FINANCE INTERNSHIP -- A Finance major elective course providing a student practical experience with a business firm, non-profit organization, or a government agency while earning compensation and earning academic credit. Usually, the internship will last for one term (10 to 15 weeks) and requires an academic component (e.g., a term paper), in addition to the job assignment and periodic reports. The course is offered on a letter grade basis. The grade will depend upon the satisfactory completion of the academic requirements (e.g., term and periodic reports), as well as evaluations from the job supervisor and CBA Internship Coordinator. The Finance Department faculty coordinator evaluates all this input and determines the grade for the course.
Past or currently held continuous part time or full time job experiences do not qualify as internship experience. Cooperative Education programs, while similar in some respects, do differ. Co-op positions are also career-related assignments, but are not for credit and are usually repetitive. The two programs can be used sequentially.
INTERNSHIP IN FINANCE (6400:495) 1 - 3 Credits. Prerequisites: 6400:371 and 6200:250 or 6200:255. On-the-job experience with cooperating private and public sector organizations. Individual assignments made by supervising faculty member. Periodic reports and term papers required.
The objective of the internship program is to enhance student learning by providing hands-on experience in a finance-related work environment. Both full-time and part-time work periods may qualify for internship credit. The internship must entail significant, prior approved, work experiences in selected organizations where the student interns are assigned to a business project or other meaningful learning and experiential assignments. New or reassigned work experiences from a current employer may be approved for internship.
HOW TO ESTABLISH AN INTERNSHIP
Businesses, government agencies and non-profit organizations that have internship opportunities, or students who have acquired a potential, internship position, must contact the CBA Internship Coordinator. Guidelines and general information will be reviewed at this time with the employer. Participating employers will complete a position description form, which outlines the various duties/responsibilities for the intern. This information will also be reviewed by the Finance Department Coordinator.
Students interested in participating in an internship program
must contact the CBA Internship/COOP Coordinator, CBA 260 (CBA Placement
Office). Candidates must complete an application folder, submit a
professional resume, and attend an Internship/Coop Orientation Session.
Students must submit their resume via the Resume Expert Plus system available
to purchase at the CBA Placement Office, CBA 260. This application should
be sent to:
| Cindy Mako
Coop/Internship Coordinator CBA Room 260 The University of Akron Akron, Ohio 44325-4805 Phone: 330-972-6225 |
The minimum eligibility for the Internship in Finance is:
1) A Finance major in good academic standing within the College of Business Administration, with a minimum overall GPA of 2.5.
2) Completion of Business Finance (6400:371) and the CBA core computer course, (6200:250 or 6200:255).
3) Students not meeting the above criteria must submit written petitions to the Chairman of the Finance Department documenting why internship credit should be considered.
NOTE: The employment organization may require higher GPAs than those indicated above.
As a guideline, approximately sixty (60) contact hours on the job over the semester will equal one (1) semester hour of credit. Credits can be earned for work equal to whole credits only.*
A maximum of three (3) internship credits may be earned as Finance elective credit for an undergraduate degree. Internship courses may be repeated up to the maximum of 3 credits for finance elective credit.
* The Internship Coordinator must be advised of any additional courses taken while an internship is in progress.
There are four activities required for the Internship in Finance course. They are as follows:
1) Satisfactory completion of the work experiences with the Internship employer. Prior to accepting the internship, the student should understand the nature of the tasks to be performed and the full set of responsibilities as established in the agreement between the Employer and the CBA Internship/Coop Coordinator. The intern should perform these tasks to the satisfaction of all involved.
2) Periodic progress reports. The intern and the CBA Internship/Coop Coordinator will establish a schedule to be followed by which the student will submit periodic reports that communicate to the coordinator activities, projects, etc., completed as of the report date, as well as identify future activities planned.
3) Summary work report. This report shall use forms and other documents, available from the Internship/Coop Coordinator, CBA 260, to help the intern evaluate the overall Internship experience. The final report must be completed and turned in to the CBA Internship Director before the final grade is posted.
4) In addition to the job assignment and the periodic reports, the intern
will be responsible for a research paper. The purpose of the paper
is to allow the student the opportunity to investigate the academic and
trade literature related to the work assignment. The student in conjunction
with the Finance Department Faculty Coordinator will determine the scope
of the topic to be investigated. Early in the semester the student should
make contact with the Faculty Coordinator to establish a topic proposal.
Once the topic is approved, the student shall write a report of approximately
four double-spaced (one inch margins) typewritten or word processed pages
per credit hour (body of paper) on a topic related to the work experience.
This paper should follow the usual standards for an academic paper, and
should include additional pages including a title page, table of contents,
footnotes, references and a bibliography.
The intern should contact the Finance Department Faculty
Coordinator (Dr. David R. Durst, 330-972-6332 or ddurst@uakron.edu) at
the beginning of the internship. The student will be asked to submit
a proposal for the term paper, including a one-page general description
of the topic, a detailed outline, and a working bibliography. The
topic proposal must be approved prior to completion of the paper, usually
by the midpoint of the term. The paper is due on the last day of
classes in the term, before exam week. The Academic Coordinator will
give a letter grade for the internship.
Internships may be scheduled during any term. Students are encouraged
to apply at least a semester in advance of the internship term, but no
later than the deadlines indicated below.
For Summer Internships beginning June 1, student applications must
be submitted by May 1. For Fall Internships beginning about September 1,
student applications must be submitted by August 1. For Spring Internships
beginning about January 2, student applications must be submitted by December
1. See the above section for DEADLINES associated with the research
paper.
Internship proposals will be forwarded to Cooperative Education
for approval or rejection.
Exceptions will be considered on a case by case basis.
Final acceptance for any position is the decision of the employer.
Termination or resignation from an internship in progress should not be effected until the Department, Cooperative Education, and the organization have fully discussed the situation. Once an internship arrangement is finalized, the employer and the student are expected to fully honor the arrangement.
Placement of interns with participating organizations is based on many factors: the availability of openings, the number of students desiring placement, etc. Filing an application does not guarantee the firm or student an internship placement.
Compensation and benefits should reflect the nature of the assignment and prevailing pay standards in similar situations. Some internships are commission only.
Student will register for the internship courses on a letter grade basis. The grade will be determined, in part, by the student and employer evaluations and the quality of the written research paper, with the final determination made by the Finance Department Faculty Coordinator.
Student and employer evaluations will not be the sole determination of the grade.
At the end of the internship experience:
1) The participating organization must submit evaluations of the student performances to the CBA Internship Coordinator.
2) The student must submit logs, periodic reports, progress reports, and/or their papers to Cindy Mako, the CBA Internship Coordinator, CBA 260, (330) 972-6225.
(1) and (2) above will be forwarded to the Department of Finance Coordinator
for evaluation and grading. The evaluations are confidential information
used by both the Department of Finance and the CBA Internship/Coop Coordinator
to evaluate future matching of participating organizations and student
interns. The interns will supply copies of their evaluations to their
employers. Likewise, it is expected that the employer will supply
copies of the employer evaluation to the student. Mutual feedback
between the student and the employer is considered essential to the learning
process.
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Last updated: December 7, 1999