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New Mexico State University

Insurance Studies Internships & Co-ops: Employers

Al Berryman

Al Berryman, CPCU, CLU; Program Director

Introduction

While classroom-based learning is the foundation for a quality educational experience, we recognize that students who can relate principles learned in the classroom to real-world business situations ultimately develop a richer understanding of their field of study.

We offer students the opportunity to acquire experience-based knowledge through participation in internships and cooperative education (co-op) experiences. Students who take advantage of internship and co-op work opportunities may also earn academic credit toward their degrees by completing an academic component, supervised by a faculty member.

Currently, a limited number of employers recruit students for internships and cooperative education employment through New Mexico State University’s (NMSU) Career Services office. Some students also act independently, and have the necessary contacts, to identify individual work opportunities that are appropriate for internships. But many business students do not get the opportunity to expand their education through appropriate work experiences.

To allow more students to benefit from experience-based learning, the College of Business actively solicits potential employers to identify additional internship and co-op opportunities.

We will gladly assist you in recruiting appropriate students for these opportunities.

Internship and Cooperative Education (Co-op) Positions

  • Internship Positions
    • Require a single, limited duration (usually a semester or summer), curriculum-related work assignment.
    • Are always part-time (students continue to take a full load of classes during the internship) and usually involve 10 to 20 hours of work per week.
    • May be paid or unpaid.
    • Have fewer formal requirements and can be arranged within the College.
    • Typically give students the opportunity to earn academic credit (students must fulfill additional academic requirements which are designed and supervised by a faculty member).
  • Co-op Positions
    • May involve either a/an:
      • “Alternating plan” where students participate in full-time work experience(s) which are alternated with full-time school, or
      • “Parallel plan” where students combine concurrent part-time work experiences with full-time school.
    • Enable students to be considered “full-time students” for the purpose of maintaining financial aid and scholarships even though they are not enrolled in classes during the work phases of their co-op.
    • Require
      • Compensation of the student.
      • A contract between the employer and the University and must be registered with and approved by NMSU’s Career Services office.
    • May give students the opportunity to earn academic credit (students must fulfill additional academic requirements which are designed and supervised by a faculty member).

Employer Responsibilities

  • Designate a company staff member to maintain a liaison with the College of Business or New Mexico State University.
  • Select and notify the student to be awarded.
  • Provide a job description for the student position in which you identify the learning activities, responsibilities and opportunities that the student will encounter during the work experience.
  • Communicate your expectations with respect to the student’s job performance to the student and provide supervision and appropriate feedback to the student.
  • At the conclusion of the internship:
    • Complete a written evaluation of the student’s performance (on a form to be provided by NMSU or the College of Business).
    • Discuss the evaluation with the student.
    • Provide a copy to the faculty member who is supervising the academic component of the internship.

How to Participate

You can support our programs by offering internships or co-op opportunities to our students. These work opportunities should allow the student to observe and participate in activities that demonstrate the application of the business principles they have learned in the college to real world businesses.

The Insurance Studies IIANM Employers Guide for Internships provides an in-depth look at hiring interns along with sample job descriptions, interview questions, evaluation forms, and more.

The first step toward establishing an internship or co-op program at your organization is to identify situations  where a business student could provide a service to your organization, the student would receive a significant learning opportunity related to his/her field of study, and develop a position description. Please note that purely clerical positions do not offer a vehicle for quality experience-based learning and are not appropriate for internships and cooperative education experiences. These jobs do provide valuable financial support to students who are trying to fully or partially support themselves while obtaining an education and can be posted on the electronic “community jobs” listing maintained by NMSU’s Office of Student Employment Services.

The second step toward establishing an internship program is to complete our “Employer Internship Opportunity Registration Form” and return the completed form to the College of Business. We will then contact the person at your organization that you identified on the form to finalize  arrangements for selecting your student intern(s). If you need assistance with the form or more information about our internship program please contact our internship coordinator, Al Berryman, or Celina Talamantes in our Advising Center .