Information for Organizations Currently Supervising University of Delaware Communication Student Interns

Thank you for serving as a supervisor for an intern from the University of Delaware’s Communication Department. Below, you will find information that may be useful as the internship progresses. You will find:

• a list of the expectations we have for our interns
• a list of expectations for internship supervisors
• a section discussing end-of-semester evaluation of UD Communication interns

Intern Responsibilities:
1. Students are expected to set up a regular work schedule with their supervisor at the cooperating organization. Students are expected to work a minimum of 4-5 hours per week for the 15 weeks of the semester PER CREDIT HOUR they earn. So, if a student is earning 3 credits for their internship experience, they are expected to work at least 12-15 hours per week.

2. Students are required to meet with other UD Communication Department interns and the Internship Director one hour per week. Failure to attend these meetings on a regular basis will result in a failing grade for the Internship experience.

3. Students are required to complete weekly journals in which they report on their activities and interactions with others at the organization, and apply Communication theories, learned in their previous classes, to their experience at the internship site. You can expect that your intern will periodically ask questions to help them fulfill this requirement.

4. Students complete a portfolio at the end of the semester. The portfolio includes the following:
a. A compilation of the journals kept throughout the semester.
b. Evidence of their work at the internship site (if no tangible work product is produced, they are asked to provide a detailed accounting of their assignments).
c. An evaluation from their supervisor at the cooperating organization (more detail on this is provided below).

Supervisor Responsibilities:
1. Supervisors are expected to provide meaningful work experiences for the interns, so that their internship will help them gauge their future interest in the profession. While it is expected that some percentage of time will be spent on relatively menial tasks, we ask that the majority of the intern’s time be used for activities that will help them learn more about what it is like to work in your organization’s industry.

2. Supervisors are asked to provide an evaluation of the intern’s performance at the completion of the internship. Sample evaluation formats are provided in the next section of this document.

3. If the intern is not performing adequately, or if there are other concerns about the internship experience, supervisors are asked to contact the UD Communication Department’s Internship Director:

Name: Carolyn White Bartoo
Mailing address: 250 Pearson Hall
Newark, DE 19711
Office phone: (302) 831-8026
Fax: (302) 831-1892
E-mail: bartoo@udel.edu

Supervisor Evaluations of Interns

At the end of the internship experience, supervisors will provide an evaluation of the intern’s performance. You can give this letter directly to the student to include in their portfolio (in a sealed envelope, if you wish), or you can submit it to the internship director via fax, e-mail or U.S. mail.

You are welcome to submit this evaluation in any format you prefer, as long as it (a) confirms the student’s completion of the number of hours and tasks agreed upon at the outset of the internship, (b) provides some evaluative statement about the quality of their performance, and (c) is signed by you or sent from an e-mail address that is clearly yours. Sample formats are provided below.

Sample formats

Letter of recommendation – many supervisors choose to submit a letter that resembles a letter of recommendation, detailing what the intern’s duties were and what the strengths and/or limitations of their work have been.

Evaluation form – other supervisors choose to assess their interns with a point-by-point approach. If you take this approach, you are free to select categories that are most appropriate to your organization. Some of the categories past supervisors have used include:
• Attendance/Promptness
• Ability to work independently
• Positive attitude
• Team player/Cooperation
• Organizational skills
• Timely completion of work
• Quality of work (neatness, accuracy, thoroughness)
• Dependability
• Knowledge
• Flexibility/Adaptability
• Initiative
• Written communication skills
• Oral communication skills
• Intern’s strong points
• Areas for improvement
• Intern’s progress over the course of the internship

Some supervisors use a rating scale (e.g. excellent-poor), while others provide written comments for each category. If you are primarily using a rating scale, please include a “comments” section at the end in which you provide some narrative evaluation of the intern’s performance.