The Department of Communications Media at Fitchburg State College found, based on over 25 years of experience, that "supervising between 6 to 9 interns in a full-time internship that corresponds to a semester in length is the equivalent of one 3-credit course" (Sides & Mrvica 2007:69). They also discuss the pros and cons of removing internship supervision from academic departments versus having faculty supervise internships. Although removing supervision from academic departments eliminate encroaching on teaching, research or service time, it may result in result in rudimentary and superficial supervision, reduced to “ensuring that deadlines are met, appropriate forms are completed, and interns are progressing appropriately toward the completion of their internship”.
My personal expereince is that if the cooperative education practitioner (intern supervisor) is a subject matter expert, she can engage with students in dialogue about their learning experiences.
Sides CH. & Mrvica A. 2007. Internships, theory and practice. New York: Baywood
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