SGA Update

Two weeks ago today, I met with the Faculty Educational Affairs Committee (EAC) to discuss internships for credit. We discussed different options to move forward on the issue, seeking a compromise that would gain favor from both students and faculty members. The Faculty EAC expressed reservations and offered ideas about academic credit for summer internships.

First, they expressed reservations about the potential for students to use internship credits to substitute for a regular fall or spring class. Some EAC members believe that this would dilute the expected academic standards Middlebury has for students during the fall and spring semesters. This concern permeates discussions about internships for credit with faculty and students alike and is the fundamental question surrounding this policy. In my view, receiving credit for a summer internship does not dilute standards but rather infuses diversity and flexibility into our academic culture. Internships offer students the opportunity to explore areas of study unavailable on campus and to make connections between varied summer experiences and on-campus learning. Accredited internships will not damage our academic integrity. Rather, they will enhance it.

The EAC posited a potential compromise, in which students who complete internships during the summer would earn credit toward the on-campus J-term requirement. Through this system, students could earn academic credit for internships without reducing the number of classes they take during Fall and Spring semesters, thereby maintaining the College’s current academic standards.

After discussing this option with the SGA Senate and members of the SGA Cabinet, I have concluded that such a compromise would not offer enough academic flexibility to students. Further, I do not view J-term as synonymous with the lesser. Many students take difficult courses such as organic chemistry, statistics, and Chinese during J-term, just like they do during the Fall and Spring semesters. Plus, courses taken during J-term, although sometimes different in focus than classes during the Fall and Spring, offer rigorous learning opportunities for students. Only allowing students to use credits from internships for credit during Winter Term suggests that there is a fundamental difference in quality between credit earned in January and credit earned during the rest of the academic year. I do not agree with that precept. As such, if internships count towards credit at all, they should count towards any credit throughout the year.

Another possible compromise we discussed with the faculty EAC is the incorporation of a capstone project into the accreditation process for an internship. Students, after finding an internship, could apply for credit, find a professor with whom to work and register for an independent study during the fall semester. During that independent study, a student would work with their advising professor to complete a capstone project. This project, which might take the form of a paper or a presentation, would serve as a learning opportunity for students and would bring the internship into its academic context. Because a student would complete most of the work of her credit during the summer, she would have more flexibility during the following semester to choose more difficult classes or focus on the rest of her classes more intently.

Using an independent study to complete an accredited internship also enables professors to continue using their summers to write, research, and plan for the coming year. If professors begin advising internships and directing projects during the summer, then the undergraduate academic calendar will stretch across the entire year. Currently, the College does not function on that model. Perhaps, however, we should discuss options for students to earn a credit for internships during the summer without extending their efforts into the following semester.

Many students and faculty alike have expressed doubt about the quality of internships, and how a low-quality yet accredited internship degrades the worth of academic credits generally. I share this concern. However, the process of submitting the internship for review and finding an advisor with whom to work would weed out the unworthy internships. Not all summer experiences would qualify for credit, and even those that pass initial review would require further reflection. If an internship proves less valuable than anticipated, responsibility would fall on the student to seek academic credit through other avenues. The professor’s relationship with the student during and after the internship would ensure that this process occurs. This expectation may appear optimistic, but the act of trusting students to do the right thing and believing that they desire to learn serves an essential part of our community. It forms the basis of our honor code and it informs the purpose of a liberal arts education. The assumption that students, given the opportunity, would shirk academic responsibilities undermines our academic culture, which is the very phenomenon that the EAC wants to avoid. I want to maintain our academic integrity too; internships would not detract from that integrity, but would instead build it.

As always, if you have questions, comments, critiques or criticisms, email me at sga@middlebury.edu. Good luck on your finals!