Dr. Rick Franza, Dean of the Hull College of Business, discusses a different, timely business topic each Monday in this column. This week, he talks about how internships benefit students and businesses. The interview has been edited for clarity and impact.
ABD: I know that internships play an important part in education at the College of Business. What is their purpose of them?
Rick: We require all of our graduates to have a four-credit internship of at least 120 hours, but typically most students end up working more than that. Internships can be during the spring, fall, or summer semesters. It is preparation for the real world or their career and gets them some experience to improve their career prospects. An internship involves three constituent parties – the student, the business, and the university.
ABD: What are the benefits of an internship?
Rick: For college students, they’re getting an internship in the field they want to pursue. They learn whether that is a field they really like or don’t like so much. By the end they’ve gained valuable experience – they’ve learned what they like and don’t like, the people they can work with or not work with. They’re getting accustomed to working as opposed to school. A lot of our students are working part-time but their primary focus is still school. An internship gives them more of a feel for what a full-time job will be like.
When our students are looking for a permanent career job, having experience beyond academics is significant. They can compete against students from better-known business schools because they have the experience they can put on a resume.
As a school, it helps us and future students because if a student goes in and does well, that business thinks more of our school and our future students.
ABD: Are there benefits for the business offering an internship?
Rick: Internships provide a cheaper form of labor than a full-time employee. Also, it is a risk-reducing interview process if they want to hire that student in the future. Instead of an interview of a few hours, they have at least 120 hours to evaluate.
ABD: The stereotype of an intern is someone who’s flunky doing the jobs no one else wants to. How should a business handle the interns it brings in?
Rick: Our worst experience with internships is when the student becomes just an errand person, making coffee and making copies. No one gets much out of that. We don’t want it to be babysitting or having other employees spend time figuring out something for the interns to do. We want the interns to be valuable members of the team.
Before hiring an intern, it’s good to have the internship planned out. It increases success. We ask that our interns be assigned a project that is easy to evaluate. It’s usually a project that would take time away from a full-time employee.
It really is a benefit for the business. It’s cheaper labor and typically it’s not jaded labor – they’re excited to be there. And they’re usually up to date on the latest technology and techniques.
ABD: Do you have a lot of local companies involved in the internship program?
Rick: We have over 100 local companies who partner with us. They vary in size from small to large, and we also have non-profits and organizations involved. We have about 150 students a year who are required to do internships, so we’re always looking for good internship positions. If any business is interested in knowing more, they can contact our internship coordinator, Daniel Rice, at drice4@augusta.edu.
