What is Experiential Education?

The Experiential Education program is an optional program designed to provide meaningful career-related experiences in the form of job shadowing, informational interviewing, internships, and co-ops. The purpose of these experiences is to provide direction and enrichment to the students' education and to enhance their value as employees upon graduation. The program involves a cooperative effort between employers and the University in operating a system for their mutual benefit.

Advantages for Employers

Internships and Cooperative Education:

• Allows better utilization of highly-paid professional personnel for specialized work while co-op students and interns perform necessary tasks thus increasing productivity. 
• Provides manpower flexibility to suit changing needs and seasonal fluctuations. 
• Furnishes pre-screened and monitored candidates whose abilities and interests match the company's needs. 
• Provides an opportunity to preview potential full-time employees in work situations. 
• Provides an opportunity to experiment with new positions without making extensive investments or long-range commitments. 
• Provides substantial savings in personnel recruitment costs, since over half of co-op students and interns are hired for permanent positions by their employer.

Advertising and Placement

There are three primary ways in which internship or co-op positions can be advertised:

1. Pacer Career Connection : USCA Career Services online job posting tool.
2. Direct referrals from the Coordinator of Experiential Education : As students apply for Experiential Education, a database is updated. Once an employer notifies the Coordinator of an opportunity, a qualified student can be referred directly in order to apply for the vacancy.
3. Through department liaisons : The Career Services Office has established a point of contact (liaison) with each applicable academic department. When an employer notifies the Coordinator of an opportunity, any applicable department will be notified for student referrals.

When a student is selected or placed in an internship or co-op, the Experiential Education Program will periodically monitor the student’s progress through informal calls, emails, and/or meetings with the student. It is also important that we maintain contact with you, the employer. Your feedback is important to the program and to the student. We will gladly accept any formal or informal feedback at your convenience. A survey form is available.

Expectations

Employers are expected to:

1. Provide a safe and professional environment. 
2. Insure that job duties remain in accordance with job descriptions. 
3. Provide adequate supervision of student employees. 
4. Provide a written evaluation of student employees at the conclusion of each work period. 
5. Retain the student through the scheduled work period unless there are compelling reasons not to do so. Please note it is important that you contact the Coordinator of Experiential Education at any time if you are experiencing a problem with your student resulting in termination.

Students are expected to:

1. Meet all the eligibility requirements as stated by the USC Aiken Career Services Office.
2. Agree to the established work period/schedule.
3. Keep the Career Services Office and employer informed of any changes in school status, as well as any changes or problems at the designated experiential education assignment.
4. Provide a written evaluation of work assignment at the end of the work period. (An evaluation form will be provided).
5. Satisfy the work performance requirements for the company where student is employed and will follow all policies and procedures set forth by the employer.
6. Conduct themselves in a professional manner during all phases of the work assignment remembering that they are representing USC Aiken and themselves.

Students must also meet the following requirements to receive referrals from the USCA Experiential Education Program:

• Must be currently enrolled at USCA
• Must fill out and sign a program application
• Internship/co-op students must maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA
• Internship/co-op students must have a résumé on file with application

*For referrals to positions, students must meet all minimum qualifications specified by employer (these requirements supersede the program requirements)

Evaluations

In order to provide the student with professional, formal, and constructive feedback of their performance, employers are asked to complete an Intern Performance Evaluation Form at the conclusion of the work period (i.e. end of the semester and/or completion of assignment).

*Click here to access PDF version located at the top of this page. 

Developing and Internship Program or Position

There are many resources (free and for purchase) that aid companies in creating internship programs. Of course, working out the details depend on many different factors (i.e. size of employer, industry) Here are some general things to think about if your company or organization is considering hiring an intern:

• Will the job, assignment, or special project consist mostly of tasks that can directly relate to a student’s coursework?
• Will the student be supervised by an experienced professional who will be able to provide the student with training, learning opportunities, and performance feedback?
• Will the student be paid a stipend, an hourly wage, or not paid? *
• How many hours a week will the student be expected to work, and will this position have a definite start and stop date?
• Would there be a potential opportunity for the intern to be hired permanently upon completion of the internship?
• What type of requirements would be set to determine a candidate’s eligibility to apply?
• Min GPA?
• Specified class status or major?
• Completion of certain courses?
• Demonstrate a specified interest in applicable career field?
• Demonstrate a specified skills set?

What’s next? One of the best ways to get started is to put together a job description similar to that of a full-time or part-time employee. This gives us a great place to start when analyzing the position in order to advertise and place a student appropriately.

Contact the Career Services Office Experiential Education Program if you’re interested in recruiting student interns. We’ll be happy to assist you with the process.

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