Students with internships face COVID-19 caused challenges

With business closures and layoffs as a result of the continuing spread of COVID-19, there is potential that employers may be forced to suspend ongoing internships. This uncertain and challenging time leaves employers, internship coordinators and student interns anticipating what the next steps are for them. 

For some students attending the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL), an internship is required for their degree plan. Although not required for others, it is still recommended across various majors. 

Of the four colleges on campus, the College of Education and the College of Human Sciences and Humanities are the two with programs that require students to complete an internship as a graduation requirement.

The College of Business and the College of Science and Engineering do not have an internship director and internships are not mandatory for graduation. Internships are handled at the department and/or program level and monitored by professors. 

The disruption of services resulting from the COVID-19 global pandemic has impacted student internships and has left those who have put in the hours and time to meet the requirements to graduate wondering what this means for them. With curfews and stay-at-home orders, it may be difficult for students to continue internships depending where they are placed and if telecommuting is an option. 

On the UHCL website, students can find the provost’s webpage, which includes a “Faculty FAQ” and a “Provost Communications” section. In the FAQ, there is a link for “How can I support my internship, practicum, service learning or other student teaching students this semester?” This section of the FAQ serves as a protocol on how faculty can respond and offer support to those students who have experienced unexpected disruptions to their internships. 

Some key points from this document regarding disruptions to internships begin with the first sentence, “First and foremost, if the agency is still operational, it is expected that students will report to the internship as planned and engage in the outlined activities to promote learning, development and to accomplish educational objectives.” 

It is then noted that if an internship site closes, faculty can partner with the organization to establish a plan for completion of an alternative opportunity. 

Students are not the only ones who have had to adjust to the new norm because of COVID-19. Professors have also had to make adjustments to the structure of student internships.

Dorothea Lerman, professor of psychology and director for the Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities, gave insight on how internships in her field have been impacted. 

“All face-to-face therapy has been canceled, and we are in the process of changing to telehealth (remote video conferencing) to provide behavior analysis services to our clients and to supervise our graduate students,” Lerman said. 

Lerman believes switching over to telehealth, which is an emerging area in the field, “will give students a great opportunity to learn how to provide clinical services to families via this modality if appropriate for the family.” 

While some professors have figured out their next step as to how to continue student internships, others are still in the process of figuring out case-by-case situations. 

“I am communicating with students and internship supervisors currently, and some will complete the internships remotely through online communication,” said Leo Chan, associate professor in communication and digital media studies. 

Isabelle Kusters, assistant professor of public health, gave insight on how internships in the department of clinical, health and applied science have been impacted. 

“Many of our students were placed at clinical sites, which have temporarily suspended access to non-essential personnel, given the severity of the pandemic,” Kusters said. “I am closely monitoring the situation and will work to find a solution that both protects student and community health, and allows them to gain valuable experience in the field.” 

Situations will be different for every individual student completing internships.

 “Some students might be able to remain at their agencies, some students might explore alternative activities, projects, and trainings to help fulfill hours, and some might need to push pause on their placement,” said Heather Kanenberg, associate professor of social work and BSW Program Director.

COVID-19 and its impact on the world extends to the university and how internships are now being structured.

“Depending upon the student’s discipline or degree, the planning for how best to move forward could be impacted by such things as accrediting guidelines, licensing requirements, state regulations, or future professional and educational goals,” Kanenberg said. “Because of these external factors that could impact students’ choices and alternatives, it is essential that they contact the faculty member who is coordinating or supporting their internship.” 

Kanenberg said that given the variety of the different kinds of internships among the colleges, it is almost impossible to determine how student internships have changed as a whole. 

“There will not be one single correct way to handle all the university internships,” Kanenberg said. “The COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the university is rapidly changing and restructuring much like its impact on the rest of the world. Those who are supervising internship students are approaching the rest of the semester with creativity, flexibility, and informed supportive perspective.”