Administrative Measures of the Organization of Scattered Internships at Tongji University

In order to meet the demands of the rapid development of the Chinese market economy and improve the teaching quality and effect of student off-campus internships, an increasing number of courses at Tongji University have adopted scattered internships.

Scattered internships refer to teaching activities which students attend individually or in groups in off-campus enterprises or institutions after students or teachers contact the internship units by themselves. Scattered internships have certain advantages over the centralized internships. Scattered internships are conducive to stimulating students’ enthusiasm and autonomy, engaging students in the practical work of the production and management fronts as employees, and alleviating the pressure of enterprises and institutions caused by accepting excessive numbers of students as interns at one time. Also, it is beneficial for teachers to have extensive contact with society and improve their professional competence. However, the ill administration of scattered internships may lead to indulgence and failure to achieve the expected effect of internships. In order to standardize the administration and improve the teaching quality of scattered internships, the Administrative Measures were formulated.

1. Contact with Internship Units

1.1 The basic condition to ensure teaching quality is that the contacted internship units can meet the teaching requirements.

1.2 All specialties must define basic qualifications of student off-campus internship units, of which students should be informed clearly before they begin to look for internship units. Students should be given sufficient time to look for internship units.

1.3 When contacting internship units, students should bring the introduction letters from the University, which illustrate the purposes, requirements and content of internships, introduction of students’ main specified courses they have completed, competencies they have acquired, the jobs they can do, and acknowledgements.

1.4 The contacted internship units should provide a written receipt of the introductory letter, which gives a brief introduction of the production, marketing, management, technology and scale of the units, and expresses the intention of accepting the students as interns.

1.5 Colleges/schools (departments) should know and grasp the development of identifying students’ internship units, and have specific personnel supervise the internship process.

1.6 Teachers in charge of students’ internships should check on the selected internship units. Students must look for new internship units if the selected ones do not meet their requirements. Colleges/schools (departments) should offer help to students who have difficulties in finding internship units.

2. Off-campus Internship Instructors

2.1 Off-campus internship instructors are essential to guarantee the internship teaching quality in the absence of the direct supervision of teachers from the University, who should be responsible, highly educated, and experienced. The requirements for off-campus internship instructors should be informed in the letters to the internship units. Brief introductions of the instructors should be included in their written receipts, which should be reviewed by the students’ college/school (department).

2.2 Off-campus internship instructors should understand students in terms of their internship content and requirements, as well as other relevant information. During internships, instructors should contact the University teachers in charge of students’ internships, check students’ attendance, and instruct students on practice. Instructors should also make an objective evaluation of students’ internships and give internship grades after the completion of the internships.

3. Internship Guidelines

3.1 On the premise that the teaching objectives and requirements of the internship syllabus are basically the same, scattered internships should be flexible and diversified because of the diversity of internship units so that there can be more options for students and internship units to choose the internship content. This is conducive not only in standardizing teaching requirements and assessment, but for stimulating students' learning autonomy and enthusiasm. The internship content should be helpful to guide students to engage directly in the forefront of production, technology, and management, and encourage them to participate more in practice.

3.2 The Internship Guidelines should include objectives, requirements and contents of internships, emphasizing the timeliness and authenticity of internship diary books and internship reports. Through keeping diaries and writing reports, students can learn how to record and organize the perceptual knowledge they learn and raise it to a certain theoretical level. In their internship reports, students should be encouraged to develop their creative thinking in writing essays based on their own practice and understanding. Diaries and reports serve as the main reference for the internship assessment and evaluation.

4. Contact Between Teachers and Students During Scattered Internships

4.1 Internship instructors should inspect or randomly check students’ attendances and internships according to their internship programs.

4.2 Internship instructors should divide their work and identify the students they should contact. The number of students under the guidance of each instructor should be no more than 15.

4.3 Students who take internships in Shanghai may return to the University on an appointed date, report their internships to the University internship instructors and listen to their instructions. The link between University internship instructors and students, University internship instructors and off-campus internship instructors should be established. University internship instructors should make schedules to visit students, off-campus internship instructors and leaders of internships. Students who take internships outside Shanghai should contact University internship instructors by telephone, the Internet, or E-mail regularly. All original contact records should be kept for reference when grading.

5. Internship Evaluation and Assessment

5.1 Off-campus internship instructors should write the written evaluation opinions on students’ internships, attached with reference grades and students’ attendance records, which should have stamped and sealed by the internship units, and brought back to the colleges/schools (departments) by the students.

5.2 At the completion of internships, colleges/schools (departments) should assess students in written form or oral defense, which plays a significant role in learning about students’ internships. The defense can be organized and conducted in groups.

6. Internship Grades

Internship grades should take attendances, evaluation opinions, and reference grades by off-campus internship instructors, internship diaries, internship reports, and written assessment or oral defense into account. Students who fail to attend internships, or do not practice seriously or cheat in internships shall not pass the internships and must retake their internships.

7. Accumulation of Contacts and Information of Off-campus Internship Units

The information database of off-campus internship units is to be established by strengthening contact and communication with off-campus internship units, and fully grasping their internship teaching status quos. The information database should include all kinds of information of enterprises, acceptance of students over the years and their intention to continue the cooperation. Such information should be released to students in sufficient time for future selection of internship units. The greater amount of collected information, the more efficiently scattered internships can be organized.

8. Supplementary Provisions

These Administrative Measures shall go into effect from the date of approval by the President and shall be interpreted by Academic Affairs Office.