Division of Liberal Arts and Sciences
Department of English, Foreign Languages, Journalism
Summer 2005

Meetings are arranged
Dr. Jane Frick, professor
Email: frick@missouriwestern.edu
http://www.missouriwestern.edu/eflj/faculty/frick.asp
Eder Hall Room 201A
271-4315 (MWSC)
Office Hours: By appointment

 

ENG, EPR, ETC or JOU 316 Internship in English, Public Relations, Technical Communications, or Journalism

Required Procedures:
Students must complete an internship application (http://staff.mwsc.edu/~frick/internap.html) prior to enrolling in the course. Upon obtaining placement, the student and agency supervisor must complete an internship contract (http://staff.mwsc.edu/~frick/contract.html) listing the number of hours to be completed at the agency and the work objectives to be accomplished during the semester. The signed contract also lists the grading criteria for the internship. At midterm time, the supervisor completes a midterm evaluation form regarding his/her intern. The evaluation form is returned by the intern to the internship coordinator. At the end of the semester, the supervisor completes a final evaluation form. The intern completes a final report or prepares a portfolio about his/her internship.

 

Course Objectives:
This course provides students with the practical application of skills in journalism, public relations, and/or technical communications at a business concern or agency. The internship correlates academic preparation with professionally supervised work experience (thirty clock hours for each hour of credit). Work objectives will be listed on the Internship Contract and signed by the intern, the intern's supervisor, and the Internship Coordinator.

 

Course Requirements:

 

1. Attendance is mandatory. If you do not complete the hours required as stipulated in the internship contract, you will fail the course.

 

2. Office hours: Feel free to contact me if you need assistance. I am always glad to meet with students and/or consult via email.

 

3. Academic Honesty: Work submitted under your name should be your work. You should clearly identify your duties/responsibilities for any collaborative projects submitted in your internship portfolio or final project. If you deviate from standard style practices (AP, MLA, APA = whatever your agency/supervisor uses), please explain why you have done so.

 

4. Student Disability: Students with disabilities (impaired hearing, vision, reading disorders, etc.,) should notify me in writing of their disability on the internship application. I will work out a course of studies/placement for such students.

 

5. Grading Policy: Your grade for the course will be determined in this manner:

 

A

• successful completion of work objectives
• excellent and good ratings by the supervisor in the final evaluation
• well-written final report or portfolio
• completion of contracted work hours

B

• completion of work objectives
• good and average ratings by the supervisor in the final evaluation
• well-written final report or portfolio
• completion of contracted work hours

C-D

• partial completion of work objectives
• average/poor ratings by the supervisor in the final evaluation
• writing deficiencies on final report or portfolio
• completion of contracted work hours

F

• failure to complete contracted work hours and/or supervisor' s evaluation and/or final report or portfolio

 

Midterm Grade Reports and Procedures:

 

I will email or snail/mail a midterm evaluation form to your supervisor in at the end of June, asking that he/she complete it and return it to you in a conference regarding your internship work so far this semester.  You should be sure that the completed form is returned to me within a week of your midterm conference. (It is acceptable for you to mail the midterm evaluation to me; please sign and date it so that I know that you have reviewed it with your supervisor.) If you would like to schedule a midterm intern conference with me, you are welcome to do so.  Please call me and/or email me to schedule an appointment at our mutual convenience.

 

Final Report (Essay or Portfolio) and Course Grade:

 

Please realize that your internship course grade will be determined on the basis of your supervisor's final evaluation of your contracted work objectives and your end-or-term internship report (an essay or portfolio)--not on the midterm evaluation.

 

Your final report will be due to me on thursday, July 21, unless you have made prior arrangements for completing your practicum experience throughout August. In that case, I will award you an incomplete for the summer term, and your final report will be due on Monday, August 29.

 

You have two options:

 

Option I:  Write an essay in which you evaluate your internship experience (at least five, double-spaced, word-processed pages, spell-checked, and proofread--copy that you would be proud for any faculty member in the department to read as an example of your best, finished and polished work).

 

Answering the following questions may be helpful to you in drafting your essay: 

 

(1) To what degree did you achieve your educational and personal objectives in the internship? What activities were conducive to your achievement of your objectives? 

 

(2) To what extent did your internship affect your career goals? 

 

(3) How did your internship work relate to your academic studies? What knowledge and skills did you apply in your internship work? 

 

(4) What did you learn about working with others and about yourself from your experience? 

 

(5) How do you plan to use your internship experience in the future?

 

OR

 

Option II:  Prepare a portfolio showcasing pertinent examples of your internship work experience.  Include a professional resume and a cover letter describing your responsibilities for the work you include in the portfolio. The resume and cover letter should be your best, edited, and carefully-proofread prose.