Rewriting an Internship Program
Peter Fenton
Kennesaw State University
Michael B. Shapiro
Georgia State University
Staffing of Prior Program
Kennesaw State University
• BEFORE: 1 Internship
Coordinator who served as a
member of 3-faculty panel,
one of whom was from
outside SCJ
• AFTER: 1 Internship
Coordinator who also is the
sole course instructor
Georgia State University
• BEFORE: 1 Internship
Coordinator who occasionally
also served as course
instructor, plus 1 CTW
consultant
• AFTER: 1 Internship
Coordinator who occasionally
serves as course instructor, 2
additional faculty (1 full-time,
1 part-time) serving as
instructors, plus 1 WAC
Consultant per section
Assignments
Kennesaw State University
Georgia State University
• BEFORE: 12-15 page research
paper containing “learning
objectives” from each panel
member, 20-30 minute
presentation at semester’s end
made only to the faculty panel
• AFTER: 12-15 page paper on
key features of the host
agency, 15 minute
presentation to faculty
internship coordinator and
small group of fellow interns
• BEFORE: Program Plan, draft
of Issue Essay with required
topic, Oral & PowerPoint
presentation, final Issue Essay,
Reflective Essay, Poster
Presentation
• AFTER: Program Plan,
Descriptive Essay, 2
Roundtable Discussion
sessions, Oral & PowerPoint
presentation, Resolution Essay,
Reflective Essay, Poster
Presentation
Class Size
Kennesaw State University
• BEFORE: No cap on
enrollment; 25 to 50+
spring, summer and fall
• AFTER: No cap on
enrollment; 25 to 50+
spring, summer and fall
Georgia State University
• BEFORE: 45 to > 50 spring,
summer and fall
• AFTER: 45 to > 50 spring,
summer and fall split into
sections of 30 or less
Student (Dis)Satisfaction
Kennesaw State University
Georgia State University
• BEFORE: The only major concern
was recruiting faculty committee
members and scheduling their
presence at pre-and postinternship meetings
• BEFORE: “The internship class
should be based around our
internship experience…eliminate
the poster board presentation”
“The issue paper should not be
the center of the class…our
experience in the internship is
much more valuable” “The
coursework is sort of irrelevant to
the internship goals…the work
actually distracts from the
internship experience”
• AFTER: First semester of changes,
so no student feedback to date
• AFTER: 3 semesters after the
process was revised, student
feedback has been almost
universally favorable
Faculty (Dis)Satisfaction
Kennesaw State University
Georgia State University
• BEFORE: As class sizes
increased, it became
increasingly difficult to secure
faculty committee members.
Final papers were disjointed
due to multiple “learning
objectives”
• BEFORE: As class sizes
increased from low teens to
more than 50, there was little
time to teach; significant
number of graded assignments
combined with ever increasing
class size reduced faculty
involvement to that of a
grading machine
• AFTER: Significant faculty
satisfaction at revising course
curriculum, plus making
curriculum match expected
professional work
• AFTER: New format makes for
more efficient time
management, student papers
and presentations are more
meaningful and relevant
Refocus of Coursework
Kennesaw State University
• BEFORE: N/A
• AFTER: Student papers and
presentations are more
focused on each intern’s
agency, its mission and
function; students interact
with peers at seminars and
learn from one another’s
experiences
Georgia State University
• BEFORE: N/A
• AFTER: Scaffolded
assignments include
Descriptive Essay, 2
Roundtable Discussions,
Oral & PowerPoint
presentation, Resolution
Essay
Evaluations
Kennesaw State University
• BEFORE: N/A
• AFTER: Virtually no
negative responses in
evaluations to date
Georgia State University
• BEFORE: N/A
• AFTER: Need to evaluate
both student and faculty
satisfaction during and after
Fall Semester, 2015;
feedback from future
internship students during
orientation has been
entirely positive
Tracking
Kennesaw State University
• BEFORE: N/A
• AFTER: A 2011 survey of
recent graduates revealed
50% were working in CJ,
20% with the host agency;
time for another survey of
graduates 2012-2015
Georgia State University
• BEFORE: N/A
• AFTER: Anecdotal only;
need to more accurately
survey student placement
within discipline after
internship and graduation