Preliminary HECC Discussion Document re:
Postsecondary Student Internships / Teacher Externships1
Recommendation 3. Expand incentives to promote collaboration between the business
community and the education system, utilizing our higher education assets as a
component of our economic development activities.
Postsecondary Student Internships
Definition2
Internships are arrangements in which college students and career changers lend their talents
to companies in return for an opportunity to develop business skills, learn about a new industry,
and gain exposure to the work environment. Internship programs are set up as either noncompensated or compensated internships. Whether paid or unpaid, an internship position is
often quite beneficial to the student who participates, for he or she receives "real world"
business experience and an early opportunity to impress potential employers. Employers too
benefit from internship programs by obtaining the services of skilled personnel for modest cost
and by being exposed to new ideas and perspectives.
Student Benefits3

Gain work experience and transferable skills -- Students all have their educational
experience in common. What stands out to employers is those students who also have
work experiences by the time they graduate. This automatically makes them more
marketable; as they may require less training and are assumed to be able to handle
more responsibilities. In addition to the specialized skills of your field, transferable skills
are generally required at any job, e.g. communication/interpersonal skills, computer
proficiency, and team work.

Possibly earn course credit -- Some degree programs incorporate a work opportunity
into a requirement for graduation by giving course credit for the work experience. Other
programs have an internship as an elective course for credit.
•
Possibly earn money
1
The intent of this preliminary document is to pull together research regarding postsecondary student
internships/teacher externships. The review draws directly and extensively from numerous sources and,
thus, is an amalgamation of other entities’ work rather than an expression of Higher Education
Coordinating Council opinion or policy. The sole purpose of this preliminary document is to provide
background information to the Higher Education Coordinating Council for its discussion of its 2015 work
plan.
2 From http://definitions.uslegal.com/i/internship/.
3 From https://www.career.arizona.edu/student/finding-an-internship/internships-and-other-relatedexperiences/benefits-advantages-of-internships-and-other-related-experiences.
1

Be able to experience a prospective career path -- Most students enter college with an
idea of a major or career path… and most students end up changing their minds.
Exploring is a very important part of the academic process, and gaining a work
experience is a great way for students to acquaint themselves with a field they are
looking to learn about. By the time of graduation, the students have confidence that the
degrees they are receiving are the right ones for them.

Gain practical experience, by applying methods and theories learned in classes -- Many
people learn best by being hands on. But everyone can benefit from seeing the things
that they have been learning in class, put to action; whether it’s in a chemistry research
lab, a marketing development meeting, or a substance abuse counseling session.

Network with professionals in your field, for references and future job opportunities -- It’s
all about who you know. Student interns are surrounded by professionals in the industry
that they are seeking access to. It’s more than just about getting a grade, earning credit,
or making money. This is an opportunity to learn from everyone around you, ask
questions, and impress them with your eagerness. These people can be your future
colleagues or can be the connection to your first job.

Develop new skills and refine others -- Learn your strengths and weaknesses by
creating learning objectives and receiving feedback from your supervisor. This is a
unique learning opportunity that you may never have again as a working adult. Embrace
the mistakes that you’ll make and the many things that you won’t know. Ask questions,
observe, and take risks.

Gain confidence in your abilities -- Practice makes perfect. If you’ve learned about a
specific technique in the classroom, you’re able to test it out in the world of work. Then,
you’ll be much more equipped with the technique.
Employer Benefits4

Cost-effective sourcing and recruiting strategy; early identification of diverse entry level
talent

Potential to reduce new-hire turnover and builds bench strength as the students become
acclimated to the company culture and processes throughout the internship or co-op

Flexible, cost-effective work force not requiring a long-term employer commitment

Students bring new perspective to old problems

Image in the community is enhanced as you contribute your expertise to the educational
enterprise
Joint Benefits5
4
From http://careers.osu.edu/employers/buckeye-internships/benefits-of-internships/.
2
An internship may be the easiest way to secure a full-time job, as 69% of companies with 100 or
more employees offered full-time jobs to their interns in 2012.
Teacher Externships
Definition6
Teacher Externships offer a unique professional development opportunity connecting the
classroom to the workplace. They provide an experience in which teachers spend time in a
workplace to learn through direct experience about trends, skill requirements and opportunities
in industries related to their subject in order to enrich and strengthen their teaching and bring
relevance to student learning. There are many types of workplace experiences such as student
internships, teacher externships, job shadowing, informational interviewing, and service
learning, but teacher externships “provide a peer-to-peer learning environment,” says WestEd
Senior Research Associate Svetlana Darche. Externships range from a day of job shadowing to
longer externships that are usually project-based and can last as long as a full summer.
Teacher externships offer a professional development experience that is often transformative for
educators and their students.
The purpose of a teacher externship is to engage in activities in business and industry, and/or
service-based organizations, to learn how classroom content and learning strategies are applied
in the workplace. Teachers improve their pedagogical practices by incorporating new methods,
labor market information, and employment skills that meet current industry standards. The
educational goal of an externship is to increase a teacher’s ability to connect theory and practice
and bring an understanding of workplace practices and policies (e.g. problem solving methods,
practical applications of theory, leadership concepts) into the classroom, thus increasing the
relevance of student learning.
Teacher Benefits7

Collaborate with employees on developing relevant curriculum that free up time and
result in innovative approached to subject delivery

Gain experience, knowledge, insight and skills to take back the classroom for increased
motivational and contextual learning

Excellent professional development opportunities

Develop contacts with businesses to be future mentors for students and educators

Gain a more comprehensive view of business while engaging in meaningful assignments
5
From http://www.forbes.com/sites/jacquelynsmith/2012/12/06/internships-may-be-the-easiest-way-to-ajob-in-2013/.
6 From http://casn.berkeley.edu/resources.php?r=251.
7 From http://www.rifthp.org/node/59.
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
New answers to the student questions "Why do we have to learn this?"

Work in conjunction with businesses to impact the competitiveness or the workforce of
the 21st century
Employer Benefits8

Work in conjunction with teachers to impact and strengthen the workforce 21st century

Work with educated problem solvers

Positively impact job readiness and workforce development in your community

Directly impact curriculum reform

Obtain assistance and new perspectives on projects within your facility

Participate in a Work-Based Learning opportunity that supports higher academic
standards and achievement
Issues Relating to
Postsecondary Student Internships and Teacher Externships
Volume
How can the number of available private-sector postsecondary student internships and teacher
externships be increased?
Market
How can students, teachers, and employers the most efficiently matched for purposes of
internships and externships?
Common Template
Can internships and externships be facilitated through the creation of “standard” agreement
templates?
Paid or Unpaid?9
8
From http://www.rifthp.org/node/59.
4
Although there are reasons beyond the legalities that one would want to consider when you are
deciding whether to pay an intern, the answer to whether you must pay an intern for his or her
work relates to the Fair Labor Standards Act and lies in an analysis of the on-the-job experience
the intern will have in relation to the standards set forth by that act. Pursuant to that law, the
U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) has developed six criteria for identifying a learner/trainee who
may be unpaid. (Note: Neither the law nor the regulatory guidance uses the term “intern.”)
The DOL criteria are:
•
The training, even though it includes actual operation of the employer’s facilities, is
similar to training that would be given in a vocational school.
•
The training is for the benefit of the student.
•
The student does not displace regular employees, but works under the close observation
of a regular employee.
•
The employer provides the training and derives no immediate advantage from the
activities of the student. Occasionally, the operations may actually be impeded by the
training.
•
The student is not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period.
•
The employer and the student understand that the student is not entitled to wages for
the time spent training.
Although not all six factors have to be present for an individual to be considered a trainee, the
experience should ultimately look more like a training/learning experience than a job. This raises
the issue of the fourth criterion—that the employer derives no benefit from the student’s
activities. This seems to fly in the face of contemporary practice. In the same way that a student
working in a college laboratory is expected to become actively involved in the work at hand, an
intern is expected to participate in the work of the organization to make the experience
educationally valid.
Several DOL rulings, while not addressing the criteria head on, seem to suggest that as long as
the internship is a prescribed part of the curriculum and is predominantly for the benefit of the
student, the mere fact that the employer receives some benefit from the student’s services does
not make the student an employee for purposes of wage and hour law.
That said, the trend of unpaid internships and teacher externships may be coming to an end,
thanks to more stringent oversight by the U.S. Department of Labor, recent class-action lawsuits
by interns, and issues such as insurance and liability.10 There’s no official tracking of
internships in the U.S., but experts estimate that about a million students work as interns every
year, and about 20 percent work in unpaid positions. 11 Moreover, California and some other
states require that interns receive college credit as a condition of being unpaid.12
9
Except as noted within the section, from
http://ucanintern.com/NACE_Common_Questions_about_Internships.pdf.
10 See http://jacksonville.com/business/2014-02-25/story/work-wanted-unpaid-internships-may-becomething-past and http://www.cbia.com/edf/Externship.htm.
11 From http://jacksonville.com/business/2014-02-25/story/work-wanted-unpaid-internships-may-becomething-past.
12 From http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/03/business/03intern.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0.
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Employer Insurance13
Adequate insurance coverage for any type of work based learning programs can be arranged
(negotiated) by working in conjunction with an agent or broker who is familiar with the
program(s) and with the schools or agencies who may be parties to the program. Types of
insurance affected include:
Type of Coverage
Workers’
Compensation
Injury to Participants
13
Work Based Learning Explanation
State law will govern the issue of workers’ compensation for paid participants
in work based learning. The purpose of the Workers= Compensation Act in
Nebraska is to provide coverage to employees when they sustain injuries that
arise out of, and in the course of employment.
C Workers compensation laws provide a means of recovery for workers
where an employee/employer relationship exists. This relationship exists
if there is a contract for hire, either formal, informal or assumed between
the individual and entity, and if the individual receives some type of
compensation.
C Exceptions are federal employees, railroad employees, most
volunteers, and independent contractors.
C Farm and ranch laborers and household domestic servants are
covered under the Act only if the employer elects to provide worker=
compensation insurance for them.
C In the case of a volunteer or unpaid trainee, the entity for whom the
volunteered services are performed may choose to provide workers=
compensation insurance for its volunteers. However, this extension of
coverage is not binding on the volunteer and the individual may choose to
pursue an action in District Court.
C
Employers are required to carry workers= compensation insurance when
they have one or more employees. These employees may be full-time for
part-time.
C Paid cooperative education and apprenticeship participants would be
covered under the Workers= Compensation Act.
C Unpaid trainees and volunteers who are actually performing service
without compensation are not ordinarily covered under the Act.
C
Coverage under the Workers Compensation Act also provides
protection to the employer as well as the workers. Employers limit their
liabilities under the Act because the benefits to the worker are limited by
statute.
Participants
injured at the work site may need medical attention.
C If they are considered “employees” under the Worker=s Compensation Act,
expenses will ordinarily be paid by the sponsoring companies= worker=s
compensation policy.
C For student/visitors, volunteers, or unpaid trainees, expenses are
usually paid by the injured individual=s (or parents=) health insurance
policy.
C The “medical payments” provision of the sponsoring company=s general
liability policy would also provide similar coverage for non-employee
participants.
From http://www.nysweca.org/issues/PTIX%20-%20legal%20issues%201.pdf.
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Coverage for Lawsuits
A sponsoring company=s general liability policy pays claims and provides
legal defense against most types of suits brought against a company and its
employees, but such policies do not usually cover student/visitors,
volunteers, or certain unpaid trainees. Endorsements may extend the
coverage to student/visitors, volunteers, and unpaid trainees.
Employer Liability14
Liability shields are used to assign responsibility from a business to another person (e.g., intern or
external) or organization (e.g., college or university) and in case of an accident or property
damage. Types of liability shields include:
Type of Liability Shields
Work Based Learning Explanation
Waivers
Waivers are documents in which participants sign away their
right to bring a lawsuit in the event of injury or damage.
Waivers are not effective tools to use in working with young
people because courts seldom allow them to excuse
negligence or a duty owed a minor.
Consent Forms
Informed consent forms are documents that apprise the
participant (and parents or guardians) in detail of the risks
involved in the activity that he/she is about to perform.
Participants sign the document indicating that they have read
and understand the risks involved and agree not to bring a
lawsuit for any harm resulting from the identified risks. Consent
forms are generally upheld by courts, but they do not excuse
a company/school from responsibilities for its own negligence.
Examples would be consent forms to allow students to ride with a
parent volunteer on a field trip, or use of a training agreement
for a teen to work as an unpaid trainee.
Permission Slips
Permission slips are documents that inform parents and
guardians about the nature, location, and details of an activity.
Permission slips are helpful as a form of protection to a company
as a well-informed parent or guardian may not be as likely to
bring suit. I n
Indemnification agreements are used to shift financial burden for
injuries or damages arising from activities from one party to
another. The organization that signs the agreement must have
both an insurance policy and the proper funds to honor the
commitment to indemnify. Legal counsel or risk management
representatives should be consulted before signing an
indemnification agreement.
Indemnification Agreements
Noncompete/Nondisclosure
14
From http://www.nysweca.org/issues/PTIX%20-%20legal%20issues%201.pdf.
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To what extent do employers want interns/externs to sign such agreements?
Termination
How would such terms be addressed by the school, the intern/extern, and the employer?
Incentives
Should the state provide incentives to either the intern/extern or the employer to facilitate
relationships? If so, what should those incentives be?
For example, Gov. Rick Scott just recommended $1 million in proposed funding to partner with
high-tech companies in Florida to create a paid summer residency program for STEM (science,
technology, engineering and math) teachers to bring new industry trends in STEM fields back to
Florida’s K-12 classrooms.
And the state has long funded the Florida work experience program ($1.6 million in the current
year) –
1009.77
Florida Work Experience Program.—
(1) There is established the Florida Work Experience Program to be
administered by the Department of Education. The purpose of the
program is to introduce eligible students to work experience that will
complement and reinforce their educational program and career goals
and provide a self-help student aid program that reduces student loan
indebtedness. Additionally, the program’s opportunities for employment
at a student’s school will serve as a retention tool because students
employed on campus are more likely to complete their postsecondary
education. The program shall be available to:
(a) Any student attending a state university or Florida College System
institution authorized by Florida law;
(b) Any student attending a nonprofit Florida postsecondary education
institution that is eligible to participate in either of the student assistance
grant programs established in ss. 1009.51 and 1009.52;
(c) Any postsecondary student attending a career center operated by a
district school board under s. 1001.44; or
(d) Any student attending an educator preparation institute established
under s. 1004.85. Such student may participate in this program despite
having previously earned a baccalaureate degree.
(2)(a) A participating institution may use up to 100 percent of its
program allocation for student employment within the institution.
(b) A participating institution may use up to 10 percent of its program
allocation for program administration.
(3) Each participating institution is authorized to enter into contractual
agreements with private or public employers for the purpose of
establishing a Florida work experience program.
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(4) The participating postsecondary educational institution shall be
responsible for reimbursing employers for student wages from its
program allocation. Public elementary or secondary school employers or
postsecondary institution employers shall be reimbursed for 100 percent
of the student’s wages by the participating institution. All other employers
may be reimbursed for up to 70 percent of the student’s wages. When a
college or university employs a student on campus through this program,
other student financial aid funds may not be used to fund the institution’s
portion of the student’s wages.
(5) The employer is responsible for furnishing the full cost of any
mandatory benefits. Such benefits may not be considered part of the
wage requirement total for matching purposes.
(6) Each participating postsecondary educational institution is
responsible for furnishing the full cost of all preemployment
requirements, including, but not limited to, background screenings and
tuberculosis testing, that are necessary for a student to be employed by
a public elementary or secondary school employer. Expenditures under
this subsection shall be paid from the funds received by the participating
postsecondary educational institution.
(7) The employer is responsible for paying no less than the federal
minimum wage established under the Fair Labor Standards Act or the
state minimum wage established under s. 24, Art. X of the State
Constitution and s. 448.110, whichever is greater. Employers are
encouraged to pay students a competitive wage to increase student
participation in this program.
(8) A student is eligible to participate in the Florida Work Experience
Program if the student:
(a)
Is enrolled:
1. At an eligible college or university as no less than a half-time
undergraduate student in good standing;
2. In an eligible postsecondary career certificate program as no less
than a half-time student in good standing. Eligible programs must be
approved by the Department of Education and must consist of no less
than 450 clock hours of instruction. Such programs must be offered by a
career center operated by a district school board under s. 1001.44 or by
a Florida College System institution; or
3. At an educator preparation institute established under s. 1004.85 as
no less than a half-time student in good standing.
However, a student may be employed during the break between two
consecutive terms or employed, although not enrolled, during a term if
the student was enrolled at least half time during the preceding term and
preregisters as no less than a half-time student for the subsequent
academic term. A student who attends an institution that does not
provide preregistration shall provide documentation of intent to enroll as
no less than a half-time student for the subsequent academic term.
(b) Meets the general requirements for student eligibility as provided in
s. 1009.40, except as otherwise provided in this section.
(c) Submits a Free Application for Federal Student Aid which is
complete and error free prior to disbursement and demonstrates financial
need, with the first priority of funding given to students who demonstrate
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need by qualifying and receiving federal Pell Grant funds up to the full
cost of tuition and fees per term.
(d) Maintains the equivalent of a cumulative grade point average of a
2.0 on a 4.0 scale.
(9) The State Board of Education shall adopt rules for the program as
are necessary for its administration, for the determination of eligibility and
selection of institutions to receive funds for students, to ensure the
proper expenditure of funds, and to provide an equitable distribution of
funds between students at public and independent colleges and
universities and career centers operated by district school boards under
s. 1001.44.
(10) A participating institution that receives funds from the program
shall certify to the department the amount of funds disbursed to each
student within 30 days after the end of each term.
(11) Funding for the program shall be as provided in the General
Appropriations Act.
Performance Measurement
How would the state know if its internship/externship program is qualitatively and quantitatively
successful?
Possible Project Questions
1.
To what extent should the state be involved in the facilitation of postsecondary student
internships and teacher externships? If the state is involved, what are some best practices that
could be replicated across programs?
2.
How would the state know if its internship/externship program is qualitatively and
quantitatively successful?
Possible Next Steps

Conduct a literature review regarding postsecondary student internship/teacher
externship best practices and relevant laws in other states

Query the business community about their opinions of postsecondary student
internships/teacher externships, including any existing programs
10

Query educational sectors/institutions about their opinions of postsecondary student
internships/teacher externships, including any existing programs
11