Exercise Science
Internship Handbook
Guidelines, Due Dates, and Application Materials
******COVID-19 Updates and Changes********
As an employee, intern, or volunteer at any site, you must follow all guidelines the site has for COVID-19 compliance.
HP 487 requires special permission for registration. Registration permission is provided with the successful completion of an application following the instructions provided in this handbook.
DUE DATES!
Applications to register will be reviewed once a week (during registration windows) until the Friday of Finals Week. Then, once a month over the summer.
I. Internship Guidelines
HP 487 requires 120 hours of internship. Observation hours can be used toward the 120 required.
The difference between INTERNSHIP and OBSERVATION HOURS
Internship hours involve hands-on experiences with and without supervision which progress in responsibilities and autonomy with time.
Observation hours involve only shadowing and observing a trained, certified, or licensed individual. You as a student are not legally allowed to work with clients, as you are not licensed. You can help with non-client related duties like organization and cleaning but for the most part, you observe. (AT, OT, PT...)
If you register for credits in a semester and do not complete the hours, you will request an "In Progress" IP grade. You have the following semester to complete these hours or the IP will turn into and F.
Internship Hours
Your supervisor will receive an email at the beginning of the semester providing them a connection to the HP 487 instructor so they can reach out if there are any issues or they have any questions.
They will receive an intern evaluation online survey at the end of the semester, regardless of when you finish your hours.
Your internship supervisor can choose to terminate your internship if you do not meet the standard of work by the organization. Make sure to be professional and take your internship as seriously as any other job.
Observation Hours
The HP 487 instructor will not be in contact with your supervisor as most observation hours are completed with many changing supervisors.
Make sure you keep good records of your hours for your PT/OT/AT applications. You will need their identification numbers to report in PTCAS, ATCAS, OTCAS when you are entering your observation hours.
A. Finding an Internship or Observation Site
1. Use the HP Events, Internships, & News site for consistently updated posts.
2. Make sure to check out the "Past Internship and Observation Site" post on the HP Events, Internships, & News.
3. Look at the list of "Current Contracts for Internship Sites" in section IV.
4. Search online for facilities that you are interested in and call or stop by to ask them about their internship or observation opportunities.
5. Meet with Albers to refine your ideas. Make an appointment through MavConnect.
B. Completing Hours while Registered for HP 487
You must be registered for HP 487 while completing the hours you want to count your internship. You can not bring in hours from a different time point and use them toward your now registered credits. Starting an internship a few weeks before the semester begins is fine if the large majority of your hours will be completed in the registered semester.
Financial Aid considers this academic fraud, as you are receiving credit (and potentially financial aid) for work that you are not actually doing.
C. Keeping Track of Hours
You can keep track of your hours any way you like. This is in case the internship site has a specific way in mind. You will need to submit an hours log in D2L at the end of the semester but it can be in any format. Making an hours log in Excel is recommended. An example hours log is located on the HP 487 D2L site.
***Your internship supervisor must sign off on your hours at the end of every month.
D. Application Deadlines
Applications to register will be reviewed once a week (during registration windows) until the Friday of Finals Week. Then, once a month over the summer.
II. HIPAA/FERPA D2L Training Request
Mandatory for HP 487.
You must complete the online D2L HIPAA/FERPA training before submitting your application. You can request the training by completing the Request for HIPAA/FERPA Training Form. It can take up to a week for the D2L training to be added to your D2L. You will receive an email notification when it is added. It will show up on the bottom right of your D2L home and in the waffle list of all your courses.
When you submit your application, you will be asked to provide proof of training completion. Make sure to include the upper-right portion of your screen which includes your name. Do this by print->save as pdf or taking a screen shot of either the grades page or the quizzes page. Both will show all 9 quizzes and their completion status.
Name the file "Last Name Training".
III. Supervisor Approval Form
The Supervisor Approval Form gives you the opportunity to meet with your future internship supervisor and discuss what you both want out of the internship experience.
Only for internship hours. not needed for observation hours.
Complete the form (either as a pdf or print and write).
Discuss it with your internship supervisor and make revisions if needed.
In your application, you will be asked to upload this document.
Name the file "Last Name Approval Form".
InternSupervisor Approval Form (1).pdfIV. Internship Site Contracts
Only needed for internship hours.
The University needs a completed, signed, and valid internship contract with every site where our students are completing internship hours.
The contract does not need to be complete for you to submit your application, it just needs to be "in progress". This means our contract office is in the process of drafting and sending the contract to your site.
Check to see if your internship site has a contract with the University using the list below.
If you are only completing observation hours at this site, you do not need an internship contract as you are not completing any hands-on experiences. This includes observation hours for PT/OT/AT grad school applications.
You do not need a contract if the site is on our campus or one of the MSU Mankato departments.
A. Current Contracts for Internship Sites
B. Sample Contract - What your internship site can expect.
We have 2 versions of the contract. This one is for large organizations like Mayo, YMCA, and multi-site practitioners. The other version of the contract is for small, privately owned organizations (like privately owned fitness facilities). It speaks to different insurance needs and liability limits.
Sample Internship Contract.pdfC. Request a Internship Site Contract
Complete the Request for Internship Site Contract Form to being the contract process.
V. Student Liability Insurance
The student liability will be attached to the course enrollment of HP 487. When you enroll, an $8 fee will be added to your student account for the student liability insurance. The fee will show has "LIAB fee". This is mandatory and protects you as a student giving advice under the scope of your internship.
VII. Application to Enroll in HP 487 Complete Internship or Observation Hours
Internship hours involve hands-on experiences with and without supervision which progress in responsibilities and autonomy with time.
Observation hours involve only shadowing and observing a trained or licensed individual. You as a student are not legally allowed to work with clients, as you are not licensed. You can help with non-client-related duties like organization and cleaning but for the most part, you observe.
The online application cannot be saved and completed later. Have these materials ready when you apply.
In the application for internship hours, you will need:
The site information and address
Supervisor information and contact
Proof of HIPAA/FERPA named "Last Name Training".
Completed Supervisor Approval Form signed by your supervisor named "Last Name Approval Form".
When applying for observation hours, you will need:
The site information and address
Estimated start date, hours per week, number of weeks, end date
If the site requires CPR, background check, or vaccination records.
3 specific and measurable goals or skills you want to observe.
Proof of HIPAA/FERPA named "Last Name Training".
Use a picture to pdf mobile app or the printers in the Library to scan documents and save as pdfs for submission.
