FSA Internship Host Requirements

General Requirements of Hosting Organization:

  • Description of the internship experience you are offering and whether it will be on-site or virtual. If it is on-site, clarify if the opportunity can be transitions to a virtual internship if necessary.
  • Housing and meals for intern during internship period, including meals during non-working hours.
  • Designation of preceptor for intern who will provide overall supervision of experience, serves as contact person for the educational institution and intern, coordinate logistics of housing, transportation, etc. 
  • Internship experience should be approximately for 8-10 weeks. Schedules should be coordinated between the intern and the host site.
  • Organizations will be required to sign an agreement with the student's educational institution that outlines the nature of the organization/student relationship and obligations. 

Apply to be a 2024 FSA Internship Host Site.

In compliance with the Fair Labor Standards Act, the internship experience must comply with these criteria:

1. Establish written objectives specific to the intern’s course of study.

  • Written educational objectives are developed for the individual student and internship experience. Objectives should be structured specifically toward providing opportunities and experiences related to the student’s coursework and major that could not be obtained in the classroom environment. This work can be coordinated with the educational institution.
  • Written summary at the conclusion of the internship to ensure the outcomes are measured against the objectives. The summary should include educational growth of the intern and a general overview of performance. Summary is in addition to any documentation required by the academic institution.

2. Internship is for the benefit of the intern

  • The internship must be for the benefit of the intern; therefore learnings should be transferable to other business settings.
  • Provide a letter of reference for future potential employers if established objectives were met.
  • Internship should provide training in the area of study, and should be structured as an extension of the intern’s academic program.
  • Student must be engaged in establishing the objectives of the internship.
  • Provide a forum for written feedback from intern regarding the educational benefit he/she received during the experience.

3. Interns must not work in place of regular employees

  • Intern position must be above and beyond any employee position; they may not fill staff vacancies or allow host site to postpone hiring. Each host site must agree in writing that the internship position is in addition to budgeted employee positions.
  • The intern should not work on projects independently; work should be overseen by the supervisor.

4. Supervision of intern

  • Supervision of the intern by an experienced professional with existing managerial and supervisory capacity who is willing to make the commitment required to participate in and evaluate the success of the internship.
  • A letter should be included in the supervisor’s file stating they are responsible for supervising the intern; a copy of this letter must be sent to the FSA office.

5. Host organization derives no immediate benefit

  • Avoid assigning interns tasks that are normally handled by employees.
  • Have intern work on projects/assignments that support their learning – think long term, global goals. For example, an intern in the marketing department could participate in structuring a marketing campaign that would not immediately come to fruition during the internship experience.
  • At times, the work of the host organization may be impeded – time dedicated to supervising the intern and coordinating with the academic institution may take away time that would be otherwise spent on work.
  • Interns are not entitled to a job upon completion of the internship experience.

6. Insurance Requirements

Host Site shall maintain the following types of insurance:   

  • Host Site shall maintain professional liability insurance coverage of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $3,000,000 annual aggregate. 
  • Host Site shall maintain general liability insurance coverage of at least $1,000,000 per occurrence and $3,000,000 annual aggregate. 
  • Host Site shall maintain workers’ compensation insurance coverage for all employees supervising the Program.
  • Host Site shall provide School with a Certificate of Insurance evidencing the above Insurance Coverage upon execution of this Agreement and at renewal of all relevant policies. Host Site shall notify the school in advance of any significant modification, termination, or cancellation of such policies. The School will not be responsible for any deductible, coinsurance, or self-insured retentions associated with the Host Site’s insurance policies. No contributions by Host Site or its Carrier(s) will be sought from the School or any of the Schools insurance policies.

Miscellaneous

  • Students should not spend more than 35 hours/week interning.
  • Interns may receive a $500/month stipend from FSA. This will be paid directly to the intern from FSA. Half of the stipend will be paid upon arrival at the internship site; the second half will be paid at the start of the second half of the internship.
  • Interns should submit expenses for initial travel to the hosting site to FSA for reimbursement, and expenses for their return trip at the completion of the internship.
  • Interns must go through the same pre-employment health and background screenings as regular employees, utilizing the same forms. The host site is responsible for coordinating this work. It is acceptable for the host site to send the intern with health screening forms and request completion prior to arrival.

Sharing an Intern

It is possible for organizations to share an intern if desired. Hosting organizations will need to coordinate housing and meals, transportation between campuses, the internship experience, and work with the college. Health and background screenings could be conducted once, but both organizations will need to have the documented results on their own forms for the records.

Apply to be a 2024 FSA Internship Host Site.

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