Insurance Internships/Co-ops: Employers

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 opportunities to acquire experience-based knowledge through internships and cooperative education (co-op) experiences.

Students may also earn academic credit toward their degrees by completing an academic component supervised by a faculty member.

Employers support our programs by offering internships or co-ops to our students, allowing them to observe and participate in activities that apply business principles to real-world businesses.

We will assist you in recruiting appropriate students.

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.

Internships

Require a single, limited duration (usually a semester or summer), curriculum-related work assignment.
Are always part-time and usually involve 10 to 20 hours of work per week. Students continue to take a full load of classes during the internship.
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 designed and supervised by a faculty member.

Co-ops

These positions may...

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.
Give students the opportunity to earn academic credit. Students must fulfill additional academic requirements which are designed and supervised by a faculty member.
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.

Co-op positions require:

Compensation of the student.
A contract between the employer and NMSU and must be registered with and approved by NMSU’s Career Services office.

How to Participate

Step 1

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.

Step 2

Complete our Insurance/RM Center: Internship Employer 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/co-op program please contact the Finance Department or our Advising Center.

Employer Responsibilities

Designate a company staff member as a liaison with the College of Business or NMSU.
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 to the student with respect to job performance, and provide supervision and appropriate feedback to the student.
At the conclusion of the internship:
- Complete a written evaluation of the student’s performance. A form will be provided by NMSU or the College of Business.
- Discuss the evaluation with the student.
- Provide a copy to the faculty member supervising the academic component of the internship.