Dear Mentor;
Thank you for agreeing to mentor one of our Minnesota State University Corrections majors for
a field practice internship. Your agreement to act as a role model for our students is a great service to
the student, our program and to the field of corrections. Our students have been studying to prepare
themselves to be of service in the field you have chosen as a career. We know our college classes
cannot provide students with everything they need to be prepared to take on the important work in
corrections; you contribution to their education will be of great help.
Along with completing the required internship for a degree in Corrections, each student is
required to complete a daily learning journal and take a required two credit class called “Capstone
Seminar.” The Capstone class allows students to demonstrate and evaluate their learning experiences
and share what they learn in a specific intern site with the rest of the interns.
Learning Contract: What they will learn and what they will contribute to your agency.
We ask students to develop a set of goals to be accomplished during their internship. I am sure
that will learn much from you if you would help them develop meaningful goals. Your input on the
specific goals will help direct students in achieving the kind of understanding necessary for a strong
foundation for their career. This set of goals helps to clarify what students are expected to do and what
they should expect to gain out of this important experience. They are to prepare this contract in their
second/third week and will be asking you to sign this form. Be sure to read it over and make any
changes you feel are necessary.
Field Practice Paper
Each student must prepare a field practice paper and will be presenting this paper at a Capstone
Seminar. The student may ask you questions regarding your agency’s operation in order to complete
this project. Categories of this paper include: agency information, client information (in general terms),
staff information, and self-evaluation.
Capstone Seminar Meetings
There will be a number of capstone seminar classes scheduled throughout the semester. Your
student is required to attend a portion of these sessions. Some of these meetings will be held at the
students’ internship locations or at the University, depending on a variety of factors. This schedule will
be set several weeks in advance so your intern will be able to work with you on dates and times.
Agency Responsibilities
We would like to offer the following suggestions to our agencies supervising interns. First,
orientate the student to your agency mission and operating procedures. Second, review the student’s
learning outcomes and assist the student, if necessary, in refining them so they meet both the student’s
goals and yours. Third, supervise and confer with the student to the level that is necessary to assure
agency compliance and student achievement. Fourth, conduct a final evaluation with the student and
prepare a final written draft to the faculty supervisor. This letter should state the total hours completed
by the intern, basic duties performed, evaluation of performance, overall suitability of the intern for
future employment.
Please let us assist you and/or the intern if any issues arise that are problematic. Please contact the
faculty representative if there are any concerns or problems arising with the intern placement.
Faculty Responsibilities
The faculty supervisor Sherrise Truesdale-Moore approved the placement and discussed the
learning goals to include expectations about how the student can bring the skills, attitudes, and
knowledge learned in our classes to benefit your agency. We also coordinate the Capstone Seminar
classes and attempt an onsite visits with agencies whenever possible. Email and telephone contact will
occur throughout the internship. The faculty supervisor will also assist the supervisor when concerns or
questions arise involving the student.
Student Responsibility
Meet with the supervisor and learn expectations, parking, clothing requirements, hours of
work, breaks, expectation, etc. Students should write down this information for future review.
Students are expected to be at work on time and prepared to start the day at the scheduled time.
Students are to keep track of their start/end time each day. Students need to periodically meet with
their supervisor and review performance and expectations. This will assure the student gains the most
from their internship.
Thank you for agreeing to mentor an intern from our program. We are very proud of our
program and our students; you contribute significantly to the quality of our program and we, again,
thank you. The collaboration we maintain with correctional agencies helps our students and our faculty
stay connected to the real-world struggle to make corrections in Minnesota the best it can be. Your
partnership is vital to our program and our students’ overall success. Thank you for being a part in
educating the best.
Thank you on behalf of the MSU Corrections Program,
Sherrise Truesdale-Moore, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Sociology and Corrections
Department of Sociology and Corrections,
Minnesota State University, Mankato
Contact Information: 507-389- 1561 (Main office) 507-389-1868 (Sherrise’s office)
sherrise.truesdale@mnsu.edu
FAX: 507-389-5615