Student Performance & Supervision

This area of the Internship Toolkit addresses the on-going activities and work experiences at the employer's location, during the term of the internship. It also addresses the student's supervision as an intern, by both the school coordinator (Academy Director or other) and the employer supervisor. It is the responsibility of the Academy Director and the employer supervisor to make sure the student is being offered ample opportunity to experience a broad array of tasks, assignments, departments, and people so as to gain a complete sense of the diversity of opportunities within the organization and the industry. Along with this experience, the student should be supervised in a manner similar to that appropriate for a new, entry-level worker at the employer's company. In other words, the student shouldn't be left alone for extraordinarily long periods of time, nor should he/she be given boring, repetitive tasks (such as answering the phone or filing) for great lengths of time. Rather, the entire internship experience (from 6 - 10 weeks) should be planned and laid out prior to the student's arrival so that the student, the school, and the employer have a clear idea of the expectations from all sides. Such measures insure the breadth and diversity of the internship experience. Should the student have any concern over his/her assignments or activities, or lack thereof, during the internship, the student should discuss these concerns with his/her internship supervisor at the company. If the concern is not satisfactorily mitigated in some reasonable period of time, the student should contact the Academy Director, or other school-based internship supervisor, and discuss the issue/concern with him/her.