How Internships Work at Macalester

Arranging an internship with Macalester College
Posting an internship opportunity
Information required in an internship posting
When to post an internship
Creating a quality internship in your organization
Evaluations
Site visits

Arranging an internship with Macalester College

Students at Macalester have the responsibility of researching and arranging their internships, with the support of faculty and the Internship Program. Our office provides support to students in this process by:

Meeting to discuss their interests and experience, brainstorm viable options, and create a search strategy;
Helping to develop resumes, cover letters, and other search related communications;
Coordinating databases of internship postings and disseminating those postings through various channels to promote the internships to the most appropriate audiences.
Assisting in the completion of all documentation necessary to register the internship for academic credit, and evaluate the work for grading.

Posting an internship opportunity

Organizations may list internships through Macalester's Internship Program by submitting a description to the Internship Program office. By far the most effective and efficient way to accomplish this is to do so online:

1. Post your internship directly to our "MacLACN" internship database by using the convenient online form on our website.

2. Email the position as an attachment to internship@macalester.edu.

It is also an option to submit a hard copy by mailing or faxing it to our office (see contact information at the bottom of this page). However, please be aware that these formats take significantly more time to process and distribute to our students.

Once received, the internship opportunity is promoted in the following ways:

It is posted on our “MacLACN” online searchable database. We are a member of the Liberal Arts College Network, a consortium of 28 (mostly east coast) liberal arts colleges that share internship postings;
It is emailed to the most appropriate academic departments for posting/distribution to majors and minors in those areas;
A brief description of the posting is added to our “Recently Arrived Postings ” list on our website;
Several select postings are advertised in our school’s daily newsletter;
Hard copies are added to field-specific binders in our Resource Library, with some displayed on Bulletin Boards around campus.

Information required in an internship posting

Our online database requires certain information be present in a posting, so if yours is missing any of the following, it will delay the processing.

Basic information about your organization (location, industry, mission, etc.)
Position name and description of the expected tasks and responsibilities
Expected qualifications
Contact person's name and all other contact information (phone number, fax, mail and email addresses)
URL if available
Any other relevant information. Feel free to send brochures, applications, and/or posters; all are welcome.

When to post an internship

Students may do credit-bearing, academic internships during Fall and Spring terms, as well as during the three-week January period and over the summer. It is wise to list a position 2-3 months prior to the intended start date. If it is an ongoing position, it should be be re-submitted prior to each term to be certain it is re-posted as a fresh, currently available position. Students need to have internships secured prior to the College's add/drop registration deadline for the term. Please see our Calendar for important dates.

Creating a quality internship in your organization

The quality of the internship experience often depends on the site and its treatment of the student as much as on the talent and effort of the student. Clearly, an intern who is challenged by the work, is learning new skills, and feels valued by the organization will be a more engaged and productive contributor. Therefore, it is in everyone’s best interest to create a situation that fosters a successful working/learning relationship.

The following is a short guide to help you prepare for hosting an intern:

Plan and structure the position prior to student beginning internship; try minimizing mundane, clerical work; look for opportunities to make the student apply principles learned in and outside the classroom; prepare some realistic goals and specific projects; ask the student to keep a daily "log" or an overall portfolio of his or her experience.
Plan a course of orientation and training for the student, including discussing company culture, office procedures, and job-specific training. Time spent upfront in this regard will pay dividends in a more engaged and productive student.
Make sure there is ongoing structured supervision by a primary supervisor. This should include:
- regularly scheduled meetings (weekly is great, bi-weekly at a minimum);
- opportunities for providing feedback to the student;
- opportunities for students to ask questions;
- periodic reviews of the progress of student's learning goals;
- ideally, this should become a mentoring relationship.
Arrange for the student to observe professionals in action, participate in staff and client meetings, attend presentations and conference workshops, and talk with professionals about their jobs and career paths.
Help the student develop specific skills (i.e. research, writing, computer, internet, leadership, communication, or presentation skills).
Encourage and provide opportunities to read professional and company publications. A mentor is someone who assumes the responsibility to develop, challenge, and guide the intern toward their goals.
Some organizations provide professional development opportunities (e.g. presentations by upper-management to all interns within the organization, informational interviews, brown bag lunch seminars, etc.). If there are multiple interns in a location, the organization may create situations where all students can gather to network and support each other’s growth - an excellent way for students to learn!
Throughout the internship, be willing to provide constructive feedback to the student regarding their work, attitude, and behavior. This sometimes may feel difficult or awkward, but keep in mind that your feedback is the single most important aspect of the learning experience, and the intern needs to hear it. You do them no favors by failing to point out areas they need to look at or change in order to be successful. As long as you are calm, respectful, and caring, students will highly value your feedback.

When developing an internship, it is also important to note how many hours the student must work to receive credit and to plan accordingly. The minimum number of hours worked per week at the internship site in relation to registered credits is as follows:

Fall-Spring-Summer Internships
(Internships must last a minimum of a ten-week period)
4 credits = A minimum of 140 hours per semester or 10-12 hours per week
3 credits = A minimum of 105 hours per semester or 8-9 hours per week
2 credits = A minimum of 75 hours per semester or 5-7 hours per week
1 credit = A minimum of 45 hours per semester or 3-4 hours per week

January Internships
(Minimum of three weeks)
2 credits = 120 hours per semester or approx. 40 hours per week
1 credit = 60 hours per semester or approx. 20 hours per week

Evaluations

Intern supervisors are asked to complete formal written evaluations for the Internship Program (we provide the forms) at the midpoint and conclusion of a student's experience. These evaluations are to be sent to our office and we then forward a copy to the intern's faculty sponsor to keep them fully informed; they rely on this information in support of the grading process.

Midway through the term, meet with the student to go over the required mid-term evaluation form. Use this mid-term evaluation as an opportunity to provide feedback on the student’s work and to re-negotiate changes in the experience desired by either party for the balance of the internship.

At the end of the term, again meet with the student to review the final evaluation of the overall experience, including the recognition of the intern’s strengths and contributions, and an honest assessment of areas that need additional attention/improvement. Also use this meeting as a chance to ask for feedback from the student on their assessment of the quality of the internship and your supervision. We all may benefit from these honest dialogues!

Site visits

The Internship Program Director or faculty sponsor may contact you at some point during the term to schedule a site visit with you and the student. The purpose of this visit is to learn more about the organization, to see the work the student is doing, and to determine if expectations for the internship are being met. If there are problems of any kind, this is a wonderful opportunity to identify them and to develop a plan of action to resolve them. Often these kinds of challenges can represent some of the best learning opportunities in an internship. Most problems are easily addressed through communication and the re-negotiation of expectations, leaving a good portion of the term for improvement.

INTERNSHIP SITES/EMPLOYERS

STUDENTS

FACULTY

Macalester College · 1600 Grand Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105 USA · 651-696-6000
Comments and questions to internship@macalester.edu