Effective Strategies for Organizing Undergraduate Internships

Abstract

Student engagement is critical for student success—particularly during an internship. To ensure students are routinely engaged and motivated in their studies and in their internship, it is paramount that they are involved in their placement process, in developing achievable goals, and in assisting with the facilitation of future students' placement by providing evaluative information about their internship experience. This evaluative information, coupled with open communication with community partners about students' perceptions of their learning experience as an intern, promotes quality learning experiences whereby the student succeeds throughout the course and feels ready for a career in that field. This report addresses the high impact practices that were utilized to work with community partners and students to ensure student interns achieved a quality learning experience and were prepared to succeed in a career in the field of their study.