Financial Aid/Scholarship Concerns

If a student is completing a full-time co-op, they have the option of registering for a zero credit hour course. This course will hold the student as a full-time. The student will not have to pay tuition or fees, but will be able to defer financial aid and scholarships until his or her return to school. Students should always contact the Office of Financial Aid for instructions on how to defer awards.

Students receiving financial aid who are not enrolled in a zero credit co-op course, or who are not enrolled full-time during the term of the internship, risk being required to begin repaying their loans. If a student is not enrolled in any classes, the Office of the University Registrar will consider this a term of non-enrollment. They will report this to the award provider and the student will be required to begin repayment. If not enrolled, the scholarship awards will not be deferred and will be terminated.

Does a Student Need to Register the Internship/Co-op?

No. A student may choose not to register the internship or co-op in order to avoid paying tuition or if they do not have scholarships or loans. A student may choose not to register if it is during the summer term as the enrollment status during the summer has no affect on loans, scholarships or health insurance coverage.

Understanding the Internship/Co-op Credit Process

Students may register an internship or cooperative education experience with the college in order to gain academic credit or to maintain academic status while not enrolled in academic coursework. Following is an outline of the choices we provide students that wish to register the internship/co-op experience.

	Internship with Industry	Internship with Industry	Co-op with Industry
Description	A one semester experience working a minimum of 40 hrs during the semester for each hour of credit registered	A one semester work experience; either working full-time or outside of the St. Louis area	A work experience with a single organization, full-time, over 3 semesters (consecutive or alternating)
Course Number	376; 476	376; 476	275; 375; 475
Credit Hrs.	1 – 3	0	0
*Pseudo Hrs.	0	6	12
Student Status	Must enroll in additional credit hours to be full-time student.	Part-time; must enroll in 6 additional hours to reach full-time student status	Full-time
Grading Scale	A - F	Satisfactory; Not Satisfactory	Satisfactory; Not Satisfactory
Scholarships	Depends on student status (If less than full-time status, you will lose scholarships)	Terminated; unless enrolled in at least 6 additional hours	Deferred
Loans	Depends on student status. (If less than full-time status, you will have to begin loan repayment).	Repayment status; unless enrolled in at least 6 additional hours	Deferred Won't enter repayment.
Tuition Rate	Hourly tuition rate; unless enrolled full-time. If full-time, course tuition cost is included in 18 credit hour tuition charge.	Hourly tuition rate for 6 credit hours: unless enrolled for at least an additional 6 hours	None Charged
Best Time	Fall or Spring; will be charged Summer tuition rate if used in Summer	Summer; or if student is not working full-time and plans on taking additional coursework at SLU	Fall, Spring, Summer

*Pseudo hours are credit hours added to a student record but that do not carry a tuition charge. Designed to allow students to defer scholarships and loans while pursuing off-campus academic opportunities.

For more information about earning credit for an internship or co-op, please read the Checklist For Registering Your Internship/Co-Op.

The Faculty Sponsor Role

The Faculty Sponsor is responsible for overseeing the academic component of the internship/co-op experience. It is the faculty sponsor’s duty to review the Learning Agreement and the Learning Objectives to ensure the student is going to be able to connect coursework and theory to the work experience and that the student will return to college with a better understanding of self and a set of new skills. The Faculty Sponsor is encouraged to discuss the work experience, future career choices, and additional coursework or research to complement the student’s career interests.

The faculty sponsor will also be responsible for reviewing the reflection assignment and performance evaluation and then assigning a grade. The Academic Services Coordinator will gather the reflection assignment and evaluation and then forward them to the faculty sponsor at the end of each term.

Do you have an Internship or Co-op Lead?

Faculty are often exposed to members of the community or are directly contacted by employers and will have information that can lead to a new internship or co-op opportunity for Parks College students. It is important that faculty maintain their contacts to industry, but it is also important that we all work together to maximize our efforts and opportunities. Therefore, we encourage faculty to notify the Academic Services Coordinator when employers contact you directly about an internship or co-op position. (Job information should be directed to Denise Pearl, Career Services).

The position will be entered into an online database available to students 24hrs a day. This will allow for more students to access the information at their convenience but it also allows us to pre-screen applicants. The pre-screening process starts with a Career Services review of resumes for interested students. This ensures only the well-prepared resume gets sent out. Hastily done resumes or those with errors will not be approved until the recommended changes are made. We are also able to set qualification parameters in the database so that only students who meet the minimum qualifications may apply.

If a faculty member has a lead on potential internships or co-ops, it is best if this information is provided to the Development Director. This will ensure that we don’t have multiple university employees contacting the same employer or contact person with multiple requests.