Internship Information for Employers – Guidelines

The relationship between supervisor and student is vital to the success of the Cooperative Education/Internship Program at Seattle Central. As a supervisor, you may represent the student's first professional contact with their chosen career. With your helpful guidance, the student will develop the skills, attitude and knowledge necessary to become a productive employee.

The following are a few simple guidelines to help you create a meaningful work experience for the student and an economical, productive one for your organization. The development of both depends, in part, on your ability to recognize and tailor your approach to the individual needs and skills of each student.

Orientation

As a new employee, the student should receive an orientation to your organization's policies and procedures. You should also provide the student with a description of his or her specific duties.

Standards

Students are expected to perform all work responsibilities assigned by the supervisor according to standards required of other entry–level employees. Work experiences should be progressive, whenever possible, to enhance student learning.

Training Period

The time commitment for the training period is typically one quarter (11 weeks), although it is sometimes necessary for students to extend their internships for more than one quarter. Students can begin their internships (and register) at any point during a given quarter.

Learning Objectives

Each student is required to develop several goals or learning objectives, which are to be completed during the training period. These learning objectives should be reviewed and approved by the supervisor and the college faculty coordinator.

Evaluation

An important part of the educational process is frequent feedback from the supervisor. At the end of the quarter, you will be asked to evaluate the student's achievement of learning objectives (Learning Objective Agreement) and personal work traits (Student Performance Evaluation).

You will not be expected to determine the student's final grade. Your comments, however, will provide the faculty coordinator with information to assess the student's progress, and provide valuable feedback to the student.

School Contact

During the quarter, the college faculty coordinator may be in contact with you. However, if problems arise at any point during the quarter, don't hesitate to discuss your concerns with the student and / or the faculty coordinator.