The broad conversations in the public and within higher education support experiential learning experiences, especially internships; however, what is the essential nature of internships? How can the work of English programs prepare students for internships? Consider this, if
students do not have opportunities to develop and practice analytical and close readings skills, how will they be prepared to interrogate documents and materials presented in other fields of study? Another question that might reveal connections between English degrees and careers might be, if students understand the numbers represented, are they prepared to develop
presentations that communicate the information to broader audiences? Finally, while accountants may manage the numbers and financial records of an organization, who will draft the investment analysis reports, write press releases, or create stockholder annual reports—particularly, if the accountant’s college coursework was focused on finance rather than writing and
communication?
English programs develop the kinds of transferable critical thinking, written, and oral communication skills needed for these tasks. These abilities reflect both specific knowledge and broad range skills that provide for professional success and represent what employers would like to see in job candidates (see the Hart Research Associates 2010 and 2013 reports). Critical problems identified by researchers include the lack of skills and abilities of college graduates to understand the needs and expectations of their future employers and to focus college coursework and learning experiences to address those needs and expectations. This is where moving students from the classroom to observe and engage in other settings can add to the educational programs of students and present more opportunities for undergraduate students not yet focused on specific professions. It is important to understand, however, that sometimes internships can have very
high stakes attached to them with implications beyond jobs for college graduates. While service learning and internship experiences may seem very closely aligned, the pre-professional nature of internships can have different goals and outcomes for students, employers, and universities. A recent article in College & University, cited a 2012 research report that revealed sixty- nine percent (69%) of companies with over one hundred employees made job offers to interns and thirty-nine percent (39%) of companies with less than fifty employees also offered interns employment upon completion of successful internships (qtd. in Tucciarone 29). In addition, only two percent (2%) of employers thought college graduates were sufficiently prepared for the interview and job search process. Employers cited deficiencies in research about a potential employer and industry, interview skills, resumes, and cover letters (The Chronicle 45). As a result, the internship is now sometimes called the “new interview” as employers have
opportunities to observe college students as workers during internships, rather than just assess skills through resumes, cover letters, and behavioral interview practices (Tucciarone 29). While students have an opportunity to work on projects that may become deliverables used by
organizations in both service learning and internships, the statistics in this study reveal significant professional and career implications for college students engaged in work-based learning. Tiffany Bourelle’s research into the differences between internships and service learning provides,
Service projects have merit because they simulate the workplace; however, if we are to believe that writing is socially constructed and shaped by a writer’s discourse community [Anson and Forsburg 202], then assignments that merely mimic the workplace are not enough. . . . through internships, students learn to appreciate the expectations of professional organizations, learning that cannot occur by simulating the workforce.
Instead, students must become a part of the organization learning via “acculturation” [St. Amant 232]. (“Bridging the Gap” 184)
While both internship and service learning experiences challenge students to see themselves as professionals and evaluate the skills and abilities they possess (as well as understand the additional knowledge needed to perform essential job functions in work environments), the public narratives and employer interests in students with internship
experiences prior to graduation have also increased the role of colleges and universities in the development of internship programs. The 2012 study by The Chronicle of Higher Education and American Public Media’s Marketplace, asserts “an ‘employment brand,’ a pillar of larger
‘outcomes brand’ matters. If an institution is not know to employers, graduates will suffer the consequences when seeking jobs” (15). It benefits colleges and universities to invest in
internship relationships as employers will seek students from those institutions and students will seek degrees from programs that lead to employment. Not only are the relationships important, but also the interview and application process is of great significance to employers. While some internship programs may place the responsibility on the students to get the positions, business schools are engaged in the act of helping student get the competitive internships. I observed this first hand in my teaching position at Emory University and in the Management Communication Association. BBAs receive significant support through their management communication classes, professionalization labs, seminars, and career management centers to know where internships exist and how to get them. As tuition rates continue to rise and competition for the best and the brightest students continues, colleges and universities are encouraged to develop stronger infrastructures for internships and advertise student success through internships to prospective students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels (Tucciarone 37).
As a result of this, internships have a complex nature. While internships can open career doors for students, students can also evaluate their preparation and interests firsthand by
observing ways organizations are managed and structured. On one hand, “Internships enable students to gain entry to a job market that [may] appear to be impenetrable . . . [and] allows a student to ‘test-drive’ a career before committing”; on the other hand, “the employer gains a low- risk opportunity to assess the student’s work competence” (Tucciarone 30). Regardless of who comes out on the winning side of the internship experience, in today’s competitive marketplace, “Internships are critical to the student, the university, and its departments” (30).
College and university programs as well as students benefit from internships, as Katherine T. Durack provides,
Internships give students a boost in a competitive job market and a chance to try out careers, just as they provide sponsors with an opportunity to try out potential employees and give back to their alma maters. Likewise, student internships provide information that can be used to improve education as well as concrete evidence for the relevance and importance of academic programs and institutions. (248)
When students move into unfamiliar spaces with different power structures, they receive
opportunities to discern who they are in those spaces and how their responses to those situations shape their professional lives and the needs of organizations. Thus, the essential nature of internships for English majors is the opportunity to identify, explore, and develop an
understanding of the skills and abilities needed by employers within a specific field or career. A primary facet of the work of faculty members overseeing internship programs is helping students identify the community partners that can provide these opportunities. In addition, program directors may also find that their roles as advisors also extends to ensuring that student interns
are sufficiently representing the larger goals of collegiate programs seeking to establish long- term relationships with employers interested in hiring particularly competent interns.
3.8 Considerations of Compensation and Oversight
There are two types of internships: paid and unpaid. Paid internships establish an
employer-employee relationship that may require less oversight by a faculty member. However, as employers often recognize that interns are not yet ready to work independently and lack the qualifications and experience to produce usable work product, unpaid internships are far more common. Students are willing to work for credit because they desire to gain experience in a particular environment, but as discussed in Chapter Two of this project, some unpaid internships may violate the FLSA. Ross Perlin’s work to explore internship practices asserts, “A significant number of these situations are unethical and even illegal under US law—a mass exploitation hidden in plain sight” (xiv). He contends that of the one to two million internships pursued each year, “tens of thousands” are likely unpaid or have very low wages. While Perlin’s summary provides some insight as to the elements legal unpaid internships, the US Department of Labor:
Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under the Fair Labor Standards Act makes it very clear as to what must occur for an individual to participate in an unpaid internship in a for-profit private sector organization. In critical part, the fact sheets states:
The Supreme Court has held that the term ‘suffer or permit to work’ cannot be interpreted so as to make a person whose work serves only his or her own interest an employee of another who provides aid or instruction. This may apply to interns who receive training for their own educational benefit if the training meets certain criteria. (US DOL) The fact sheet sets forth the essential differences between an internship and other work- based learning initiatives: “the internship, even though it includes actual operation of the
facilities of the employer, is similar to training which would be given in an educational environment” (US DOL). This provides opportunities for universities and colleges to partner with the community to provide pedagogical, student-centered assignments in unpaid internships. Knowing and understanding the intricacies of making unpaid internships focus on learning can be challenging for faculty members, particularly if the internship providers view internships as the “new interview,” as described above.
Because some internship providers may indeed take advantage of earnest and hard- working students, internship program directors can reshape these experiences so that they emphasis learning not working. In addition, helping interns be thoroughly prepared for the demands of their internships, particularly in connection with professionalization issues such as dress, interview skills, communications practices, may also fall to the directors. Though this will be discussed in greater detail in Chapters Five and Six, faculty members overseeing interns can and should communicate with internship supervisors to help construct experiences that serve the needs of the students and adhere to the DOL guidelines. For example, students can help write emails, draft letters, memoranda, and investigative reports. They can also conduct research for, charts, graphs, and tables. What is important is that the student interns are focused on learning through experience in workplaces, not producing finalized work product without supervision or direction.
This chapter worked to establish how moving students beyond the walls of classrooms for learning creates the opportunities for colleges and universities to develop valuable
experiences for students. In addition, the call for stronger writing and oral communication skills allows English departments to respond to the demands of the private and public sectors and send their students to compete for jobs alongside of linear-track, profession-focused students.
Exploring the literature about internships is essential and becoming familiar with other work- based learning practices can also inform the work of internship program directors.
Building upon the idea of opportunities, the concept of location informs the development of internship opportunities for students. In the next section of this project, I will examine how GSU’s proximity to the Atlanta business community created natural pathways for students to pursue internships in the university’s community. Seizing the opportunities for internship program development over the last twenty years, the GSU English Department carefully constructed a course that serves the needs of the business community, students, university, and the department.
CHAPTER 4. LOCATIONS: CONNECTING A COMMUNITY
TO AN INTERNSHIP PROGRAM