Course Syllabus
Sociology 4597: Internship
Summer 2009

Prerequisite:
Soc 4587 (Internship Preparation), which you have to have successfully completed (i.e., earned at least a C) before you can enroll in this course

Course Objectives:
The primary program objectives are to provide students with the opportunity to:

1.  reflect on the applicability of concepts, principles, and best practices presented in previous course work;

2.  develop insight into professional demands and required competencies;

3.  assess the appropriateness of career choices and the developmental maturity which the choice demands; and

4.  evaluate their academic preparation in relation to their goals, aspirations, and personal qualities.

Student Responsibilities:
Internships are considered an integral part of your academic program. The credits for Sociology 4597 are academic credits; this course is graded on a S/N (Satisfactory/Not Satisfactory) basis. (You should have chosen the S-N grading option when you registered for this course.) The evaluation of your performance in the internship (i.e., whether or not you pass) will be based in part on: (a) how your Field Agency Supervisor rates your performance in person (during the Internship Coordinator’s site visit) and in writing (your supervisor’s responses on an evaluation form); and (b) the quality of the “academic” assignments and papers for this course, and your attendance at the course seminars.

In addition to attending three in-class seminars, you are expected to: (a) keep a daily log documenting activities and progress toward meeting objectives; (b) complete written assignments that are structured to provide an understanding of the organization with which the student is doing the internship; (c) meet the expectations of the field agency; and (d) interact – both in person and via the Internet – with others enrolled in Sociology 4597.

Course Requirements:

Seminars
Seminars provide students with important information about their responsibilities during the course of their internships, as well as opportunities to share their experiences and learning with others.

Seminar attendance is required in order to receive a passing grade. There are three times during the semester when the interns meet as a group (see course Schedule, below). Students whose placement is not within reasonable driving distance (approximately 75 miles from UMD) and who are not enrolled in other classes on campus during their Internship may be required to attend only the first and last seminars.

Activity Log
Interns are expected to keep an activity log that will provide them, the agency Field Supervisor, and the Internship Coordinator with an accounting of the intern's activities. The activity log will also provide the basis for keeping track of your time, progress towards meeting learning objectives, and as a reference for some of the course assignments.

The activity log should be kept in a 5x7 or 6x8-inch notebook (do not use an 8.5x11-inch binder). The log should have an entry for each day that you work hours at your internship. Each entry should contain:

• the date;
• hours worked (time in and time out);
• a description of that day’s activities; and
• reflections about how that day’s activities connect with/contribute to meeting your objectives and/or what you learned.

VERY IMPORTANT: All interns are subject to the confidentiality laws that apply to the agency or organization at which they are interning. To comply with these laws, when completing your log, never use any personal identifying information (e.g., names and addresses of agency clients) in your descriptions.

After each 100-hour interval of time put into the internship or every five weeks – whichever happens first – you should ask the person supervising your internship to check the log for accuracy and to sign the activity log (the signature indicates that the log has been reviewed). On the day of the second seminar, I will review your activity log.

Participation in Online Discussions
At various points throughout the semester of your internship, you will be required to do online postings of answers to different questions dealing with various facets of your internship. You will be encouraged to respond to/comment on these questions in light of how other students have responded to the same question – for example, contrasting your perception of an aspect of the internship experience with a classmate’s. A purpose of this requirement is to generate a virtual class discussion in which students can share insights with each other, given that many students do their internships far from the UMD campus. Online discussions will be conducted using UMD’s Moodle system.

Browser Configuration for Moodle
In order to access Moodle you must use a properly configured Web browser. Firefox is the preferred Internet browser for Moodle on both the Windows and Apple operating systems. Your browser must have Java, JavaScript, and Cookies enabled. For step-by-step instructions see the University Moodle Support site at http://www.umn.edu/moodle.

Topics/questions will be posted as the semester progresses. Whenever a new question is posted, I will notify you via email.

Written Assignments
There will be a handful of written assignments throughout the course of your internship (see Schedule for due dates). Papers should be word-processed. Assignments should be submitted via "hard" copy or electronic copy (via Moodle) depending upon the assignment. (The instructions for each specific assignment will give explicit directions on how to submit that assignment.) If you wish to have a copy of your assignments, please make a copy before you submit the papers to me. The papers you submit will become a part of your internship file.

Communicating your internship experiences effectively is an important part of your task. Your papers must reflect how seriously you probed for information and detail and how well you understand the structure, the functions and the problems of your internship site.

Again, it is very important that you maintain the confidentiality of the clients of your field agency. This means that you must not use names, addresses, or other information which could identify clients, their families, etc. Also, the purpose is not to engage in criticisms of personalities but rather describe and evaluate the experience and the training which you have received.

NOTE: It is not necessary for you to submit copies of your written assignments to your Field Agency Supervisor. If a request for copies is made by a representative of the field agency, the Internship Coordinator will review the request with you.

Policy Regarding Late Work:
It is important that you turn in assignments on time. Assignments and papers turned in after the beginning of the class period on the due date will be considered late. A pattern of submitting assignments and papers past their due dates could be grounds for receiving a grade of N (Not Satisfactory) in this course.

Classroom Behavior:
Students are expected to follow the University's Student Conduct Code (www.d.umn.edu/conduct/)
I expect that students will pay attention to the lecture, and not hold conversations unrelated to class or exhibit other disruptive behavior, including surfing the Web, text messaging (please turn off your cell phone prior to class), and newspaper reading. Arriving to class late and leaving early are forms of disruptive behavior. If you need to leave class early, please notify me before the given class period. Repeated disruptive behavior will negatively affect the participation component of your grade.

I expect that students will treat each other (and myself) with respect at all times. Any disruptive activity in class that interferes with others' ability to see, hear, think or work is unacceptable. If someone else's conduct poses problems, let me know.

Academic Integrity:
Academic dishonesty is regarded as a serious offense by all members of the academic community. In keeping with this ideal, this course will adhere to UMD's Student Academic Integrity Policy, which can be found at www.d.umn.edu/conduct/integrity. This policy sanctions students engaging in academic dishonesty with penalties up to and including expulsion from the university for repeat offenders.

Special Arrangements/Facilities:
Individuals who have any disability, either permanent or temporary, which might affect their ability to perform in this class are encouraged to inform the instructor at the start of the semester. Adaptation of methods, materials or testing may be made as required to provide for equitable participation. It is your responsibility to contact the Access Center for advice regarding adaptations.

Course Schedule:
As the semester progresses, links to upcoming discussions will be posted on the schedule on the course Web page.

*Hours logged probably will not coincide with the week/date with which they happen to share a row.