Students feel internships deserve more credit
Administrators argue the academic value of internships equals one credit; many students do independent studies instead
"I think students are just not even considering it anymore. Before it was being considered; now [when] it's one credit versus pay, obviously you're going to pick pay," he said.
Woolwine added that the possibility of earning three credits would make him strongly consider having an internship.
"The problem is that myself and maybe other students are in a similar situation needing money more than credits," he said.
Additional concerns included students not being properly compensated for the amount of work being done.
"My purpose for being here is to be better suited for the real world. That internship should be worth three or six [credits]," Student Council Vice President for Activities Andrew Gerba said.
"In terms of one academic course that I have taken, I can assure you that I put more energy and learned more from my internship than I drew from any individual class from the University," he added.
Gerba worked nine hours a day for two months in an unpaid internship at International Management Group over the summer.
For his work at the talent agency and production company, he earned one credit
"You can do the math. That's 40 to 45 hour weeks for 9 weeks, putting close to 400 hours. It seems a little ludicrous when there are other kids in the same internship getting 9 to 12 credits for the summer," he said.
Burger responded by asserting that the work was not of an academic nature, and that different universities have different policies, some of which are more stringent than the one at Hopkins.
"If he wants, he could go to a faculty member and he could write a paper on how insurance markets are affected by downturn in the economy. You don't get an amount of academic credit for putting in the hours. But there is a way that you could certainly produce something that is credit worthy and capable of being evaluated by a faculty member," Burger said.
The CIW outlined the methodology of awarding credit and recommended they continue the policy that students should not be able to earn more than three credits for research, independent study, or internship credit per semester.
Woolwine added that the possibility of earning three credits would make him strongly consider having an internship.
"The problem is that myself and maybe other students are in a similar situation needing money more than credits," he said.
Additional concerns included students not being properly compensated for the amount of work being done.
"My purpose for being here is to be better suited for the real world. That internship should be worth three or six [credits]," Student Council Vice President for Activities Andrew Gerba said.
"In terms of one academic course that I have taken, I can assure you that I put more energy and learned more from my internship than I drew from any individual class from the University," he added.
Gerba worked nine hours a day for two months in an unpaid internship at International Management Group over the summer.
For his work at the talent agency and production company, he earned one credit
"You can do the math. That's 40 to 45 hour weeks for 9 weeks, putting close to 400 hours. It seems a little ludicrous when there are other kids in the same internship getting 9 to 12 credits for the summer," he said.
Burger responded by asserting that the work was not of an academic nature, and that different universities have different policies, some of which are more stringent than the one at Hopkins.
"If he wants, he could go to a faculty member and he could write a paper on how insurance markets are affected by downturn in the economy. You don't get an amount of academic credit for putting in the hours. But there is a way that you could certainly produce something that is credit worthy and capable of being evaluated by a faculty member," Burger said.
The CIW outlined the methodology of awarding credit and recommended they continue the policy that students should not be able to earn more than three credits for research, independent study, or internship credit per semester.
Be the first to comment on this story