Other schools give credit and find that students often continue their service work beyond the course requirements. In service learning, students gain the ability to test what they are learning in the class in a real-world setting. Alumni can be helpful in setting up service learning opportunities as well as internships. A good internship program requires almost a full-time position. All programs indicated some form of internships as an important part of their program.
Internships provide valuable experiential education, and networking for students.
The partnerships between the college and the community organizations through which the internships are run is another important benefit of an internship program. Some internship programs are required, some are optional. Most carry some academic credit, whereas a few are offered for a paid summer field opportunity without academic credit. Most institutions take care of career planning at the department level, but some have a central career planning department. To be effective, a central planning department must have significant input from the department.