After a year of discussion, the University's Committee on Independent Work has decided to place a one-credit limit on internships, while independent study and research may still earn up to three credits, the equivalent of a full course or 120 hours, effective this spring.
In response to student concerns over the current Satisfactory/Unsatisfactory grading of independent research, the Committee also decided to award letter grades if the research includes an "academic product" (a research report) that is evaluated.
Administrators insist that the policy is a cut above what is offered at several peer institutions like Duke, Harvard, Yale, Penn and Princeton, where credit is not awarded for internships at all.
"Several do allow some credit when the internship includes a component of academic work validated by a regular faculty member. Some take the middle ground solution and allow internships to inform independent studies, which is permitted under our guidelines," Committee co-Chair and Dean of Undergraduate Education Paula Burger said.
The grading policy deviates from what is stipulated by the undergraduate department of neuroscience. Last spring, administrators decided to make required neuroscience research fall under S/U grading.
The committee of faculty, administrators and students outlined the new policy on awarding academic credit for internships and independent study or research, in response to concerns that credit is being awarded for activities that do not meet academic standards at Hopkins.
"While practical experience is certainly valuable to students, we, and the majority of our peer universities, do not grant credit solely for having an experience that is valuable," Burger said.
Since more organizations are now offering internships only to students who will receive academic credit for their work, the new policy is designed so the school can continue to facilitate these opportunities while still upholding academic standards.
"The purpose of the changes is not to make it more difficult to receive credit, but rather to make certain that credit is awarded only for academically substantive experiences. This is to the benefit of students, not to their detriment," Dean of the School of Arts & Sciences Adam Falk said.
"In fact, by clarifying the credit and academic component issues related to internships, the Committee thought that these guidelines would assist students in finding sponsors for their internships" Burger added.
The Committee also discussed quality measures and grading of independent research -- the pass/fail grading of which students reportedly expressed concern.
"One of the Committee's most challenging discussions, for which additional input from department faculty was invited, related to the difficulty of evaluating independent laboratory research and setting expectations for what constitutes work at a certain level. Inherent difficulties include students' clear expectation that they will almost certainly receive an `A'," the Committee's final report said.
Administrators explained that one of the major student concerns was the possibility of incurring additional tuition costs for the various forms of independent work undertaken during the summer.
Burger said the Committee recommended and deans have agreed to continue to allow students to register for independent study during the summer without payment of tuition.
Students may still receive three credits for an internship if they register for independent study under the supervision of a faculty member, in which the internship will supplement an academic project.
Career Center Director Mark Presnell asserted that although credit may be awarded for internships, it is not a necessary component.
"What employers evaluate is experience. Employers, when they evaluate your resume, care what you do, not whether you got credit for it," Presnell advised.
Although letter grades may be awarded for independent study and research, internships may only be taken for one credit under pass/fail grading. However, if the internship is pursued as independent study with an academic component, such as a research paper, the academic project may be evaluated for a letter grade.
Some students are also concerned that they will not be sufficiently rewarded for their time and effort, since one credit is only the equivalent of 40 hours of work.
"My fear is that making it only one credit makes it very difficult for students to do internships during the semester. I believe it is difficult for students to take five full classes and do an internship," Mark Goldwein, Committee member and undergraduate student, remarked.
"It's a lot of time you're putting in for very little credit. I think that three credits should be awarded, but that it should be pass/fail," sophomore Ashley Colletti argued.
"What Hopkins is trying to accomplish is eliminating `free credit' that doesn't uphold the strong work ethic that is necessary to earn A's at Hopkins. The option of pass/fail internships without a faculty sponsor would allow students to explore career options and still fairly award them credit," she continued.
However, in order to ensure the fair awarding of academic credit, the new policy stresses sufficient faculty supervision of independent work. Full-time tenure or tenure-track Hopkins faculty must serve as sponsors, although researchers and members of outside institutions may supervise the work.
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