How does a school go about incorporating experiential learning into the curriculum? What characteristics might the programs include?
Some features are driven by the curriculum, by whether students are pursuing a graduate degree or a baccalaureate degree and whether students are attending school on a full-time or part-time basis. Other features may be driven by the objectives sought or resource constraints. All programs absorb school resources to develop and maintain, but the amount of resources required can vary widely based on the program features (see section on Implementation Guidelines).
Here are some examples of possible program features, categorized by the degree of commitment on the part of the school. [Note: The two columns on the right of the chart represent two ends of a continuum, with many possibilities in between.]
|
Characteristic |
Higher Degree of Involvement on the Part of the School |
Lower Degree of Involvement on the Part of the School |
|
Academic credit |
Students can earn academic credit for participation. |
Students cannot earn academic credit. |
|
Required vs. voluntary |
Students are required to participate in order to meet graduation requirements. |
Students may choose to participate, but are not required to do so as a condition for graduation. |
|
Compensation (if applicable); free market vs. controlled market |
School prescribes the compensation to be paid and/or authorizes the employers who will be entitled to participate. |
Students are not paid, or employers are free to compete for students as they choose. |
|
Minimum standards are established for participation in the program (such as "at least junior standing" or "3.0 grade point average") |
Students must have achieved a minimum class standing (e.g. only juniors or seniors are eligible), have taken certain prerequisite courses (e.g. auditing or income tax) or have a minimum grade point average (e.g. >3.0) to participate |
Any student is free to participate if they wish. |
|
Matching of students and employers |
School makes all arrangements and assigns students to specific employers. |
Employers interview students and decide who will receive offers |
|
Learning objectives |
The program specifies a series of learning objectives that each student is expected to achieve. Faculty members seek to ascertain: a.) that the opportunity to achieve these objectives is being provided by the employer; and/or b.) that the objectives are being met. |
No specified learning objectives. |
|
Pre-program seminars |
Faculty and/or career services staff present one or more seminars about success in the "real world", common mistakes that students make, etc. |
No seminars |
|
Monitoring during the internship |
Faculty actively monitor students' performance and provide counseling. |
No monitoring |
|
Duration |
Internship lasts an entire semester. |
Internship lasts a month, or less. |
|
Grading (assuming there is academic credit) |
Grades are assigned on the same basis as in traditional academic courses. Grades depend in large measure on an evaluation of written materials, such as periodic status reports and/or a concluding reflective paper |
Students take the course on a "pass/fail" basis. |
Internships can also be analyzed based on the role or degree of involvement on the part of the employer.
|
Characteristic |
Higher Degree of Involvement on the Part of the Employer |
Lower Degree of Involvement on the Part of the Employer
|
|
Duration |
Program lasts an entire semester. |
Program is a month or less in duration. |
|
Number of hours worked each week |
Students work on a full-time basis. |
Students work on a part-time basis. |
|
Learning objectives |
School prescribes learning objectives that the employer commits to provide for the students, and employer provides evidence (e.g. job description) of how they will meet these objectives. |
Employer is free to assign projects that meet its needs, without regard to whether specified learning objectives will be achieved by the intern. |
|
Providing feedback to the school concerning student performance. |
Employer is required to provide feedback to the school. |
No feedback required. |