3.13 Independent Studies and Internships for Undergraduate Students

University of North Georgia has guidelines regarding independent study and internship courses. Faculty should note the following:

Independent Study
Independent studies should be determined at the departmental level. The department head has the responsibility of ensuring the quality and comparability within her/his program. However, departmental administrators and faculty should work together to establish policies that will accomplish these goals without infringing on the academic freedom enjoyed by each faculty member at UNG. It is expected that students will receive syllabi for independent study courses and that copies of syllabi will be placed in the student advisement file.

The university will not use independent study enrollments in calculating average class size.

Independent Study records should be retained for five years after graduation or date of last attendance.

Internships
Students at UNG are not permitted to enroll in internship courses unless they have completed a minimum of 48 semester hours (or the equivalent) and are in good academic standing with a grade point average of at least a 2.0 on a 4.0 scale. Internships must be in a student’s major or minor and should be supervised by a faculty member in the major or minor.

Academic programs must provide information to Career Services regarding each internship placement. This information should include the agency name, student name, supervisor's name and phone number, start date, and approximate completion date. The information should be sent immediately after the final day for schedule changes.

Departments are asked to consider some form of agency evaluation by the intern. This evaluation can be accomplished through a journal format. Results of the evaluation are to be kept at the departmental level.

Internship requirements should be standardized within each department among the various faculty offering the same internship course. Grades of "S" (satisfactory) or "U" (unsatisfactory) may be available for internships at the discretion of the department. Liability and/or health insurance policies that apply to specific programs should be maintained during internships.

Internship program records should be retained for five years after graduation or date of last attendance.