Regulations on Off-campus Internships of Tongji Undergraduate Students

Student internship is one of the important practice teaching phases of the undergraduate training program, with the aim of carrying out the principle of combining theoretical knowledge with actual practice. Through their contact with society, students can understand national conditions and a professional background, so as to make the school teaching closely related to social needs. Through completing their internship, students can broaden their horizons, consolidate and use theoretical knowledge, and cultivate their ability to analyze and solve problems. The conception of labor, professional dedication, and entrepreneurship can also be strengthened and encouraged during this process. At the same time, it can promote the development of the industry-university-research integrated education as well as the quality of talent training. 

In order to standardize the management of off-campus internships and improve its quality, these regulations are formulated based on the actual situation at Tongji University.

I. Organization of Internship Teaching

The work of internship teaching is managed in two levels: colleges/schools (departments), and the university. The vice president is responsible for the entire internship work, including convening the internship work meetings, approving the annual internship plan, and examining relevant regulations and policies.

The Academic Affairs Office is responsible for the design of internship teaching, the establishment of the annual internship plan, and the formulation of relevant regulations and policies. During the internship process, the Office also needs to solve problems, organize the inspection and evaluation, and submit an annual summary.

Colleges/schools (departments) arrange internship teaching according to professional training plans. The Academic Offices of colleges/schools (departments) are responsible for the administration of internship teaching, and submit the annual summaries.

II. Arrangement and Form of Internship Teaching

Internships are generally divided into four types: understand internship (e.g., social investigations and professional visits, etc.), internship to supplement teaching (e.g., surveying, geology, engineering surveying and mapping, art internship, etc.), production internship (e.g., professional internship, and clinical internship, etc.) and graduation internship. All internships are arranged primarily in the stage of internship teaching in the second semester. In principle, the time schedule should be: one to two weeks for understand internship and internship to supplement teaching, three to four weeks for production internship, and no more than six weeks for the graduation internship which is arranged in the graduation design semester. The five-year program, seven-year program, and the medical specialty program can adjust the schedule of internship teaching according to their training plans.

Internship teaching adopts various organizational forms such as concentration and decentralization, inside and outside campuses, inside and outside Shanghai, internship and teaching, scientific research, and competition. For the decentralization form of internship teaching, we must strengthen the organization and administration, implement strict requirements of internships, and reinforce the supervision and inspection of the internships. The importance of education of safety awareness to prevent the accidents should also be stressed.

III. Internship Teaching Documents

1. Internship Syllabus

The Internship syllabus is created based on the training plan of each college/school (department), which provides the guarantee to achieve the objectives and requirements of internship teaching. It is also an important basis of the internship plan, guidelines for internship, and performance assessment of the students. Each specialty must create the Internship Syllabus according to the actual situation, which should be compiled into a booklet by the college/school (department) and reported to the Academic Affairs Office for recording. The Internship Syllabus must include the following parts: (1) the purpose and requirements of the internship; (2) the content of the internship; (3) the time of the internship; (4) the patterns and arrangements of the internship; (5) the content and methods of the internship assessment.

2. Internship Plan

Internship plan is arranged according to the teaching requirements of “the Internship Syllabus“ and the actual situation of the internship unit (site). In the premise of the effect and quality of the internship, the internship instructors should choose internship bases, internship units, or internship sites according to the principle of proximity, location and stability. The internship plan includes: specialty of internship, number of students, nature of the internship, internship units, place and time of the internship, teachers in charge of the internship, the internship schedule and budget, and etc.

3. Guidelines for Internship

Guidelines for Internship are compiled by the internship instructors and internship units (or according to the actual circumstances of the internship sites) and their content must include: internship content and requirements, internship places and internship methods the arrangement of the internship report, organization of visit, assignment requirements, the requirements of social investigation and labor, the attendance system and performance assessment, and etc.

IV. Administration of Internship Teaching

1. The internship teaching is under the charge of the vice dean responsible for teaching (vice head of department responsible for teaching). The college/school (department) should set up a " leading group of internship teaching", which is responsible for the organization and mobilization of teachers and students for learning before the internship, the inspection and guidance during the internship, dealing with difficulties and problems during the internship, and completing the internship summary after the internship.

2. Based on the training plan, each specialty should create the internship plan in March of every year, which will be collected by the Academic Affairs Office of the college/school (department), and reported to Practice Teaching Section after the review and approval by the vice dean responsible for teaching (vice head of department responsible for teaching).

3. Colleges/schools (departments) will assign teachers who have professional titles of lecturer or above or those with teaching experience to be the internship team leaders, who will be responsible for the teaching and administration of the internships.

4. The selected internship sites should be complete in variety, advanced in equipment and technology, large in scale, high in the management level, normal in production, and good in internship conditions.

5. Early in June of every year, each course program should complete “Internship Loan Application of Tongji University” according to the “Academic Year Schedule of Teaching Activities during Practice Teaching Phase”. The internship fund plan should be prepared carefully in accordance with the principles of frugality and seeking truth from facts by following the Provisions on Expenses During Off-campus Internship for Tongji Undergraduate Students (No.39[2005]-TJedu). Only after the approval of colleges/schools (departments) can the loan be offered by the Financial Office.

6. Before an internship begins: (1) the internship instructors must visit the internship units to know well the specific conditions of the workshops (such as equipment and management), and also work with the leaders and technicians of the internship units to formulate detailed arrangements and measures of the internships on the basis of the requirements of the internship syllabi;  (2) Each college/school (department) goes to the Practice Teaching Section to obtain the Tongji University's Internship Handbooks and distributes copies of the handbook to internship instructors (leading teachers), internship units, and internship students. In the meantime, each college/school (department) must organize teachers and students to study regulations for internships in order to accomplish the internships successfully. This includes their study of the Regulations on Off-campus Internships of Tongji University Undergraduate Students, Provisions on Safety of Off-Campus Internships of Tongji University Undergraduate Students, and Provisions Students Should Observe During Internships; (3) Each college/school (department) should educate students to abide by internship discipline, regulations on safety, confidentiality and public property protection, and formulate practical measures to ensure internships to run smoothly; (4) Each training program or internship team collects Diary of Production Internships of Tongji University and covers of "Report on Production Internships of Tongji University" for internship students. Covers of "Report on Production Internships of Tongji University" are limited to students in production internships. 

7. During internships: (1) internship instructors must stay at the internship sites to organize students for activities of observation, visit, data collection, and on-the-spot teaching (e.g., giving reports and lectures, and answering questions by factory personnel). Students are also organized to summarize each internship phase and exchange their internship experiences with others. Internship instructors need to check and urge students regularly to complete the internship diary and other assignments so as to grasp the progress of students' internship and provide daily guidance to ensure the quality of students' internships and achieve expected teaching objectives. During internships, students should record the internship content in the internship diary for data collection of internship reports; (2) Each student must complete the internship report earnestly, which is one of the important bases for assessing internship performances. Its contents must include: technology and process for production of products and parts, functions and design principles of instruments and equipment, essential data of projects or tests, technical reports, research reports, introductions of products and personal experiences etc.

8. After the internships are completed, (1) internship instructors will review and provide comments on students’ internship reports and summaries, evaluate the students' performances and completion of assignments and etc. to generate the internship grades (work together with instructors of internship units, if there are any); (2) Internship instructors need to ensure the internship unit leader completes the Evaluation Form on Off-campus Internship of Tongji University and arrange for the farewell and ending of the internship work. After completing the internship summaries, internship instructors must report to leading group of internship teaching in colleges/schools (departments), who will then report to Academic Affairs Office; and (3) Students' production internship reports, teachers' assessment and comments, and internship grades must be submitted to the academic offices of colleges/schools (departments) to keep on record for three years.

V. Management and Use of Funds for Internship Teaching

1. The main source of internship teaching funds is lump-sum teaching funds of colleges/schools (departments). If the student internship is one part of the teacher's scientific research or technical consultation projects, the teacher can use part of the research consultation fees to solve the deficiencies in the internship expenses.

2. The internship teaching funds shall be administered by colleges/schools (departments) to ensure the financial input to the internships. The specific method and principle of using the funds shall follow the Provisions on Expenses During Off-campus Internship for Tongji Undergraduate Students (No.39[2005]-TJedu).

VI. Internship Attendance, Safety, and Discipline

1. Internship students must follow the instructions and arrangements of internship instructors/lead teachers and internship units, participate in various arranged internship activities, and complete internship programs as required.

2. During student internships, students' attendance and discipline shall be strictly implemented in accordance with the Provisions on Administration of Student Status of Tongji University Undergraduate Students, Provisions to Be Obeyed by Tongji University Students during Internship and Provisions on Safety of Off-Campus Internships of Tongji University Undergraduate Students.

3. Students who are unable to participate in their internship due to personal illness or other reasons must present certificates issued by hospitals or written statements to their colleges/schools (departments) to ask for leave. During internships, students are not allowed to leave internship sites without permission from their internship instructors, or otherwise they will be disciplined due to their absenteeism. Those who fail or fail to participate in their internships must retake it within the prescribed time.

4. Students should place safety first, resolutely eliminate potential safety hazards, pay attention to safety with regard to fire, hazardous products, food, drink and operation. During their internships, students are responsible for their personal safety and even bear economic and legal responsibility in case of the loss of personnel and property caused by their violation of safety rules and internship disciplines. If serious adverse effects are caused due to a violation of law and discipline, the punishment shall be enforced.

VII. Internship Assessment

1. Internships will be assessed comprehensively according to the student's attitude, internship effects, attendance, and the examination results. The internship grade is classified into five levels: Excellent, Good, Average, Pass, and Fail.

2. Various forms of assessment can be adopted, such as writing internship (production) reports, survey reports, scientific research reports, written tests, oral tests, on-site operation and discussion, design, and completion of assignments.

3. A strict assessment system should be applied to students who undertake decentralized internships. Apart from the review of internship reports and assignments by internship instructors, colleges/schools (departments) should also organize a defense.

4. Students who pass the internship will be given corresponding credit. Students' internship grades will be distributed normally in principle and will be given strictly in accordance with the proportion of excellent grades.

VIII. Greetings and Inspections During the Internship

During internships, the University and colleges/schools (departments) send greetings to internship instructors and students, express gratitude to internship units for their support, and conduct spot checks or inspections of on-campus and off-campus internship teaching. The inspections mainly involve organization of internships and the internship teaching effect, to include: internship teaching documents, conditions of internship bases, teaching materials, student assignments (or internship reports), feedback from the internship unit, feedback from the students, the use of funds, and etc. After the inspections, evaluations and suggestions for the internship teaching are provided.

IX. Construction of Off-campus Internship Bases

The construction of internship bases is related directly to the quality of the students' internship teaching, which plays an indispensable role in the cultivation of students' practical and innovative abilities. Colleges/schools (departments) should actively create conditions to establish all kinds of social connections, especially with those internship sites in which our students have been accepted to complete their internships, so as to establish internship bases by signing agreements in accordance with Provisions on the Construction of Off-campus Internship Bases for Undergraduates of Tongji University. At the same time, importance should be attached to the daily construction and administration of internship bases.

X. Summary of Internship

After the completion of students’ internship teaching, each training program should organize exchange of experiences and complete a written summary which is made up of the implementation of the internship program, instruction methods, work characteristics, problems, solutions, experience, quality analysis, assessment of the internship achievements, and suggestions. The instructor’s written internship summaries are submitted to (departments) for recording. Colleges/schools (departments) will then submit a comprehensive internship teaching summary based on the summary materials of each training program to Practice Teaching Section of Academic Affairs Office in September each year.

XI. Supplementary Provisions

1. The original Regulations on Off-campus Internships for Undergraduates of Tongji University (No. 202[2001]-TJedu) is superseded.

 2. These regulations shall be interpreted and implemented by Academic Affairs Office.