Course Description

Directed applicable work experience under the supervision of the Director of Business Internships and a business manager/ professional in the student’s area of interest. Application processed through the Career Center. Must apply the semester prior to internship.

For information regarding prerequisites for this course, please refer to the Academic Course Catalog.

Rationale

Many employers utilize the Internship experience as a means of observing and hiring their future employees. By successfully completing an Internship in Business and the position of his/her choosing the student enhances significantly their marketability and appeal as a prospective employee. Professionalism, initiative, reliability, and responsibility will always be in demand. An internship presents the opportunity to establish a reputation with these qualities. Students need to plan ahead financially as well as academically.

While there are various internships that provide a salary or hourly wage, there are also many excellent opportunities that provide no compensation whatsoever. Internships need to be considered on the merits and opportunities of potential learning experiences and career advancement. The skills learned contacts, and references made should be the prime consideration in the selection of an internship.  For these reasons, financial planning is very important before a student does an internship.

Measurable Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the student will be able to:

1. Describe the organizational structure of the business/organization.
2. Discuss how the classroom learning applies to your internship experience.
3. Describe the effective and ineffective mechanisms of organizational communication at your site.
4. Describe an ethical dilemma at your workplace, (actual or possible) that you have observed or of which you have been a part. Discuss why you feel this dilemma exists and what actions were/are necessary to resolve the dilemma.
5. Identify the rights and responsibilities of sport management professionals as depicted in codes of professional ethics and justify personal and management values and principles.

Course Assignment

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student should study the Liberty University syllabus before completing the checklist given in the Course Overview found in Module 1: Week 1.

Internship Approval Forms/Contract

These forms are submitted and approved in order to be registered for the course – no additional submission is required.

Code of Conduct Assignment

The Code of Conduct must be completed by the student and submitted during the first week of the course. The signed code of conduct form ensures that the student understands the behavioral and performance expectations for the course.

Weekly Time Log & Journal Assignment

A weekly Time Log should be completed by the student in order to document the activities and responsibilities of the student throughout the duration of the internship. An Excel file is provided in Blackboard for use by the student. Note: Additional Time Logs due at Mid-Term and Final are described separately.

Mid-Term Time Log & Journal Assignment

A weekly Time Log & Journal should be completed by the student in order to document the activities and responsibilities of the student throughout the duration of the internship. Although this log must be completed weekly, it is submitted in Blackboard according to assigned due dates. At mid-term, the student should have earned approximately 90 hours. An Excel file is provided in Blackboard for use by students.

Mid-Term Evaluation Assignment

The Mid-Term Evaluation Form is completed by the internship site supervisor and provides an evaluation of the performance of the student. The completed evaluation forms may be submitted through Blackboard to the instructor of the course. Both signatures are required before submitting the form.

Internship Portfolio Assignment

The Internship Portfolio provides background information on the internship host site and requires the student to analyze the structure of the organization and reflect on his or her overall experience. This is to be submitted through Blackboard.

Final Time Log & Journal Assignment

A weekly Time Log & Journal should be completed by the student in order to document the activities and responsibilities of the student throughout the duration of the internship. Although this log must be completed weekly, it is submitted in Blackboard according to assigned due dates. By the end of the semester, the student should have earned a minimum of 180 hours. An Excel file is provided in the Assignment Instructions Folder for use by students.

Final Evaluation Assignment

The Final Evaluation Form is completed by the internship site supervisor and provides an evaluation of the performance of the student. The completed evaluation forms may be submitted through Blackboard to the instructor of the course according to the assigned due date.