Internships; Response Required by July 9

Florida Student Internship Program Initiative, Tallahssee

This letter to President Lombardi and attached questionnaire are being distributed to all department chairs, deans and directors at the request of the chancellor with a requested response by July 9, 1999.

Dear John:

The Department of Management Services, the Board of Regents and the Leadership Board for Applied Research and Public Service are planning to develop a Web site that allows organizations and post-secondary students to interact regarding internship opportunities. The design of the Web site will be modeled after Florida’s JobsDIRECT Web site, which lists state agency job vacancies and accepts job applications on-line.

Currently, no formal structure links university faculty, public and private employers, and students to internship programs. By establishing this Web site, the following benefits will be realized:

• Establishment of an efficient method for university departments and students to identify internship opportunities with State of Florida agencies;
• Establishment of a centralized location for agencie to post internship positions electronically;
• Establishment of a mechanism for students to submit internship applications or make contact electronically;
• Development of a standard format for posting internship positions electronically;
• Development of a standard format for applying for internship positions; and
• Establishment of a central repository for information and data on student internships with Florida state agencies.

Governor Bush has directed all state agencies to cooperate in this undertaking. I would similarly like to ask your help by collecting information on current and future intern practices within the state university system. Please copy and distribute the enclosed questionnaire to all department chairs, deans and other appropriate units within your university, and request that they respond by July 9, 1999. The questionnaire can either be returned by mail or the Internet http://expertnet.fsu.edu/unisurvey.

I intend to submit a report to Governor Bush based on the response to this request for information about internship practices in Florida’s universities. I strongly believe that we have an opportunity to improve the quality of the educational experiences of university students though internships with state agencies.

I look forward to reviewing your response to this request for information.

Sincerely yours,

Adam W. Herbert, Chancellor

cc: Dr. Elizabeth Capaldi, Provost Dr. Art Sandeen, Vice President for Student Affairs