Sponsor for Internships
Faculty members are the key to successful experiential learning opportunities for students. Every student who receives an offer for an academic internship must ask a faculty sponsor to work with him/her.
Average salary data
The James W. Stuckert Career Center compiles employment data from seniors each year. This information is shared with employers and students so that they can make educated decisions about salary offers. Feel free to use this data to educate yourself and your students about average salaries upon graduation. We are always working to increase response rates! If you know of students that have accepted full-time job offers, then please encourage your students to complete the Employment Opportunity Survey.
Find out the statistics information about UK's graduates employment 2005 (PDF), 2006 (PDF), and 2007 (PDF).
Faculty status is required to supervise interns. However, teaching assistants may work with students if the supervising faculty will co-sign the learning contract and agree to be ultimately responsible for the course supervision.
Students may take this elective course outside their majors, but departmental approval is required. Therefore, for example, a History Department faculty member could be a sponsor for a student majoring in Historic Preservation in the College of Design, or vice versa.
Responsibilities of the sponsor include:
- Helping the student design a learning plan
- Meeting with the student to discuss progress, projects, problems, etc.
- Maintaining contact with the site supervisor as necessary
- Evaluating the learning
- Assigning the final grade and submitting it to the Career Center
- Developing and approving academic assignments which should be reflective in nature. Examples of assignments often given to interns
- Weekly journals (sometimes with prompt questions)
- Presentations (to classes on campus, at the site, etc.)
- Comprehensive papers on the learning experience
- Analysis assignments (e.g. "analyze the communication system used by -this company")
- Supplemental reading to enhance the experience
There are many benefits to becoming involved with students gaining real world experience through an internship. Below are some of the most common benefits that previous faculty mentors have referenced.
- Faculty are able to network with professionals who come in daily contact with the realities of the profession
- Students can assist in research of import to faculty
- Students return to the classroom with new insights and heightened interest in the subject matter
- Faculty can learn/implement creative applications of experiential education
Service Learning & Engagement
Service-learning is both a philosophy of education and a method of teaching that bridges the classroom and the community by engaging learners in the application of theory to service. It is a type of experiential education that combines academic learning, organized service, and reflection in such a way as to gain further understanding of course content. It is not volunteerism or charity; it is transformative learning which enriches the curriculum and involves students and faculty in contributing to the common good. Students have a chance to participate in meaningful service and practical learning on an individual basis or through group projects incorporated into UK courses and programs by faculty. There are currently 55 service-learning sites and community partners.
Watch Service-Learning: Imagine the Possibilities Video - Text Transcript (DOC) to get a better idea of what service-learning is all about! The video includes the definition, sample projects, student participants, community partners, and faculty.
Some of the benefits produced through service-learning:
- learning is enhanced
- greater sense of citizenship is developed
- community need is met
- partnerships are created
It's really easy to incorporate a service-learning project into your course!
Stages of a service-learning project:
- Preparation: needs are defined, goals are set for both learning and service, advanced study or training is done
- Service: meaningful service is completed with adequate guidance and supervision
- Reflection: students are asked to think talk/write/think critically about the experience and put facts and ideas together to derive new meaning and understanding
- Evaluation: evaluate students based on achievement of learning objectives; evaluate project by assessing the degree to which learning objectives and service goals were met
- Celebration: culminating event that could take many forms, but involves all parties, recognizes and shows appreciation
Example of a project as it progresses through the stages:
- Decide what learning is expected.
Example: Students will learn to test water using three techniques.
- Develop community partnerships.
Example: Meet with local farmers to discuss water problems to define needs.
- Prepare learners.
Example: Decide on tests needed. Engage students in the plan. Teach students testing techniques as well as what is expected from them in the community setting.
- Assist learners in developing learning plans.
Example: Set objectives and methods for measuring achievement.
- Monitor learners.
Example: Have regular meetings; provide feedback.
- Evaluate the learning.
Example: Use a variety of assessments.
- Celebrate!
Example: Bring everyone together for sharing of successes.
Service-Learning Project Mini-Grants are available through Experiential Education and Career Services with support from the UK Service-Learning Initiatives Council (SLIC). Proposals will be accepted from any University of Kentucky faculty member or group of faculty members on campus. Graduate and undergraduate students may apply through the faculty sponsor involved in the project. Monies awarded can be used to purchase supplies and to cover other project-related costs, such as printing or student transportation. The funds cannot be used for conference travel or as stipends for the researcher or third parties. Grants may be for up to $500, but will most likely be in the $200-$300 range.
View Mini-grant information (DOC)
View Mini-grant proposal cover sheet (DOC).
The Service Learning Initiatives Council (SLIC) is a group of faculty and professional staff that promotes the use of service-learning by UK faculty as a method of teaching and experiential learning. The council provides advisory and active support to the centralized Service-Learning Program based in the academic unit Experiential Education and Career Services and works to gain administrative support and recognition for faculty engaged in service-learning. Some council members may serve in a mentoring role to other faculty and often volunteer their time as panelists or guest speakers for meetings, classes, and service-learning events.
View a listing of current SLIC members (DOC)
If you have additional questions about service-learning projects, please contact:
- Sue Strup - Director of Experiential Education and Career Services at 859-257-2746.
- Esther Livingston - Assistant Director of Experiential Education and Career Services at 859-257-1564.
- Dr. Katherine McCormick - Endowed Professor in Service-Learning at 859 257-9573.
There are numerous resources available to assist you in developing a service-learning project.
The Katherine Kemper Career Library at the James W. Stuckert Career Center has many print resources available to you. Click here for a full list. (DOC)
There are also numerous web resources that you may want to explore. The following are good places to start!
Endowed Professorship in Service-Learning
The University of Kentucky College of Education is pleased to announce the James W. and Diane V. Stuckert Endowed Professorship in Service-Learning. This endowment was made possible by the generous donation of $250,000 from Mr. and Mrs. James Stuckert of Louisville, KY that qualified for matching funds from the state's Research Challenge Trust Fund bringing the total amount of the endowment to $500,000.
"We are thrilled about the Endowed Professorship in Service-Learning," stated Sue H. Strup, MSEd, Director of Experiential Education and Career Services. "The generosity of the Stuckerts and this gift will help move service-learning to the next level at UK for students, faculty and our many community partners." James G. Cibulka, Dean of the College of Education, indicated that this generous gift will permit a faculty member in the college to focus on researching the effectiveness of service-learning, as well as promoting the service-learning through teaching and community engagement activities.
Katherine McCormick, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in Interdisciplinary Early Childhood Education in UK's College of Education and holds the James. W. and Diane V. Stucker Service Learning Professorship. Dr. McCormick earned a Ph.D. in early childhood special education and has been an active advocate for young children and their families for more than twenty years. She has served as chair and member of numerous state and national professional and advisory committees. Dr. McCormick is active in multiple grant activities. She is currently the Co-Principal Investigator for the National Early Childhood Transition Center (NECTC) at the University of Kentucky. NECTC, funded by the Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. NECTC is a longitudinal research project which examines factors that promote successful transitions between infant/toddler services in early intervention, preschool programs and public school settings for young children with disabilities and their families. She is also a co-principal investigator for the UK Jumpstart Program. For more information about service-learning or to schedule an appointment please contact Dr. Katherine McCormick.
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