Course Overview

CFAN 4096: Reflecting on Your Professional Experience is for students completing summer internship/professional experiences who want to register for the internship/professional experience course (and receive credit) in the fall.

• See below for details to have your internship/professional experience approved in order to be enrolled in the no-credit, no-cost prerequisite summer Canvas module. (Note: internship staff enrolls you in the summer Canvas module, you will not see the class in MyU until your are manually enrolled.)

• Upon successful completion of the prerequisite summer Canvas module, students will receive a permission number to register for the fall course.

• Students who complete the summer module prerequisite are guaranteed their choice of fall sections of CFAN 4096. Be sure you indicate in the Handshake Experience Form which section you want of CFAN 4096 for the fall semester. 

Required Summer Prerequisite Module 

Successful 100% completion of the summer prerequisite module is required to register for fall course.

• Upon approval of your internship/professional experience in Handshake, you will be manually enrolled in the Prerequisite Canvas Module. Watch for an email within a week of internship approval for information about how to begin the module.

• Important note about hours at your internship/professional work experience: students planning to take CFAN 4096 in the fall must complete 120 hours minimum at their experience. 90 of those hours must be completed DURING THE SUMMER months (middle of May to end of August).

• The Summer Canvas module will take 8 weeks and includes an online orientation, approval of learning goals, a check-in Zoom with your instructor, a career conversation with a professional in your field of interest, a log of hours you've completed, and a supervisor evaluation of your summer experience.

  • Here is the Summer 2026 Activities Guide

Fall 2026 Course Sections of CFAN 4096

The fall component of the course meets the first 7 weeks of Fall Semester: 

All of these classes are synchronous (everyone attends at the same time) and virtual. Class is held over Zoom. 

• Section 001: Mondays, 11:30am - 1:30pm, Instructor: Mari Ruddy

• Section 002: Mondays, 4:30pm - 6:30pm, Instructor: Nan Thurston

• Section 003: Tuesdays, 4:30pm – 6:30pm, Instructor: Jennifer Best

• Section 004: Wednesdays, 4:30pm - 6:30pm, Instructor: Jennifer Best

• Section 005: Thursdays, 4:30pm - 6:30pm, Instructor: Nan Thurston

• Section 006: Fridays, 4:30pm - 6:30pm, Instructor: Kelsey Baumann

  • Here is the syllabus for CFAN 4096 from Fall 2025

Internship Approval: This must be done BEFORE you can take the summer prerequisite

Complete the Handshake Experience Form within a week of receiving your internship/professional experience offer using the following instructions:

1. Log into (or create) your Handshake account at ​https://career.umn.edu/channels/handshake/​. You must use your UMN email account.

2. Click on “Career Center” on the left side column and select “Experiences” in the middle of the page to access the form.

3. Click on “Submit an Experience” then for Experience type, select the course you are taking: “CFANS - CFAN 3096/4096” 

4. The TERM you ought to select is the TERM you will DO the internship/professional experience. Meaning you should select SUMMER 2026 if you will conduct the internship/professional experience during the summer. 

5. For the question, "Which semester do you plan to register for your course?" You will indicate that you will take CFAN 4096, the CLASS, in the FALL. 

6. Follow the prompts to complete ALL the questions as best as you can. 

   • It is essential that you include the START and END dates for your experience. 

   • If you don't have a planned end date, please use a date at the end of the summer. 

   • You must also enter the NAME, EMAIL and PHONE NUMBER of your summer internship/professional experience SUPERVISOR. 

7. For the Course Information section, provide or select the following information: 

• Instructor name: Mari Ruddy (no need to enter email for Mari Ruddy) 

• Course Number:   CFAN 4096​

• Which Semester:   CFAN 4096: Enter the SUMMER term since that is when you will do the internship/professional experience.  

• Section Number:   Type in your preferred section number from above list. There are 6 sections. Choose with care as this will be your section for the FALL TERM. 

• Number of Credits:   Type in “1” 

• Internship Documentation: Type in “Presentation” 

• Description of documentation and/or assignments if needed: Please enter the first name of your CFANS ACADEMIC ADVISOR here. Choices are: Gina, Marissa, Gary, Davis, Sarah L, Tracene, Grant, Michelle, Robin, Megan, or Rebecca. 

• Learning Goals: Type In “To Be Determined” 

6. Enter your e-signature and click on the green button called “Submit Experience” to submit your Experience Form. 

7. Tell your site supervisor to watch for the email from Handshake, requesting their approval of the agreement. After your site supervisor approval is received, the form will be routed to the Internship Coordinator, Mari Ruddy, for approval. Tell your supervisor the email will come from Handshake, not from the University of Minnesota.

8.  Allow time for the approval process prior to the beginning of the course. Be advised, it can take 1-2 weeks to complete the internship approval and course registration process. 

9. LAST DAY TO FILL OUT HANDSHAKE for CFAN 4096 for Fall 2026 IS 6/30/2026.

Fall Course Registration for CFAN 4096

Upon 100% successful completion of the 8-week, non-credit, no-cost summer prerequisite module in Canvas, you will receive a permission number via email to register for the section you choose above through the Handshake Experience form. 

You can assume you will be allowed to register for the section of CFAN 4096 you selected, so you can plan your fall schedule.