In today’s job market, a degree is not enough. Deliberative preparation for a rewarding career is a must. Internships are beneficial because they help develop your professional aptitude, strengthen personal character, and provide a greater door to opportunity. By investing in internships, you’ll give yourself the broadest spectrum of opportunity when seeking and applying for a job after college
Co-op & Internship Mission Statement To provide meaningful, hands-on, practical application of classroom knowledge that will enable students to gain skills and experience needed to become employable in their field of study through appropriate opportunities that maintain the integrity of their academic degree.
Depending on your program, there may be more requirements than listed here. Be sure to check with your Academic Advisor and Faculty Coordinator to make sure you’re doing everything you need to do to complete the credit for your program.
Once you have found and been selected for a position, begin and properly complete your for-credit co-op/internship by following the three steps below:
Step 1: Log into Handshake
Select the blue EKU Login button
Use your EKU username and password to access your account.
You must complete a minimum of 80 hours of work per credit hour requested
If you are unsure of how many credit hours to register for, contact your Faculty Coordinator
Step 3: Assignments
Access the timesheet under Career Center/Resources in Handshake. Download and save the semester time sheet.
Track ALL hours worked (Time sheet should automatically calculate).
Upload time sheet on due date to Career Center>Experience>View Details>Add Attachment
Handshake will email the evaluation to you and your supervisor during the last 2 weeks of the semester
Co-Op/ Internship Guidelines
NACE Standards
The following NACE (National Association of Colleges and Employers) STANDARDS should be consulted when considering an appropriate internship. To ensure that an experience is educational, and thus eligible to be considered a legitimate internship by the NACE definition, all the following criteria must be met:
The experience must be an extension of the classroom: a learning experience that provides for applying the knowledge gained in the classroom. It must not be simply to advance the operations of the employer or be the work that a regular employee would routinely perform.
The skills or knowledge learned must be transferable to other employment settings.
The experience has a defined beginning and end, and a job description with desired qualifications.
There are clearly defined learning objectives/goals related to the professional goals of the student’s academic coursework.
There is supervision by a professional with expertise and educational and/or professional background in the field of the experience.
There is routine feedback by the experienced supervisor.
There are resources, equipment, and facilities provided by the host employer that support learning objectives/goals.
If these criteria are followed, it is the opinion of NACE that the experience can be considered a legitimate internship.
Enrollment Information
Students should request credit for the experience through Handshake by the second week of the semester, or within 2 weeks of starting the experience. Every effort should be made to request credit prior to starting the position.
Students must have a minimum of 2.0 institutional GPA to be registered. A declared major, 30 credits hours completed and enrollment at EKU in the semester before the internship are also required. Employers and specific departments/majors may have higher requirements. EX: College of Business requires a 2.25 and 60 completed hours.
Students cannot register for more credit hours than they are able to complete within the semester requested.
Length/Hour Information
Per the Catalog: Co-op is 16 weeks for spring and fall semesters and 12 weeks for summer term. Internships have more flexibility, but must be pre-approved
An internship or co-op experience should encompass the entire semester. A minimum number of hours (80 work hours per registered credit) must be completed, but the experience should last for the entire length of the semester.
A student must work a minimum of 8 weeks over the summer semester/terms and 10 during the academic semester and only when extenuating circumstance apply. Experiences lasting less than a full semester should be discussed with the Office of Academic and Career Services and the Faculty Coordinator.
Winter Term internship/co-op experiences will be discussed on a case-by-case basis with the Office of Advising and Career Services and the Faculty Coordinator.
Credit hours requested cannot be changed during the semester unless unforeseeable instances occur (major illness, leave of absence, employer’s needs change) and require written approval from the Office of Advising and Career Services and the department.
Experience Eligibility
Students cannot use positions in which they are already currently employed in without prior approval of the Office of Advising and Career Services and their Faculty Coordinator. Students given approval to use an already existing employment opportunity must complete additional tasks within their employment to show the additional learned value of the experience.
Students can only receive credit for 1 course per semester for each experience.
Students cannot be supervised by family members or other students.
Experience must be relevant to course of study and give students work experience needed for post graduate employment.
Students must be in an environment where they are completing worthwhile, hands-on, industry related tasks and be supervised and mentored by an industry professional who can aid in their professional development.
Students should only complete 1 internship or co-op experiences per semester. Should a student wish to complete more than 1, prior approval from the Office of Academic and Career Services and the department must be obtained. A student must be requesting more than 1 credit hour to be considered for this approval.
Students cannot use past experiences for credit. Only work completed DURING the semester that the student is registered can be counted for credit. Please consult the time sheet for the semester you intend to co-op/intern for clarification of weeks accepted for counted hours.
Positions in direct sales or independent contract work cannot be used for credit.
Elected or appointed positions in organizations/clubs/etc. cannot be used for credit
YES! All programs at EKU have a co-op or internship class option. Some programs require so many hours of credit and others have the experience as elective credit. Be sure to check with your academic advisor to clarify what your program requires.
Co-ops and internships are the best way to get real, hands-on experience in your field while still in school. After graduation, many “entry level” positions still require some previous experience. Completing a co-op or internship will allow you to confidently reply that, yes, you have the education AND experience they’re looking for!
In most cases, if you meet the following criteria, you are eligible to register for a co-op/internship. Be sure to check with your department to see if there are any special additional requirements.
Have completed 30 credit hours and at least one full semester at EKU
Be in a declared major program
Maintain a minimum 2.0 GPA
Employers who hire interns are not required to pay them for the experience. However, many employers will pay their interns an hourly wage or stipend. You can always work with your employer to negotiate employment terms.
A Co-op is a multiple semester commitment with progressive responsibilities, while an Internship could last just one semester.
A Co-op must include at least one Fall or Spring semester, while Internships can be entirely done in the Summer.
A Co-op must be paid, while an Internship can be paid or unpaid.
Your Faculty Coordinator is a Professor in your Department who is responsible for approving your job description as relevant for your major, evaluating your assignments and giving you a grade. An updated list of Faculty Coordinators can be found here.
Call the Office of Advising and Career Services at 859-622-1296, or come by our front desk to schedule a Co-op/Internship appointment.
Call the Office of Advising and Career Services at (859) 622-1296, or come by our front desk to schedule an appointment on “Choosing a Major/Career”.
After securing your position in your internship and getting approval from your faculty coordinator, you can kick off the registration process by submitting an “Experience” through your Handshake account. Log in to your account by clicking on the “Student Handshake Login” at the top left corner of your screen or by visiting here.
No. You can only get credit for the hours you have worked during your Co-op/Internship semester, or one week prior/after the semester. This grace period is extended to 3 weeks after the Fall semester and before the Spring semesters. If you want to discuss exceptions, you must talk to your Faculty Coordinator, who will possibly refer you to the Department Chair.
If you can see your attachments on your Experiences account then so can your coordinator. It is up to you to make sure that you have read and fully understand the directions and completed them accordingly. You can also see if you have submitted your evaluation. If you are unsure if your Job Supervisor has completed your evaluation, please follow up with them that they have completed it. If they haven’t received the email from Handshake, you should contact our office at oacs@eku.edu.
This issue can generally be resolved by making sure you are following the directions as provided. In some cases, students have had difficulty in uploading documents or filling out information when they are at work and using their work computers or the company network. We cannot control the security features of your employer. Please try again on your phone (do not use the app for this specific issue, but a regular web browser), or your personal computer or network. If the issue persists, please screen shot the issue and contact us for assistance.
The approval and registration process can take up to 3 weeks. Several factors can contribute to delays, such as not properly filling out all information requested, inputting incorrect information, and having holds on your account.
Yes. Each experience is a new class, therefore all assignments must be completed every semester.
Call the Office of Advising and Career Services at (859) 622 1296, or come by our front desk.
