Administrative Rule #6.05.003 acknowledges that Austin Community College supports internship programs for enrolled students.

The following are the ACC General Guidelines and Policies for Internships:

      • Students must be enrolled in a supervised practicum to participate in an internship.
      • Internships are structured as a one-semester work experience that coincides with the academic calendar:
            • Fall Semester: August – December
            • Spring Semester: January – May
            • Summer Semester: June – August
      • Internships may be paid or unpaid.
      • Students work approximately 200 hours to earn 3 credit hours (varies by department and program).
      • Students work for a minimum of 10 weeks Fall/Spring and 6 weeks Summer.
      • Students have a site supervisor who monitors and evaluates work performance.
      • Internships include an academic component supervised by an ACC faculty member (also called  – internship practicum instructor) who monitors and evaluates the academic learning and assigns grades.
      • Learning objectives, job duties and academic assignments are documented in an Internship Agreement. Interns will work toward achieving specific learning objectives.
      • A performance evaluation is required at the end of the internship.
      • Interns are never required to pay the employer in any form to take part in the experience (i.e. training fee, licensing fee, uniforms, equipment, etc.)

National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE)

As part of our practices, the Office of Experiential Learning Internship Program follows the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) Internship Standards. These are nationally recognized standards. NACE also provides  multiple resources, including best employer internship practices.

Paid vs Unpaid Internships

Because the emphasis of ACC’s experiential learning programs concerns the extension of classroom learning into a real world environment, the OEL Internships Program will stress the importance of finding suitable placements for our students without regard to compensation. We will, however, always strive to find paid positions when possible, and will note paid or unpaid on the departmental active lists.

For any questions about our guidelines and policies, please contact us at: internships@austincc.edu