Offer Internships

Thank you for your organization's interest in offering internships! We're certain this can be a positive experience for all involved.

Update to Internship Guidelines for COVID-19

View updates to internship requirements in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak.

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Internship Setup

Internships offer students a "real world" experience in their chosen field of study. Working directly with a variety of organizations, the experience provides students the opportunity to actively learn while honing the skills needed to succeed in the rapidly changing industry. Logistically, Internships is a three-tiered relationship between the university Faculty Internship Advisor, the Internship Site Supervisor, and Romeal Watson, the internship coordinator for the university.

Once you are ready, here are the steps you take to create your internship experience:

Step 1: Design a series of projects and/or assignments that build into a constructive learning environment for the student intern.

Internships should be designed to professionally develop student learning by allowing them to apply their academic knowledge to their relative industry. Much of your role is to think of reasonable activities that you have for the student that will:

Promote their learning within the industry.
Equate a reasonable amount of work as it relates to the duties of a normal FTE.
Our internship posting guide has tips for creating a great internship
Also download our Internship brochure

National Guidelines & Policies

NACE - the National Association of Colleges & Employers, and a wealth of information.
Position Statement on US Internships
15 Best Practices for Internship Programs.
US Department of Labor's Fact Sheet #71: Internship Programs Under The Fair Labor Standards Act

Step 2: Market your opportunity to students by posting your internship on Handshake.

Handshake is a modern career development platform where you can:

Post jobs and internships
Approve Internship submissions
Get updates from EWU Career Center about upcoming events
Browse career resources tailored to your interests
Connect with Career Advisors in order to maximize your exposure.

Posting a job/internship to Handshake

Go to ewu.joinhandshake.com to create an account or login
Complete your profile to personalize your experience.
Click "Post a Job" located in the middle of the page, on the left column.
Enter your job and/or internship description.
Visit support.joinhandshake.com if you need further instruction.

Step 3: Once you’ve accepted a student intern, arrange a time to meet with them to discuss the details of the internship, and help them complete their learning activities.

In order for the student to do an internship, they must complete an internship learning contract which allows them to get credit. Someone in your office will have to be assigned as the site supervisor and be available to help the student complete these forms.

Students need to discuss the following with their Site Supervisor before they are able to present their internship to their faculty internship advisor.

Among other things, these are the two main discussion points that need to be discussed with the intern:

Internship Description: About the organization and what the internship entails.
Learning Activities: What the student will specifically do as part of the internship.

Step 4: Throughout the internship, try to engage the intern with additional learning opportunities such as office visits, staff meetings, and any professional development events.

Step 5: At the mid and final week period of the quarter, you will receive an email from us, asking you to complete a performance evaluation for the student.

Best Practices

A well-planned internship program benefits your organization as well as providing a rich learning experience for students. For businesses positioned for substantial growth, it makes sense to employ interns who are a great source for a future workforce.

What are your visions for how the internship will function?

What are your required Intern qualifications?

Where, and with whom, will the intern work?

Will you be paying the intern?

Will insurance be available? (only applies to specific sites)

What are your plans for ending the internship?

When the internship reaches its final weeks, try to end on a good note. Evaluate the intern's performance to determine how they can best transition.

Besides a reference, here are some other examples:

Clarify their strengths and what career tweaks they should consider.
Help them add to/build a portfolio
Introduce them to other opportunities.
Discuss their plans.
Alert them about the realities of transitioning to a career.
Celebrate.

Insurance for Student Interns

Should students need professional coverage, we want to make it a priority that there are some options available.

Section 1: Workplace Accidents and Unpaid Interns

If you have an unpaid intern, they are automatically covered by our volunteer insurance policy, CIMA. This insurance will cover workplace or auto accidents that occurred as a result of an internship task. If the student already has medical insurance, CIMA will not replace their existing coverage. However, CIMA may be able to cover expenses that their primary provider will not cover. This is not liability insurance. If the student intern needs liability insurance in addition to workplace Accident insurance, see section 2.

Both our insurance brochure and coverage breakdown will provide insight on what EWU currently offers to students.

Section 2: Professional Liability Insurance

Should students need professional liability insurance, the students must purchase it on an individual basis.

For the 2020-21 academic year, students can purchase the insurance plan for $6 per quarter (or $18 for the year) at the EWU Marketplace.

More information and links can be found at https://staging-inside.ewu.edu/rcp/intern/.

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EWU does not provide workplace accident insurance for paid internships, so interns will have to either use their own health insurance or purchase the optional health insurance from EWU. As a form of best practice, be sure to inform the intern if you provide coverage or are willing to make some available.

**Note, A Comprehensive Health and Wellness fee is automatically included in a students' tuition, but only for limited medical services.

Any questions regarding these services can be sent to:

Romeal Watson
Internship Coordinator
EWU Career Center
332 Pence Union Building
Cheney, WA 99004-2444
509.359.4637
rjwatson@ewu.edu

Update to Internship Guidelines for COVID-19

Internship Setup

National Guidelines & Policies

Best Practices

Insurance for Student Interns

Related Resources

EWU Career Center

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