Individual Study

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student on stage with a small melon, multiple screens and projections behind them on stage

What is Individual Study?

Individual Study is for students ready for an advanced level of academic work and students who are interested or required to gain professional work experience for a program or course. 

Types of Individual Study

Individual Learning Contract (ILC)

You can negotiate an Individual Learning Contract with a faculty/staff sponsor who has knowledge in the area to be studied. In consultation with the sponsor, you initiate the agreement to undertake work at an advanced level, develop specific learning goals and identify and complete learning activities. The sponsor agrees to provide appropriate oversight, support and advice.

Internship Learning Contract (INT)

An Internship Learning Contract includes applied work experience that is negotiated by you, a field supervisor in an organization or business you will work for and a faculty/staff sponsor. You arrange to spend an agreed-upon number of hours (paid or unpaid) working with an organization, engaging in activities that provide new learning for you and at the same time provide benefits to the host organization. Many internship contracts also include an academic component which you negotiate with the faculty/staff sponsor.

In-Program Learning

If you are or will be registered in an academic program and your individual study will document work you will be doing to earn credit within that program, follow the same steps for Internship Learning Contracts. You do not have to register your contract with Registration and Records, but you must still file all relevant forms and accept the conditions of your contract.

Individual Study and Study Abroad 

Evergreen's unique Individual Learning contracts can take place in another country! Students can create their own study abroad experience through an Individual Learning Contract or Internship Learning Contract with the help of a faculty advisor. 

Learn more about Study Abroad

Contract Due Dates

Fall Quarter: Friday, September 22, 2023
Winter Quarter: Friday, December 8, 2023
Spring Quarter: Friday, March 15, 2024
Summer Quarter: Friday, June 7, 2024

a group of students sitting outside in the dirt doing stream research

Internship Learning Contracts

Get credit for professional experience with an INT! Work with an organization engaging in activities that provide you with new learning while benefiting your host organization. Internships may be paid or unpaid and can earn credit!

student in television studio with magenta color background

Individual Learning Contracts

If you're prepared to study at an advanced level, have completed basic work in the classroom, are capable of working independently, and are prepared to develop your own syllabus for the quarter, an ILC may be right for you!

Plan Your Experience

Getting Started

Make a plan

Plan Ahead

Make sure to review relevant policies for any Individual Study you want to pursue to ensure you meet the minnimum requirements. 

If you want to start individual study for a specific quarter, you should start working on it at the beginning of the previous quarter (except fall internships, which should be planned in previous spring quarter).

Meet with an Academic Advisor to talk about how an internship or individual study will fit into your academic journey and future plans. Consider how many hours per week you have to devote to an internship, based on how many credits you want to earn.

Suggested Timeline

To help you think about planning your workload, there are some standard estimated hours of work per week that are expected based on the number of credits you are taking. This grid is only a guideline. Consult with your sponsor for specific expectations of your workload and time commitment.

Undergraduate Credit and Hours Grid
Credits Hours per week Total hours per quarter
2 5 50
4 10 100
6 15 150
8 20 200
10 25 250
12 30 300
14 35 350
16 40 400

Graduate credit to hours: 2 credits/10 hours and 4 credits/20 hours 

Find an Internship Site

For INT Students Only

You may already have an idea of where you want to work based on personal or professional connections. In that case, you can start the paperwork. Otherwise, there are many ways to find a good place for your internship.

  • Students can search for internship opportunities through our student employment platform, Handshake and learn more on the Student Employment site. 
  • The Center for Community-Based Learning and Action has information about internships in community-based organizations.
  • Faculty who teach in your area of interest may be aware of organizations that have hosted Evergreen interns in the past.
  • You can approach an organization that's doing work that interests you and see if you can negotiate an internship with them.
  • If you are applying for an internship that is high demand or where you don't already have a connection, you may need to write a resume and cover letter. You may also be interviewed for the position. Academic and Career Advising can help you prepare.

Your internship organization must complete an Internship Site Agreement if it hasn't already done so in the last year unless it is an official Washington state government agency. Your supervisor at the site will be considered your field supervisor for contract approval and evaluations.

You may view a list of internship organizations that have previously supported Evergreen students in the Resources section.

Find a Sponsor

For INT and ILC Students

About Sponsors

You must have a faculty or staff sponsor for your internship or individual study. Sponsors expect to see a working draft of your proposal at the time you are approaching them to be your sponsor.

For internship students, you may be able to identify this sponsor before or after finding your internship site. 

What is a Contract Proposal?

  • A contract proposal is meant to fill a specific purpose or offer deeper study into a concept touched on in a program you’ve taken. 
  • A contract is not intended to substitute for an existing program that you would otherwise be able to take. Sponsors will take this into consideration when deciding whether or not they will accept your proposal.
  • Well-developed contract proposals will be met with the most willingness from sponsors – it is in your best interest to develop your contract around a topic you are passionate about and ensure that it meets the standards of college-level learning before approaching a potential sponsor.
  • A sponsor may participate in helping you shape your individual learning proposal before finalizing it; however, they typically will not consider your proposal unless you already have a draft contract when approaching them.

Who Can be a Sponsor

Any full-time member of the faculty who has been teaching for at least one year can sponsor individual learning. Additionally, there are some members of the college staff and some part-time faculty who are authorized to sponsor a limited number of contracts. 

Evergreen Tacoma Students: Proposals for Individual or Internship Learning Contracts will be pre-approved by the Tacoma Program Individual Study Review Committee prior to being approved. If approved, students may proceed with developing the learning contract. 

Graduate Students: Sponsors for graduate learning contracts must be pre-approved by the program director. Refer to your graduate program office to find out which faculty are approved to sponsor.

Determining an Appropriate Sponsor

Your sponsor must be someone who has sufficient expertise in the area in which you are working to support and evaluate your work, learning from the experience and award appropriate academic credit.

You will want to make sure that there is no conflict of interest between you and your potential sponsor. 

Initial steps to find a sponsor

  1. Contact current or past faculty with whom you have worked. Someone who knows your work, academic background and abilities and who has helped you develop your academic direction.
  2. Get a recommendation from current or past faculty with whom you have worked. Program faculty may also be able to recommend whom among their colleagues you might want to consider working with.
  3. Summer Contracts: Check the summer sponsor list for faculty willing to take contracts over the summer.

Develop a Learning Contract

Go to My Evergreen and select “Individual Study Contracts.” Once there, follow the online application prompts. 

Internship Learning Contracts

Once you have a site and a field supervisor, you’ll need to complete a contract in My Evergreen in which you spell out your planned internship activities as well as your learning objectives.

In order to earn academic credit for an internship, your work must lead to college-level learning. So for example, you can't earn credit for an internship that just involves filing papers, but could for an internship that involves developing a database system.

Individual Learning Contracts

You must have a faculty or staff sponsor for your contract. Faculty expect to see a working draft of your ILC proposal at the time you are approaching them to be your sponsor. 

Once you have a commitment from a potential sponsor, you will negotiate and get feedback from him/her on specific learning objectives, learning activities, subcontractor support, academic support, evaluation and appropriate award of credit. Use the online contract process to share a draft contract to begin negotiation with your sponsor.

When developing a contract both the student and sponsor should discuss use of technology with regard to working on the contract over the term. The faculty sponsor’s requirements for use of technology by the student must refer to technology that the college currently administers and supports. 

My Evergreen

Help Wiki

Finalize Your Plan

Finalize Your Internship Learning Contract

When your internship is ready for approval, you will mark it “Ready for Approval.” in My Evergreen. All required approvals will appear in your contract as a checklist.

Registering Your internship: All approvals must be done by the internship deadline prior to academic dean approval. Once a dean approves the internship, you will “Accept Term and Conditions” of the internship and it will move forward in the registration process.

Documenting Your In Program Internship: Once all approvals are complete within the contract you will “Accept Term and Conditions” of the internship and it will be confirmed. You do not need to register your contract with Registration and Records.

Finalize Your Individual Learning Contract

When your Individual Learning Contract is ready for approval, you will mark it "Ready for Approval." All required approvals will appear in your contract as a checklist.

Registering Your Individual Learning Contract: All approvals must be done by the deadline prior to academic dean approval. Once a dean approves it, you will "Accept Term and Conditions" and it will move forward in the registration process.

Documenting Your In Program Individual Learning Contract: Once all approvals are complete within the contract, you will "Accept Term and Conditions" of the ILC and it will be confirmed. You do not need to register your contract with Registration and Records.

Individual Study Resources 

Expired Internship Agreements

Recently Expired Agreements

Internship Organization Agreement Began Expiration Date
All3Media America Fall Quarter 2022 September 14, 2023
Archive Portland Fall Quarter 2022 September 22, 2023
Capital Land Trust Fall Quarter 2022 September 20, 2023
Chosen One House of Deliverance Fall Quarter 2022 September 21, 2023
Cora Davidson Consulting Fall Quarter 2022 September 22, 2023
Critical What?! Fall Quarter 2022 September 21, 2023
Elma Elementary School Winter Quarter 2023 November 18, 2023
Father Muller Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital Fall Quarter 2022 September 24, 2023
KAOS-FM Community Radio Fall Quarter 2022 September 22, 2023
Lacey Museum Winter Quarter 2023 December 6, 2023
Lincoln Children's Zoo Winter Quarter 2023 November 28, 2023
McLane Black Lake Fire Departement Fall Quarter 2022 September 13, 2023
Native Plant Salvage Foundation Winter Quarter 2023 December 8, 2023
Navopatia Field Station Winter Quarter 2023 December 6, 2023
Northwest Resources Winter Quarter 2023 November 15, 2023
Olympia Tree Care Winter Quarter 2023 November 17, 2023
Pierce County Human Services Winter Quarter 2023 December 5, 2023
Quixote Community Village Fall Quarter 2022 September 29, 2023
The Farm of Minnesoda Winter Quarter 2023 December 1, 2023

Active Internship Organizations

This is a list of active internship organizations that have completed and submitted an internship site agreement with Evergreen. Site agreements cannot be used in the quarter they expire and must be renewed. 

Active Agreements

Internship Organization

Agreement Begins

Expiration Date

Butler Family Forest Spring Quarter 2023 March 10, 2024
Camp Nor'wester, Johns Island Summer 2023 June 5, 2024
City of Tumwater Spring Quarter 2023 April 12, 2024
Community Action Council of Lewis, Mason, & Thurston Counties Spring Quarter 2023 March 15, 2024
Community Youth Services Spring Quarter 2023 March 7, 2023
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Center (SPSCC) Fall 2023 September 20, 2024
Exobody Spring Quarter 2023 March 5, 2024
FRESH Spring Quarter 2023 April 24, 2023
Garden Raised Bounty (GRuB) Spring Quarter 2023 April 17, 2024
Ghetto Film School LA Summer 2023 June 26, 2024
Granting the Future Spring Quarter 2023 March 9, 2024
Hatfield Marine Science Center, Oregon State University Spring Quarter 2023 February 6, 2024
Health and Hope Free Clinic/Medical Outreach Spring Quarter 2023 April 18, 2024
Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group Spring Quarter 2023 March 16, 2024
House of Welcome Cultural Arts Center Spring Quarter 2023 March 9, 2024
JBLM Fish & Wildlife Spring Quarter 2023 March 16, 2024
Kokua Services Spring Quarter 2023 April 6, 2024
Loot Labs Spring Quarter 2023 March 30, 2024
McIntire Family Farm Summer 2023 June 8, 2024
Molecular Information System Laboratory (MISL), University of Washington Summer 2023 June 12, 2024
Mount Rainier National Park Summer 2023 May 12, 2024
National Coalition for the Homeless Summer 2023 May 24, 2024
Nisquall River Foundation Spring Quarter 2023 April 18, 2024
Nisqually National Wildlife Refuge Complex Spring Quarter 2023 March 6, 2024
Nisqually Reach Nature Center Summer 2023 May 22, 2024
Northwest Cooperative Development Center (NWCDC) Spring Quarter 2023 April 17, 2024
OdySea Aquarium Summer 2023 May 24, 2024
Olympia Community Solar Spring Quarter 2023 April 6, 2024
Olympia Regional Learning Academy (ORLA) Fall 2023 September 27, 2024
Partners in Prevention Education Summer 2023 June 5, 2024
Planning the Next Steps Summer 2023 May 11, 2024
PoodleShark Games Winter Quarter 2023 December 14, 2023
Parents Oranizing for Welfare and Economic Rights (POWER) Summer 2023 June 23, 2024
Quixote Village Spring Quarter 2023 April 17, 2024
Quixote Villlage Spring Quarter 2023 March 22, 2024
Red May Spring Quarter 2023 March 17, 2024
Reliable Enterprises Summer 2023 June 8, 2024
Salish Roots Farm Spring Quarter 2023 May 1, 2023
Seattle Opera Fall 2023 September 7, 2024
Sound Learning Spring Quarter 2023 April 25, 2024
Starpoint Investments, LLC Spring Quarter 2023 April 25, 2024
Sundance Farm Summer 2023 June 7, 2024
Tacoma Public Library Spring Quarter 2023 March 14, 2024
The Black Sheep Yarn Boutique Spring Quarter 2023 March 15, 2024
The Failte Centre Summer 2023 May 24, 2024
The Rachel Corrie Foundation Spring Quarter 2023 February 7, 2024
The Russell Family Foundation Spring Quarter 2023 March 13, 2024
Timberline High School Fall 2023 September 7, 2024
Together! Spring Quarter 2023 May 1, 2024
Urban Futures Farm Summer 2023 June 25, 2024
Washington State Archive Spring Quarter 2023 February 22, 2024
West Coast Elite Basketball Fall 2023 September 14, 2024
Window Seat Media Spring Quarter 2023 March 20, 2024
Wolf Haven International Spring Quarter 2023 March 14, 2024

Internship Site Agreements

You May Need to Complete a Site Agreement

In order for Evergreen students to complete an internship at your site we require that there be an institutional agreement between your internship site and The Evergreen State College.

Please note: Site Agreements are not required for internships sponsored by any official governmental agency of the State of Washington.

If your site is not an official governmental agency sponsored by the State of Washington, and you or a representative from your site have not already done so in the last year, please complete and have an authorized party at your site sign and return the Internship Site Agreement to the Academic Deans Office at The Evergreen State College.

The internship site agrees to:

  • Maintain a safe working environment and inform students of particular risks related to different activities so that students can knowledgeably agree to participate.
  • Comply with federal and state laws regarding nondiscrimination and sexual harassment in the work place.
  • Follow Labor and Industries requirements regarding fair labor standards, particularly as they relate to paid and unpaid internships.

In addition each party to this agreement agrees that:
They will be responsible for their own negligent acts and the negligent acts or omissions of its own employees, officers, or agents in the performance of this Agreement. No party will be considered the agent of the other and neither party assumes any responsibility to the other party for the consequences of any act or omission of any person, firm, or corporation not a party to this Agreement.

Process for submittal:
Field Supervisors and/or organizations are responsible for signing this agreement and submitting it to the Academic Deans Office. The agreement will last for one year and may be extended. Please contact the Academic Deans Office for more information.

Individual Study Policies

Policies

All undergraduate students must adhere to the following policies.

Week 10 Deadline for Contracts

You must have your contract submitted and approved online by the sponsor and all other approvers, with the exception of the academic dean, by Friday of Week 10 of the quarter before the start of your contract, with the exception of Fall Quarter, which has been extended to the date below.

Petition for an Exception to this Policy

In rare circumstances, it may be possible to be given an exception to this policy. The following considerations will be used to decide whether or not an exception is warranted. In most cases, affirmative answers to all the criteria would need to be given for an exception to be granted, although we recognize there may be rare extenuating circumstances not covered below.

  • The student has already completed a program at Evergreen prior to starting this contract
  • The student has not attempted more than 48 credits in individual study contracts
  • The contract is exceptionally strong academically
  • One or more of the following:
    • A program in which the student enrolled was canceled or changed
    • There was a substantial and unavoidable delay, beyond the control of the student, in obtaining approvals or signatures for internship waivers
    • The dean asked the student to make revisions to the contract after the deadline

The deans will consider all petitions on their merits, based on these criteria, with faculty statement considered. Petitions involving shorter contracts for eight or fewer credits will be viewed more favorably. Petitions will only be considered by deans up to Friday of Week 2 of the quarter. Late registration fees would be $50.00 during Week 2. No contract will be approved after Week 2.

Individual Study Credit Maximum

College policy states that you can only earn a maximum of 48 credits using Individual Learning Contracts toward your baccalaureate degree and that you can only earn a maximum of 48 credits in internships toward your baccalaureate degree.

Petition for an Exception to this Policy

In rare circumstances, it may be possible to be given an exception to this policy. The following considerations will be used to decide whether or not an exception is warranted. In most cases, affirmative answers to all the criteria would need to be given for an exception to be granted, although we recognize there may be rare extenuating circumstances not covered below:

  • The contract proposal is exceptionally strong academically
  • The student has been very successful in past contracts
  • The student has also done a substantial amount of in-program work
  • An exception to this requirement has not been given previously
  • The student has academic plans to enroll in a program next quarter or will graduate
  • The contract was submitted on time
  • There is no way to learn similar content before graduation

The deans will consider all petitions on their merits, based on these criteria, with faculty feedback considered. Petitions involving shorter contracts for 8 or fewer credits will be viewed more favorably.

Previous Program Enrollment

College policy states that you must take at least one quarter of an 8 to 16-credit Evergreen program prior to embarking on individual learning through either an individual or internship learning contract through the Olympia, Grays Harbor or Tribal Programs. Students at the Tacoma Program must take at least two quarters of courses and Lyceum at the Tacoma Program prior to embarking on individual learning through either an individual or internship learning contract.

Petition for an Exception to this Policy

In rare circumstances, it may be possible to be given an exception to this policy. The following considerations will be used to decide whether or not an exception is warranted. In most cases, affirmative answers to all the criteria would need to be given for an exception to be granted, although we recognize there may be rare extenuating circumstances not covered below.

  • The contract proposal is exceptionally strong academically
  • There is an academic opportunity to do a contract this quarter that will not be available in a future quarter
  • The contract was submitted on time
  • The student has a solid academic plan to take a program following the contract and
  • The student is at least sophomore standing or is a “special student,” who has not matriculated at the college

The deans will consider all petitions on their merits, based on these criteria, with faculty feedback considered. Petitions involving shorter contracts for 8 or fewer credits will be viewed more favorably.

Dean Contract Review Criteria

College Level Work

Grammar Errors, Spelling, Incomplete or insufficient information.
The contract must be college-level quality; therefore it can not contain grammar and/or spelling errors or be incomplete. Although it is not a transcript document, this contract is an official college record and is kept on file in the Deans Office.

Does not appear to be college-level work.
Individual and internship learning contracts must be intermediate and advanced work intended to build upon prior college-level course work and should build upon college-level study in areas offered in Evergreen's curriculum rather than remedial and/or vocational study.

Content appears inadequate for credit requested.
Students must describe appropriately the activities and work associated to justify the academic credit to be awarded.

Timeframe appears inadequate for credit requested.
Contract work needs to represent a full quarter's work for the number of credits requested. Use the Activities Timeline and talk to your sponsor to help identify how much work will earn a certain number of credits.

Appears study is repetitive; insufficient evidence of new learning.
Individual and internship learning contracts must reflect new learning that builds on prior study and is not repetitive.

Clear Objectives & Activities

Learning objectives need to indicate what you plan or expect to Learn versus what you plan to do.
In large part to facilitate evaluation and self-evaluation, this section of the form should be used to delineate what knowledge, skills, or both would be gained/acquired, enhanced/refined, or both. The student must avoid stating what activities will be undertaken, as those belong in the section labeled "Activities."

Need to clarify how activities relate to learning objectives.
Although there doesn't need to be a one-to-one correlation, the activities section should reflect what the student will do to meet the learning objectives.

Conflicts

Sponsor appears inappropriate for this contract, may need different sponsor, or a subcontractor.
The proposed sponsor should have experience or expertise in the discipline or activities the student plans to undertake for the contract in order to do an informed assessment of college-level learning.

Appears to have conflict of interest.
There are a number of possibilities for this, so they would be assessed on a case-by-case basis. Examples include (but are not limited to):

  • When a student is planning to use a relative, or other individual with whom s/he has a close relationship, as a field supervisor or sponsor
  • If the student has a vested interest in, or previously established personal or fiscal connection with, the proposed internship organization

An Individual Learning Contract appears to include an internship component.
Any work that is supervised or benefits an agency, organization or individual is an internship and must be documented on an internship learning contract. Additional activities that are not of direct benefit to the organization and sponsored by the same faculty, must also be documented on an internship learning contract form.

Possible violation of institutional policies.
There are several violation examples. Each would be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. See below for possible violations:

  • More than one contract with the same sponsor - all work with one sponsor during a given quarter must be documented on one individual or internship learning contract.
  • Internship credits exceed the 48-credit limit allowed by College policy
  • Enrolling for more than 16 credits. To ensure that we appropriately balance faculty workload while allowing student to increase their credit load, no single mode of study will be offered for more than 16 credits in a given quarter. Modes include coordinated and group contract programs, courses, internships and individual contracts.
  • The contract activities violate college policies.
  • Students must register individual and internship learning contracts each quarter.

Approvals

Before registering, students must have all approvals including a sponsor, field supervisor, subcontractor, and academic advising (internships only).

For Internships only: Internship Site Agreement.
Student should contact their field supervisor and make sure they have completed, signed and submitted an Internship Site Agreement.

Missing appropriate facilities clearance.
Student should contact the appropriate facilities and/or resource contact if they are using any Evergreen facilities and/or resource for the work in their contract.

Appears to involve study abroad, and is missing Study Abroad Waiver, Release and Indemnity Agreement Form.
Contact International Programs & Study Abroad for information

May require Human Subjects Review clearance.
If you are conducting a study using information from people or if you are recording them in some way for that study, you and your sponsor must determine if human subjects review is required before you begin collecting such information.

Learn more about Human Subjects Review

For Sponsors and Site Supervisors

Find an Intern

Evergreen students are always seeking new learning experiences!

An internship allows a student to gain academic credit by hands-on learning with an organization or business. The internship contract is negotiated between you and the student, spells out the number of hours per week the student will spend at the internship site, the activities the student will perform, and the learning that the student expects to gain from the experience. It will also specify who in your organization will serve as “field supervisor,” and how that person will provide oversight and evaluation of the intern.

Internships need to provide students with a learning experience comparable to what they might gain from academic study. For example, a student couldn’t earn credit for an internship that just involves filing papers, but could for an internship that involves developing a database system. If you have questions about whether your internship opportunity qualifies, please contact the Deans Office.

Handshake is our online resource for internship openings, as well as for part or full-time jobs and volunteer opportunities for students.

Handshake

Once you’ve created a Handshake account, you will be able to enter or update information on internships, including:

  • The type of internship you have to offer
  • The qualifications you seek in an intern
  • How students should apply

Students will contact you directly, and you choose whom you would like to interview and select.

For more information about your role in the Internship Learning Contract process, please review the Field Supervisor Guidelines.

Guidelines for Site Supervisors

Thank you for your willingness to supervise an Evergreen intern. We appreciate your commitment to our students—you help them bring the theory they receive in the classroom to applied learning through experiences at your organization. In other words, you help a student’s education come to life!

If you have questions about your role as Field Supervisor, or have problems with your intern, please reach out to the Academic Deans’ Office.

Your Role as Field Supervisor

Ensure that your organization and The Evergreen State College have a signed Internship Site Agreement on record. 

  • Your primary responsibility is to support the intern's learning, to provide training and oversight as needed, to keep track of the intern's progress throughout the quarter, and to submit your assessment of the intern's progress to the faculty sponsor.
  • Keep in mind that, while we hope the intern's work will help your organization, the internship is intended primarily to benefit the student and enhance their learning.
  • Make sure you've read the internship contract, and that you and the student are in agreement about:
    • How often you will meet or communicate (we strongly encourage that this happen at least weekly);
    • What kind of supervision and support you will provide;
    • The activities the student will perform; and 
    • The learning outcomes that the student can expect to gain from those activities.
  • At the end of the quarter, you will write an evaluation of the intern and send it to the intern’s faculty sponsor, who writes the official evaluation that goes in the transcript. We encourage you to also meet with the intern to go over your evaluation and discuss their internship learning experience.

Questions to Help You Evaluate the Intern

You do not have to answer these questions in writing your evaluation; they’re just suggestions to help you reflect on the intern’s performance and write a thorough evaluation of their work.

Performance and contributions as a member of the organization

  • Has the intern developed an adequate understanding of your organization's purpose and functions?
  • How well has the intern succeeded in performing routine tasks associated with their position?
  • In what specific ways, if any, has the intern contributed to the ongoing program of the organization?
  • Since the beginning of the quarter, has the intern progressed as expected in their ability to:
    • Work effectively with decreasing amounts of direct supervision,
    • Accept responsibility for tasks of increasing complexity, difficulty, or scope, and
    • Exercise initiative when appropriate (and refrain from exercising initiative when it’s not appropriate)?
  • Has the intern been dependable?
  • What have been the intern’s outstanding performance strengths?
  • What attributes of performance still need improvement?
  • What specific suggestions, if any, would you offer the student for maintaining or improving their performance and achievement in the future?

Personal and professional development

  • How well has the intern succeeded in meeting any deadlines associated with their work?
  • Have the intern’s general demeanor and attire been appropriate for a person in their position? If not, what changes would you suggest?
  • How well has the intern worked with others?
  • Based on your observations of the intern’s performance to date, how would you describe their potential for success in a career in the field in which the internship has been conducted or a related field?

Achievement of learning objectives

  • Which of the learning objectives described in the contract have been achieved?
  • If one or more objectives have not been achieved, what progress, if any, has the intern made toward each?
  • Do you have specific examples or evidence that would document the intern’s progress toward, or achievement of, each objective?
  • What other skills, abilities, or special knowledge, if any, has the intern developed this quarter?

Guidelines for Sponsors

Signs of a Successful Sponsor and Student Contract Commitment

  • Student approaches faculty or staff sponsor with a completed draft of a contract at least a quarter before the quarter in which the sponsorship is desired.
    • Tip: Students are encouraged to use the online contract process to create a draft for you to provide feedback early in development. Communicate to the student that you would like them to create a draft contract using the examples online and have the student release a draft for your review. Use the Academic Deans’ Contract Review Criteria to clarify the subject matter and conditions of the contract.
  • An important academic element is awarding of credit—the sponsor, subcontractor or site supervisor should have academic qualifications or professional expertise in the area of credit awarded.
    • Tip: Advanced preparation is particularly important if the student needs to secure a subcontractor or site supervisor as well as a faculty sponsor. Sometimes turning a student’s proposal down can be an important learning experience—the results of their previous choices may have a direct effect on their current desires.
  • Student has a record of completing programs and of receiving full credit.
    • Tip: Once a student has released a draft of the contract with you listed as the sponsor, you can view their academic history by logging into your Sponsor Contract View online. 
  • Student has the academic or experiential background to pursue advanced study in a contract and can demonstrate an understanding of the quarter timeline and meeting the workload within this timeframe. In addition, the student understands the time invested per credit hour matches our expectations in programs—rough rule of thumb is 400 hours of work for 16 credits.
    • Tip: Use the Activities Timeline to help the student understand their workload and managing it within the timeframe. In addition, it provides a detailed grid illustrating time invested per credit hour earned.
  • Students commonly seek individual or internship contracts when all else has failed for them—late registration, programs full or cancelled, multi-quarter programs not accepting new students after first quarter.
    • Tip: Lack of self-motivation in these areas can be a predictor of failure in an individual or internship contract. These cases often show up well after the start of the quarter in which the sponsorship is requested. While it's theoretically possible for a student to write a novel in a quarter, facts indicate that it's unlikely. A common request for individual study is for traveling and keeping a journal. Without further academic work, these activities in themselves are not creditworthy—journals are, by definition, rough drafts.

How to Become a Sponsor

Becoming a Faculty or Staff Contract Sponsor

If you would like information on how to become a faculty or staff contract sponsor, please contact the Academic Deans Office