Academic Internship Guidelines for Employers
The Purchase College Internship Program
Your Responsibilities As An Internship Sponsor
Recruiting Students / List An Internship Opportunity With Purchase College
Procedures and Timelines/Deadlines
Who To Contact With Questions
Download the Guide for Internship Site Supervisors
What is the Purchase College Internship Program?
The Purchase College Internship Program at the Career Development Center provides students with opportunities to obtain academic (credit-bearing) as well as non-credit internships with local and regional employers in order to gain “real world” experience and explore a variety of career fields while gaining academic credit for their experience towards their degree.
Employers often seek out our talented, motivated, and skilled Purchase Student Interns as a way of supporting their organization’s business and project needs, while providing undergraduates with an exceptional learning experience in their industry of interest.
What are my responsibilities as an Internship Sponsor?
1) Provide a meaningful learning experience for your intern
Internships are expected to be educational, hands-on learning experiences in which students gain a first hand opportunity to learn about and contribute to your organization – there should be little confusion as to whether a participating student is an “Intern” Vs. a “Gopher” or “unpaid worker”
2) Provide Supervision
While you as an Internship Sponsor are benefiting from the input and assistance of your intern, interns are benefiting from your knowledge and guidance as they learn and contribute to your organization.
3) Please complete and return the Internship Learning Contract, and Evaluation Form in a timely way.
At the beginning of an academic internship, internship sponsors must complete and sign their section of the Internship Learning Contract Form in order for the student to register their internship with the college for academic credit. Along with the contract form, internship sponsors must attach a brief, typed “job” description outlining the intern’s duties and responsibilities.
Towards the end of an academic internship, employers receive an Evaluation form for their interns, which must be returned in order for the intern to receive academic credit for their experience. (see Procedures and Deadlines bellow)
4) Contact the Career Development Center if there are any questions or issues
Occasionally issues arise about expectations regarding an intern or internship experience. Please contact our office should you have any questions. Issues may be directed to the Internship Coordinator or the Director of the Career Development Center.
How do I recruit Purchase Students / List and internship opportunity with your College?
Internship Opportunities can be listed on our free on-line job and internship system – Purchase JobScore. To access the system, simply visit our career office home page at www.purchase.edu/careerdevelopment and click on the Employers’ Link. In the “Purchase JobScore section, click on the link marked “Click here to Register for the First Time” in order to create your account on the system. You may then post a description of your internship for students to review.
What are the necessary Procedures and Timelines for sponsoring an intern?
After you post your internship on Purchase JobScore, interview and select your intern, please be aware of the following deadlines:
1) INTERNSHIP CONTRACT DEADLINE:
Prior to the start of the internship - Fill out and return the Internship Learning Contract form and attach a type-written description of the intern’s duties before the end of the academic registration period
Deadline: Exact dates vary each semester, but the typical timeframes are listed below. It is the Intern’s responsibility to submit their contract before the end of the Add/Drop Registration period. For current registration deadlines, the academic calendar can be viewed at /acadaff/registrar/calendar.asp
Fall Interns – Registration deadline - 1st week in September
Spring Interns – Registration Deadline - Last week of January
Summer Interns – Registration Deadline - Last week of April2) EVALUATION FORM DEADLINE:
Several weeks before the end of the internship, employers receive an Evaluation form; the qualitative measures on this form comprise a part of the intern’s grade for their internship experience. This form needs to be completed and returned before the end of the academic semester in order for interns to receive a grade (and credit) for their experience.
Deadline: End of academic semester
Fall Interns – Evaluation Deadline 2nd week in December
Spring Interns – Evaluation Deadline - 2nd week of May
Summer Interns – Evaluation Deadline - 1st week of August
Who do I contact if I have questions or issues regarding an intern?
Any issues relating to an intern can be brought to the attention of the Internship Coordinator or the Director of the Career Development Center at Purchase College. Contact Us with any concerns or questions at 914-251-6370