CourtesyStarting this fall, students at 成人头条 have the option to gain internship experience in their major -- and get recognition on their transcript -- without having to pay tuition.
Previously, students could only get an internship through WSU's Career Development Center noted on their transcript if they paid for academic credit. But that system didn't account for students who couldn鈥檛 pay the tuition or had already met their credit or internship requirements in their major.
The new Zero Credit Internships mean that more students wanting experiential learning opportunities before they graduate can benefit from the center鈥檚 services. They also allow participating employers to search through a larger student pool to pick talent when recruiting for internships.
鈥淥ur office is always looking for better ways to serve students,鈥� says Kim Kufahl, assistant director of marketing and strategic communications for the center, previously known as the Office of Cooperative Education and Work-Based Learning. 鈥淭his way they get the experience, recognition and the support of our office.鈥�
And the support of the Career Development Center is key to WSU students wanting an internship. Without going through the center, students are on their own if they have a problem or question about their internship or employer.
鈥淪tudents get to have our office on their side,鈥� Kufahl says. 鈥淚f there is a problem at their worksite or just a professional question, we can help or intervene on the students鈥� behalf, if necessary.鈥�
Students also get feedback on their performance through the center鈥檚 employer evaluation process, and center staff works with employers to make sure the worksite is a productive, safe learning environment.
Zero Credit Internships are also expected to help the university as a whole, Kufahl says. When a student gets an internship without going through the Career Development Center, the university has no way of knowing about it, and valuable data is lost.
鈥淥ur office and the university want to capture as much data as we can of students completing experience-based learning,鈥� Kufahl says. 鈥淲ith Zero Credit Internships, we are hoping to collect more. Each academic college benefits with the use of this to further promote their programs.鈥�