One year after a decision to reduce credits for internships went into effect, frustrated students are finding themselves increasingly likely to do internships for anything but credit.
Hopkins students seeking additional credits for an internship have had to take the alternate route of completing an independent study, which grants them three credits.
"We don't give academic credit for people who do meaningful jobs. We give them for people who do meaningful academic work," Dean of Undergraduate Education Paula Burger said.
In May 2006, a committee appointed by Burger and Vice Dean for Faculty Andrew Douglas decided in favor of a proposal to lower the number of credits awarded for an internship from three to one.
In addition to work hours - which can range from part to full time - students must meet academic requirements by completing coursework equal to one University course.
For many students, compensation does not equal the amount of work they have to put in.
"There's no incentive to do an internship for one credit. I think students would be less inclined to do it. I did a paid internship because there wasn't enough incentive," senior Amanuel Alemu said.
Others are concerned that insufficient credit has been dissuading students from pursuing internships that would have likely contributed to the University, since in order to gain credit, students must work with faculty.
"For students who are discouraged, the cost will not necessarily be to themselves but to the school," senior Paula Vargas said.
But when it comes to awarding credit, administrators stress that the academic component is the most important factor.
"While we recognize the desire on the part of many students to secure internships ... we want to emphasize the importance of granting academic credit only for academic work," wrote members of the Committee on Independent Work (CIW) in their report.
Senior Shane Woolwine felt that this lack of credit completely dissuaded students from taking internships unless they are otherwise compensated.
"I think students are just not even considering it anymore. Before it was being considered; now [when] it's one credit versus pay, obviously you're going to pick pay," he said.
Woolwine added that the possibility of earning three credits would make him strongly consider having an internship.
"The problem is that myself and maybe other students are in a similar situation needing money more than credits," he said.
Additional concerns included students not being properly compensated for the amount of work being done.
"My purpose for being here is to be better suited for the real world. That internship should be worth three or six [credits]," Student Council Vice President for Activities Andrew Gerba said.
"In terms of one academic course that I have taken, I can assure you that I put more energy and learned more from my internship than I drew from any individual class from the University," he added.
Gerba worked nine hours a day for two months in an unpaid internship at International Management Group over the summer.
For his work at the talent agency and production company, he earned one credit
"You can do the math. That's 40 to 45 hour weeks for 9 weeks, putting close to 400 hours. It seems a little ludicrous when there are other kids in the same internship getting 9 to 12 credits for the summer," he said.
Burger responded by asserting that the work was not of an academic nature, and that different universities have different policies, some of which are more stringent than the one at Hopkins.
"If he wants, he could go to a faculty member and he could write a paper on how insurance markets are affected by downturn in the economy. You don't get an amount of academic credit for putting in the hours. But there is a way that you could certainly produce something that is credit worthy and capable of being evaluated by a faculty member," Burger said.
The CIW outlined the methodology of awarding credit and recommended they continue the policy that students should not be able to earn more than three credits for research, independent study, or internship credit per semester.
"As a general guideline, independent research should require an investment of 40 hours of work total to be worth one credit. The expectation for an independent study is that the effort expended should be equivalent to what is expected in a traditional course for the same amount of credit" said the Committee's final report.
During the school year, internships must contend with a myriad of other student activities. The University considered and discarded a plan that would allocate credits for an internship based on the amount of hours spent working.
Through Student Council, Gerba proposed a system of hours worked for credits earned, ranging from 40 hours for one credit to 120 or more hours for three credits. The employer would be responsible for keeping track of hours worked.
"Once you get into the school year, I understand it's a different situation. Maybe a student isn't putting in as much time, but this is the reason for the hour assignments for the credits you receive," Gerba said.
The findings of the CIW acknowledged that through independent study, students can earn both work experience and pay as well as academic credit.
Administrators do not oppose this option so long as only one credit is being awarded for the internship itself, and that students are doing additional academic work to earn up to three credits.
"It is almost impossible to implement an internship policy that prevents students from receiving both pay and credit," curriculum committee member Tyler Krus said.
"The only solution is close relationships between employers and faculty to ensure that internships for credit have sufficient academic merit without pay," he added.
However, students who are not as credit-conscious continue to sign up for internships in the interests of pursuing their academic interests.
Vargas undertook an internship with the Director of Student Health and Wellness last year.
"It was purely out of my academic and research interests. I originally wanted to do an independent study but chose to do an internship instead because despite the credit limit I just really want to pursue this academic interest. It's also an opportunity to pursue work with certain faculty that you wouldn't get to do in class," Vargas said.
"I like the option of having it just because it shows up on your transcript and the fact that you get it graded can show that those who are looking at your transcript how well you are doing what you are doing as opposed to only doing it for money," sophomore Alan Lam said.
