COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT MAJOR'S HANDBOOK



COMPUTER SCIENCE DEPARTMENT

Computer Science Major’s Handbook

INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

The Computer Science Department believes that internships for its students represent a valuable learning experience that supplements more traditional classroom instruction. An internship is seen as an opportunity to develop skills and acquire experience that could not otherwise be gained from courses and studies in the department. Secondary effects of internship experience include the development of a sense of responsibility in the student and the opportunity for student participation in actual on-the-job situations. The details of the program are described below.

Project Goals

The work or project that the student carries out for an internship for credit must be related to the Computer Science curriculum. The student should be working on some specific project rather than just doing tasks that might arise. Designing and implementing a specific non-trivial software package (e.g. an inventory system) is an example of an appropriate student internship project. Items such as software/hardware installation or maintenance, or using standardized packages like databases, report generators, or spreadsheets for simple applications would not normally be meaningful enough to qualify as an internship.

Working Conditions

The general guideline for internships is that 56 person hours of work equals one credit hour. Thus, 12 hours per week for a 14 week semester amounts to 168 hours, which is equal to three credit hours. Students can, however, choose to register for fewer credit hours than indicated by the number of work hours. The student is responsible for maintaining both the internship schedule and the academic schedule. The internship may or may not be a salaried position. It may also be completed during the summer on a part-time or full-time basis.

College Credit

College credit for Computer Science internships is taken from the student's pool of free electives; No credit toward Computer Science requirements will be given for internships. A student cannot register for credit for an internship (CSC497) until a proposal has been accepted by the Computer Science faculty member in charge of internships. This proposal, described explicitly later in this document, should be submitted and approved the semester prior to the one in which credit is being sought. It should be agreed to by the prospective employer with the knowledge that the terms should be adhered to by the employer under normal circumstances. In other words, the employer should not change the terms of the internship or alter the task significantly while the internship is in progress.

Generally, the chair of the department acts as initial liaison in setting up potential internships and informs prospective employers of the terms under which internships are conducted. It is the obligation of the student to make subsequent contacts with the employer in order to define the task to be performed, prepare the proposal, and obtain approval of the employer and the Computer Science faculty member in charge of internships.

Evaluation

On completion of the internship, the student should submit a report to the Computer Science faculty member in charge of internships on the work accomplished. The details of this report are given later in this document. The immediate supervisor at the place of work should submit a letter or evaluation form describing among other things the quality of the work performed by the student, the degree of completion of the assigned task, and the reliability of the student. The deadline for the supervisor's report and the final version of the student's report is the last day of classes of the semester in which internship credit is being sought.

The grade for an internship is based on the supervisor's report, and the Computer Science faculty member's evaluation of the project accomplishments and the student's report. Internships will be graded on a Pass/Fail scale. Internships will be awarded a grade of pass if the reports indicate successful completion of the internship tasks. If the supervisor’s report indicates the internship was unsuccessful, the student will receive a grade of fail.

Internship Proposal

The proposal is a statement of what the internship is expected to accomplish. It is intended to act as an agreement between the employer and the student that serves as a statement to the Computer Science Department about the goals of the internship. The proposal must be accepted by both the immediate supervisor at the site of the internship and the faculty member in charge of internships. This means the proposal must be signed by both of these parties. Copies of the signed proposal should be given to the supervisor and faculty member. One copy should be placed in the student's departmental file. The student should also keep a copy.

The proposal should be clearly written. It is expected that the proposal may undergo several drafts before it is finally accepted by the on-site supervisor and the Computer Science faculty member. The proposal should be free of grammatical and spelling errors.

The proposal for an internship should include the following information:

• Student name

• Faculty name (Computer Science faculty in charge of internships)

• Faculty phone number

• Supervisor name (at site of internship)

• Company name

• Company phone number

• Date submitted

• Project title

• Purpose of project – a short (1 or 2 paragraph) overview of the project

• Background – define terms, discuss importance of project

• Project description – specifically what the project intends to accomplish, how it will be accomplished

• Resources – list hardware, software, human resources to be used

• Benefits to student – a statement of what the student expects to gain from the internship (other than money)

Internship Final Report

The final report is a summary of what the student accomplished during the course of the internship. Its function is to convince the Computer Science faculty person in charge of internships that what was accomplished deserves a good grade. It should be a written report describing the project and its outcome. The report should include a statement about what was learned and/or experienced during the internship. It should be signed by the on-site supervisor. Listings and documentation prepared for the employer should accompany the report. This last requirement may be waived if the employer feels that listings and documentation are too sensitive to leave the site of the internship. To obtain a waiver the student should provide a statement in writing from the employer. The department reserves the right to visit the site to look at the code and documentation.

The student should expect that the final report may undergo several drafts. The document should be free of spelling and grammatical errors. The final, signed version should be submitted no later than the last day of class for the semester in which credit is being sought.

The final report should contain the following:

• Student name

• Faculty name (Computer Science faculty in charge of internships)

• Faculty phone number

• Supervisor name

• Company name

• Company phone number

• Date submitted

• Project title

• Brief project description – a brief statement of what the internship was trying to accomplish

• Project summary – what was done by the student and how it was done in sufficient detail to give the faculty member some idea of what completion of the project entailed. This does not mean provide every detail, nor does it mean omit important details. It should be enough to convince the faculty member that the internship deserves a grade of Pass.

• Benefits to student – a short (1 paragraph) statement about what the student learned as a result of the internship.

................
................

In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.

Google Online Preview   Download