It Takes a Village: Running A Successful Internship Program

Donna M. Schaeffer, Associate Professor and David Pomeroy, Lecturer and Internship Coordinator

School of Business Administration, Marymount University, Arlington, VA 22207

According to recent data from the National Center for Educational Statistics, 21% of all undergraduate degrees are awarded in the discipline of business. By the way, half of those are to women.
	· The Department of Labor identified critical thinking as the raw material that underlies fundamental workplace competencies, such as communication, enthusiasm and attitude, team work, networking, and professionalism. · Critical thinking is rated the #1 skill of increasing importance over the next five years based on a 2009 national survey of employers.
“Whatever the answer to essential questions of society and individual human beings may be, education is surely its major component. But what would education be without its ethical dimension? Many of us believe them to be inseparable.”	Elie Wiesel Foundation for Humanity
	"A billion hours ago, human life appeared on earth. A billion minutes ago, Christianity emerged. A billion seconds ago, the Beatles changed music. A billion Coca-Colas ago was yesterday morning." Robert Goizueta, Late President of Coca-Cola, 2001.

Liberal Arts Core

· On average, current students are expected to have 10 - 14 plus jobs by age 38.

· Many of these jobs do not yet exist.

· These jobs will involve seeking solutions to problems that aren’t currently known.

· The employment work force is constantly changing: One in four workers has been with their current employer less than one year; one in two has been with their current employer less than five years.

(Information taken from Did You Know? 3.0, Karl Fisch and Scott McLeod)

“Teachers have known for centuries that studying different subjects trains the mind to work in different ways: analytically, synthetically, creatively, logically, metaphorically.

And now, scientists know that studying different subjects actually changes the biochemical structure of the brain, forming new connections that make it more limber and agile.”

Why Study the Liberal Arts?

Susan M. Di Biase, University of North Carolina, Greensboro

Ethics
ETH — One designated course is required, in addition to the Liberal Arts Core requirement of a moral principles course.

Global Perspective
GP — One designated course, study abroad, or foreign language course is required.

Experiential Learning
EXP — An internship, clinical experience, or student-teaching assignment before graduation. is required. Most students meet this requirement through the internship in their majors.

Goals for the internship are to

· apply course-based material to real-world situations

· expand the ability to communicate effectively

· develop professional identity

· adhere to appropriate standards of behavior in a professional setting

Inquiry Learning

INQ – In addition to DIS 101 or 201, students take three additional courses in their major that have been designated as inquiry (INQ) courses (some majors have more than three). These courses are designed to use teaching methods and assignments that meet Marymount University’s inquiry outcomes, so that upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to

· formulate an appropriate inquiry or research question and provide context for it;

· gather, evaluate, and use information or knowledge needed to support the inquiry topic, often through a literature search;

· formulate a methodology to examine the question;

· conduct research to answer the question, making appropriate connections among ideas and drawing conclusions; and

· formally present the results of the inquiry project in a written product.

The Multipart Assignment in DISCOVER classes

Internships in the School of Business