The internship student should be provided with a program of wide ranging direct learning experience with the organization. These may be scheduled during the normal course of the daily work assignment or above and beyond the daily work assignment. These scheduled experiences should bring the student into direct contact with all facets of the work of the organization. It is highly desirable that the student be provided with a written schedule of these activities at the outset of the fieldwork placement with the organization. Positions without this flexibility or that require only manual labor are not acceptable for internships.

5. INTERNSHIP APPROVAL AND COMMITMENTS: It is expected that the site manager or supervisor of the internship organization will inform the CSS Internship Coordinator of their willingness to accept the student for internship training and to provide information pertaining to the full nature of the work to be experienced by the student. Attach this letter to the Internship Eligibility and Approval Form (Form 1). Also, submit the Internship Organization Information Form (Form 2) prior to beginning the internship.

6. MID-POINT EVALUATIONS: The internship organization should provide the CSS Internship Coordinator with an evaluation of the intern promptly by the end of four weeks. This Student Intern evaluation may be an abbreviated form of the final evaluation (see Supervisor’s Mid-Point Evaluation--Form 3) and is intended to direct the intern's efforts by building on strengths and working on weaknesses. The intern will also provide a brief self-evaluation (Form 4) at this time.

7. FINAL EVALUATIONS: At the completion of the internship, the internship organization should provide the CSS Internship Coordinator with a written evaluation of the participation and professional promise of the intern. This may be in the form of a letter, employee evaluation and performance forms in regular use by this organization, or by using Form 5 attached.

8. At the completion of the internship, students should submit an evaluation of the internship organization and their supervisor (Form 6).

9. It is important that the internship organization be willing to undertake the role of working to contribute to the student's professional training and development in anticipation of their entering the professional workforce in the future.

10. The internship providing organization should assist the student in gathering and understanding information about the organization.

VI. Information to be Gathered During the Fieldwork Experience

The following is representative of information the intern should endeavor to become familiar with and gather during the time of the fieldwork portion of the Internship. This material is vital to the successful completion of the internship, to your full understanding of the organization for which you serve as an intern, and to your ability to demonstrate a synthesis of your academic and fieldwork experiences. This material will be sent in to the CSS Internship Coordinator over the course of the internship, either by typed hardcopy (faxed or mailed) or as a Word/WordPerfect attachment by e-mail. Most reports should be 2-3 pages in length.

Week 1 – DUE JUNE 20

• Introduction: A brief sketch (2-3 pages) of first impressions including an introduction to the site and an outline of the internship once the intern has arrived on-site and has begun working. This is to be a formal report, so write it as one, with your name, date, etc., as well as correct grammar, etc.; be sure to proof-read, edit and send a typed hardcopy or email it as an attachment. (No informal emails are accepted.)

Week 3 – DUE JUNE 30

• Self-evaluation (1-2 pages, plus Form 4 ) and supervisors mid-point evaluation (Form 3).

Week 4 – DUE JULY 10

• Brief progress report (2-3 pages) that reflects on one or more aspects of your experience that reflect the categories listed under “Administration,” “Programming,” “Operations” or “Planning” listed in section IX of this syllabus.
• Describe 1) what you have experienced with your organization in the area selected; and 2) how this relates to your education on the topic.
• Special circumstances, such as fighting fire for your organization, can be used as topics for reports as well.
• This is to be a formal report, so write it as one, with your name, date, etc., as well as correct grammar, etc.; be sure to proof-read, edit and send a typed hardcopy or email it as an attachment. (No informal emails are accepted.)

Week 6 – DUE JULY 24

• Brief progress report (2-3 pages) that reflects on one or more additional aspects of your experience that reflect the categories listed under “Administration,” “Programming,” “Operations” or “Planning” listed in section IX of this syllabus.
• Describe 1) what you have experienced with your organization in the area selected; and 2) how this relates to your education on the topic.
• Special circumstances, such as fighting fire for your organization, can be used as topics for reports as well.
• Reflect on a different set of aspects of your experience than those from the previous report.
• Again, this is to be a formal report, so write it as one, with correct grammar, etc., proof-read, and sent as a typed hardcopy or emailed as an attachment. (No informal emails are accepted.)

VII. Final Internship Summary Report (Including final Forms 5 & 6, and journal) – DUE AUG. 16

The final written requirement is a 6-8 page typed summary of your internship experience. You will complete this summary and mail in a typed hardcopy, or email as an attachment, to the CSS Internship Coordinator by the last day of the semester so the coordinator can submit a grade. This summary should include, at a minimum, the following sections:

• Name of internship organization
• Name and title of supervisor
• Inclusive dates of internship experience
• Summary of work responsibilities during internship experience
• Summary of skills and knowledge gained from internship experience
• One page self-evaluation which highlights your own strengths and areas where you still need professional development
• Suggestions to improve the organization's programs and services
• Most valuable aspects of your internship experience
• Suggestions to CSS for improving the internship program

In addition, you need to submit a copy of your journal (see below) along with your final report.

VIII.Actions for Maximizing the Benefits of the Internship Experience

• Maintain a daily journal of the fieldwork experiences you have throughout the entire period of the affiliation, along with any reflections, suggestions or comments you have about yourself as an employee, your work experiences, the organization you’re working for, its effective operation, etc.
• Take it upon yourself, during your own off-the-job time if need be, to visit as many different offices of the organization and talk to as many people as possible in order to expand your knowledge of the operation of the organization. Avoid conversations that represent an individual's opinion of the "problems" with an organization but rather keep conversations directed at matters that help you to understand the particular way in which the internship providing organization operates.
• Attend any and all meetings that are available to you within and outside the organization such as staff meetings, commission meetings, governing authority meetings, planning meetings, public hearings, speeches by members of the organization before outside audiences, etc.
• Visit as many other recreation and park organization operations, other than your own, and as time permits, talk with people in charge to learn about their operations, etc.
• Gather any and all published and printed information relative to the above including maps, plans, reports, brochures, etc. that are made available to you.
• Take a series of slides, pictures or digital photos depicting the organization areas and facilities, program of services, scope of operations, key personnel, your place of work and work experiences, etc. Most importantly, take some photos of yourself at work. You can use these in a professional portfolio or donate some to CSS for our website.

IX. Direct Learning Opportunities to be Experienced and Scheduled

A carefully planned exposure to the wide-ranging activities and responsibilities of the organization is an important part of the internship fieldwork experience and a vital link in the student's professional development.

The following represent types of functions normal to the operations of recreation and tourism services providing agencies. It is desirable for the intern to receive exposure to as wide a range of the functions as is practical. The list is not complete and does not represent all facets of the parks and recreation movement but rather is intended to serve as a guide in developing the fieldwork learning experience. Each organization is encouraged to develop their own list of activities which they deem important for the intern to experience. The composition of the program should be worked out in advance by the organization with the participation of the interning student and should be in writing to enable the student to plan for the most productive use of his or her time.

Examples of Intern Exposure

Administration
    ·    Budget and Finance
    ·    Preparation of budget and study of the current fiscal year budget
    ·    Accounting and reporting procedures
    ·    Financial reports
    ·    Fund raising
    ·    Grant writing
    ·    Costs review
    ·    Purchasing and spending procedures, including bids
    ·    Payroll preparation
    ·    Fees and charges
    ·    Concession operations and contracts
    ·    Personnel policies
    ·    Organization charts, job titles, and job descriptions
    ·    Organization meetings, from governing board to staff meeting
    ·    Community meetings
    ·    Legislative body meetings
    ·    Professional meetings
    ·    Public Information
    ·    News releases
    ·    Speeches
    ·    Publication preparation
    ·    Handle complaints
    ·    Community calendar preparation
    ·    Work with community groups
    ·    Office procedures
    ·    Correspondence
    ·    Staffing patterns
    ·    Inventory controls
    ·    Special projects
    ·    Research work for administrative decisions

Programming
    ·    Program planning and scheduling
    ·    Program publicity and marketing
    ·    Program participation
    ·    Social recreation, physical activities, cultural programs, programs for special populations, camping and outdoor recreation, mobile programming, programming in diverse recreation areas and facilities, decentralized programming, special events.
    ·    Interpretive programs
    ·    Program evaluation
    ·    Program equipment and supplies

Operation and Maintenance
    ·    Operations
    ·    Area and facility reservations and scheduling
    ·    Public safety
    ·    Supply and equipment selection, use, and care
    ·    Service areas (garage and automotive, carpentry, paint and sign shop, etc.)    
    ·    Maintenance
    ·    Landscape and lawn maintenance
   ·    Horticultural operations
    ·    Tree plantings, inspection and disease detection
    ·    Recreation facility and equipment maintenance
    ·    Road maintenance
    ·    Maintenance of beach, water, and wildlife areas
    ·    Vandalism and preventive maintenance

Planning and Development
    ·    Work with professional groups and with organization planner and development offices
    ·    Attend local, state, district, and national conferences and workshops
    ·    Write for publication
    ·    Visit related community agencies
    ·    Review and critique professional reading materials
    ·    Study planning and development documents of the organization

X. Academic Credit and Grading

A total of 6-9 semester hours of CSS 498 will be awarded at the end of the academic session (i.e. second summer session) for successfully completing the internship requirements. A grade will be awarded according to the following criteria:

GRADING:	Completion of work and hours (minimum of 400 hours)	30%
	Progress Reports	15%
	Final Summary Report and Journal	20%
	Supervisor Evaluations (Forms 3 and 5)	20%
	Other forms (Forms 1-2, 4, 6 and attachments)	15%
		100%

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