Internship Syllabus

You must do your own work; grading is on the basis of the work you do. Plagiarism, cheating, and other violations of academic integrity, is spelled out in your TSU Student Handbook, will earn a grade of zero for that assignment. Sharing work or otherwise assisting another student in violating the standards of academic integrity will likewise earn a grade of zero for that assignment. Two such violations in the semester will result in a grade of F for the semester.

Internship COMM 3950

Intern Information Form  

Name:   ___________________________________________________________________                                                                                                                    

Local/Campus Address    _____________________________________________________                

Local/Campus Phone(s) ______________________________________________________

Home Address _____________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________________________

Home Phone _______________________________________________________________

e-mail address _____________________________________________________________

Internship Location   ________________________________________________________

Supervisor ________________________________________________________________

Supervisor's Phone ____________________________________________

Supervisor's e-mail ____________________________________________

Schedule:

               Monday _____________________________

               Tuesday _____________________________

               Wednesday ___________________________

               Thursday _____________________________

               Friday _______________________________

               Saturday _____________________________

                Sunday ______________________________

Internship Information

Tennessee State University Department of Communications

INSTRUCTOR: Dr. Coreen Jackson

Dept. of Communications, Tennessee State Univ., 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd, Nashville, TN 37209        Phone (615) 963-1546; e-mail cjackson7@tnstate.edu

Objectives of the Internship Course

Internship practicum experience serves four purposes:

1. Gives students an opportunity to explore career possibilities in communication

2. Building on classroom knowledge, gives students an opportunity to learn the disciplines, skills and attitudes which can best or only be learned on the job, especially self-discipline, teamwork, responsibility, and initiative

3. Lets students further develop practical skills in a real-world context

4. Provides students an opportunity to strengthen their portfolios or tapes with practical experience and additional projects.

Internship Course Policies and Requirements

             This course is open to juniors and seniors who have at least a 2.5 grade-point average and the basic courses in the area of internship. These are usually Broadcasting in America and Radio-Television Production, or Survey of Journalism and Newswriting. Students in Theatre or Speech must have two junior level courses appropriate to those areas. The instructor reserves the right to refuse admission to the class to any student, and this course is not open to students whom we do not know.

             Interns must accumulate a minimum of 150 clock hours on their internships during the semester. This is an average of about 10 hours per week, finishing before final exam week. An intern's total work hours plus other requirements add up to about the normal amount of time a student would spend attending and studying for any other three-semester-hour course. Interns are expected to keep a schedule agreed upon between the supervisor and the intern. Interns' time sheets, signed by the supervisor, must be attached to their weekly reports.

             Internship supervisors have the right to any intern who is not performing satisfactorily or who is causing problems.  Internships that do not work out for reasons beyond the control of the intern will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis.

             Interns submit weekly written reports telling me what they did that week, if they are having any problems or have any questions, and generally what skills and knowledge they are developing. At the end of the semester interns submit final reports, reflecting on what they learned and gained from their internships. In addition, interns submit copies of portfolio materials, copy/stories written, video- or audiotapes, etc.

             The internship supervisor is expected to submit an evaluation at the end of the semester, and to contact me if there are any problems. Supervisors' evaluations count 35% of interns' grades. A sample of the evaluation form is on the back of this page. Evaluation of achievement of the agreed learning objectives (35% of the interns grade), is done jointly by the supervisor and the instructor.

Intern's Midterm Evaluation by Supervisor

Tennessee State University Department of Communications

Name of intern: _____________________________   Date: _________________

Name of supervisor (please print or type): _________________________________

Title of supervisor:_______________________________________________

Company or agency : ________________________________________________

Signature of supervisor: ______________________________________________

Supervisor's evaluation counts 35% of intern's grade.

(Scale: Excellent =20 pts., Good = 15 pts., Average = 10 pts., Fair =5 pts., Poor = 0 pts.)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Quality of work . . . . . . . . . . .                        ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

Quantity of work . . . . . . . . . .                       ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                        ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

Professional attitude . . . . . . .                      ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

Attendance & punctuality . . . . .         ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

Interpersonal . . . . . . . . . . . . .                      ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

             (Gets along well with employees and supervisor)

Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                   ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

(Is developing skills or gaining knowledge rapidly; takes advantage of opportunities to practice skills and learn about the profession and the field)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Comments

Thank you. Dr. Coreen Jackson, Internship Instructor

Dept. of Communications, Tennessee State University, 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd., Nashville, TN 37209      Telephone (615) 963-1546, FAX (615) 963-5805, e-mail cjackson7@tnstate.edu

Intern's Final Evaluation by Supervisor

Tennessee State University Department of Communications

Name of intern: _____________________________   Date: _________________

Name of supervisor (please print or type): _________________________________

Title of supervisor:_______________________________________________

Company or agency : ________________________________________________

Signature of supervisor: ______________________________________________

Supervisor's evaluation counts 35% of intern's grade.

(Scale: Excellent =20 pts., Good = 15 pts., Average = 10 pts., Fair =5 pts., Poor = 0 pts.)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Quality of work . . . . . . . . . . .                           ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

Quantity of work . . . . . . . . . .                          ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

Initiative . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                            ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

Professional attitude . . . . . . .                          ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

Attendance & punctuality . . . . .              ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

Interpersonal . . . . . . . . . . . . .                        ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

             (Gets along well with employees and supervisor)

Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                        ____ excellent   ____ good   ____ average   ____ fair   ____ poor

(Is developing skills or gaining knowledge rapidly; takes advantage of opportunities to practice skills and learn about the profession and the field)

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Comments

Thank you. Dr. Coreen Jackson, Internship Instructor

Dept. of Communications, Tennessee State University, 3500 John A. Merritt Blvd., Nashville, TN 37209      Telephone (615) 963-1546, FAX (615) 963-5805, e-mail cjackson7@tnstate.edu

Agreement to Accept Intern

Tennessee State University

Intern Supervisor:

Please fill out this form and mail it back to: (or fax to 615-963-5805)

             Dr. Coreen Jackson, Internship Instructor

             Dept. of Communications

             Tennessee State University

             3500 John A. Merritt Blvd.

             Nashville, TN 37209

____________________________________________________ (name of company or organization)

accepts   ____________________________________________ (name of intern)

as an intern for the Fall, Semester, 2009. This intern will be working in the

____________________________________________________ (name of department).

             We understand that this student will receive three semester-hours of academic credit from Tennessee State University via enrollment in COMM 3950, (formerly COMM 4420) Internship, and that our evaluation of the intern, plus the intern's successful achievement of the agreed learning objectives, counts 70% of the intern's grade. We further understand that we can terminate this internship at any time by notifying the intern, if possible, and the Internship instructor, Dr. Coreen Jackson (615-963-1546 or cjackson7@tnstate.edu).

             We have received from the intern or the instructor an Internship Information page and a sample copy of the Intern Evaluation by Supervisor form (on the back of the Internship Information sheet). We have also agreed with the intern and instructor, or will do so by the beginning of the semester, on the intern's learning objectives for the semester. We will schedule the intern for a minimum of 150 clock hours during the course of the semester.

________________________________________________________ (name and title of supervisor)

________________________________________________________ (address)

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________

________________________________________________________ (telephone number)

________________________________________________________ (e-mail)

Signed,   _________________________________________________

Internship Learning Objectives Agreement

Tennessee State University

             Interns' payback for the time, effort, and tuition dollars they invest in their internships is the professional knowledge and skills they gain from the experience. An internship can be considered a success only if the intern comes out of the internship substantially better prepared for an entry-level, professional job in the field. While it is normal for interns to do a certain amount of clerical work and  "gofering" (as we all do), we have to be able to hold the intern accountable for substantial, professional-level learning achievements.

             To that end, we ask that each intern and supervisor meet at or before the beginning of the semester to agree on a list of learning objectives for that intern a Learning Objectives Agreement. Each objective should tell how the accomplishment of that objective will be documented, and should indicate how that achievement will be evaluated. The supervisor and intern should both sign this document, with a copy to the instructor, who must also approve the agreement. When possible, the exhibits and perhaps the evaluations should be able to serve as portfolio material for the intern.

             Learning objectives will, of course, depend on the area of the internship and the interests of the intern. The professional skills needed for an entry-level position in the department of internship are very appropriate as learning objectives. Professional contacts (networking) is also an appropriate objective in some cases. Clerical skills (e.g., learning to operate a fax machine, learning Microsoft Word or Excel, or compiling mailing lists) may be involved in the internship but are not appropriate for learning objectives. While clerical skills are not appropriate objectives, larger tasks which require these skills may be legitimate objectives, for example, preparing a sales presentation using PowerPoint.

             Evaluations may be quantitative (intern will do x number of ... at a professionally-acceptable level of quality) or qualitative, or both. For qualitative evaluations, a summary of the supervisor's, or other appropriate professional's, evaluation is acceptable. The intern can type up the summary for the evaluator's signature.

Examples of Learning Objectives    (All taken from recent intern accomplishments.)

Objective: [The Intern will] Learn to write effective news releases

Exhibit: A minimum of five news releases, as distributed

Evaluation: Summaries of supervisor's evaluations

Bonus: Clips of stories published from news releases

Objective: Be able to floor manage a daily talk show successfully

Exhibit: Credits, or letter from supervisor listing shows floor managed

Evaluation: Shows ran smoothly, as certified by supervisor or director

Objective: Learn to research, propose, organize and present a promotional event for a radio station

Exhibit: Notebook including research materials, proposal, planning materials, etc.

Evaluation: Summary of supervisor's evaluation

Objective:   Learn to prepare one-sheets (for sales proposals)

Exhibit: Five or more one-sheets

Evaluation: At least five one-sheets will be used in sales presentations

Objective: Intern will meet and talk with at least 15 professionals in the area of the internship

Exhibit: Business cards and summaries of conversations

Evaluation: Intern will present at least 15 business cards and summaries of conversations.