Spiritual Vitality Academic Excellence Empowered Engagement CPP Internship and Practicum (CMIN 1493-4963) Worksheet Step One: Understanding Internship and Practicum A valuable component of your CPP Program is the ability for your students to earn up to three free credits per semester while serving in your Internship Program. This worksheet is designed to help CPP Coordinators and Internship Directors develop their Internship Program in such a way that Northwest University is able to award practicum credit to their CPP students. When you are done with this worksheet, you will have an Internship Overview and Application, which describes the ministry training and academic aspects of your internship for potential students and their parents. You will also develop a Practicum Syllabus for every internship level in your program. These are essential steps because Northwest does not accept a CPP student until that student is first accepted in the local internship program, so you need a well-defined internship program in which to accept students. CPP Internship Programs combine three primary components 1. Internship Leadership and ministry skill development through guided service in a variety of local church and ministry settings and focused interaction with key church leaders. 2. Academics Pursuit of Northwest University AA and BA degrees while serving in the local church or ministry. Your Internship Program 3. Relationships Day to day mentoring and support (both ministry and academic) from the CPP Coordinator, Internship Director and other church leaders. What is the difference between Internship and Practicum? Internship refers to the program run by the CPP Partner. Practicum refers to the mechanism by which NU awards credit for internship learning. NU can only award credit for the learning that takes place in an internship, and not just the experience. The Practicum Syllabus is a class syllabus for your internship, identifying specific learning objectives for your internships, the assignments that will accomplish those objectives, and the criteria by which interns will be graded. The Practicum Syllabus Templates (see below) provide the CPP Coordinator the necessary tools to develop Practicum Syllabi for their internship program. Updated 3/24/2016
Step Two: Understand Practicum Principles College-level CPP Practicums are college-level courses that entail: Exposure to multiple ministry experiences. Practical training in both the nuts and bolts of church ministry as well as the theory and principles behind those practical skills. Learning through interaction with church leaders Personal Application students reflect on ministry activities in a weekly journal and share their experiences with leaders and peers in a weekly intern s meeting with the goal of discovering God s call. Narrowing Focus The Practicum experiences are designed to begin by exposing the student to a broad base of ministry experiences and later focus on the specific area of ministry desired by the student. Most local internship programs identify three levels of internship: Level One Interns do a church ministry tour, rotating through various ministries (typically serving for four to eight weeks in each). Students must understand pertinent leadership, operational, and strategic aspects of each ministry for well-rounded internship learning. Students often discover God s call to an unexpected area of ministry through such exposure. Level Two Interns focus on serving in one specific ministry, with the goal of developing the skills and competencies to become leaders in that ministry. Level Three Interns take a specific leadership role in their chosen ministry, to further develop leadership skills and competencies. Accountability is the key component of Practicums. As mentioned above, the Practicum Syllabus identifies internship learning objectives, the assignments that will accomplish those objectives, and the criteria by which interns will be graded. The Practicum Syllabus Templates (see below) provide the CPP Coordinator the necessary tools to develop a Practicum Syllabus for each level of internship in their program. Integration CPP internship programs are integrated with academic studies and personal interactions with mentors and ministry leaders using the Weekly Internship Schedule Grid (see below). The Weekly Internship Schedule Grid provides a snapshot of all aspects of the internship program for students, church leaders and parents. Personal Development Practicums focus on the student s personal development in concert with ministry skill development. The highly relational environment of a local church internship provides the opportunity to focus on this spiritual, relational, and character development. Interaction with other interns, the CPP Coordinator, and church leaders helps students clarify their gifts, their strengths and weaknesses and particularly God s call on their lives. Students establish personal developmental plans early in their practicum sequence, and update them regularly, in pursuit of this goal. A - Internship and Practicum Worksheet - 2
Step Three: Take Out Your Weekly Intern Schedule Grid The Weekly Schedule Grid (Appendix 1) is the key to your internship program. It provides a simple snapshot for both students and their parents to understand the vigorous and challenging nature of your internship program. Because parents often doubt the rigor or legitimacy of a church-based academic program, this weekly schedule and the internship overview and application of which it will be a part is a vital recruiting tool with parents. Here are some basic weekly time allotments in a CPP Internship (these are suggestions, yours will vary) Academic Time 17.5 hours per week per course (not including Practicum): This includes any time devoted to class: research, reading, completing assignments, time with instructors and students, study hall, and writing center. Internship Time 10-15 hours per week (this is Practicum): This includes any time devoted to serving in ministries, leadership training, intern meetings and so on. Personal Time: This includes a set day off for the interns and helping them schedule in time for rest, fun, friends and hobbies. What questions, insights or suggestions do you have? Now we will start building your weekly internship schedule with Academic, Ministry, and Personal Building Blocks. A - Internship and Practicum Worksheet - 3
Step Four: Add Internship Building Blocks Internship Building Blocks The following are some typical internship building blocks in CPP Partner Programs. They are suggestions, not requirements, as you design your internship program. The goal is not volume of training, but quality and effectiveness of training. Weekly Interns Meeting (1-2 hours) to discuss academics, ministry experiences, and weekly internship journal. Intern Service Time (3-8 hours) Time interns serve in their assigned ministries either on Sundays or during the week. Intern Training Meeting (1 hour) Addresses ministry leadership and management topics, principles, and skills. CPP Partners use pastors and other experts from their church or community, or videos from recognized experts to address subjects such as church leadership and management, vision, overseeing and managing volunteer. This is an excellent opportunity to engage with books important to your internship, church or ministry. Life-Skill Training (1 hour) Many CPP Partners find their interns need help in self-management on topics such as personal scheduling, goal-setting as well as other practical life skills such as balancing a checkbook, car maintenance and other such topics. Discipleship/Spirituality Training (1 hour 1-3 days/week) Weekly blocks during which interns study and practice spiritual disciplines together or alone as well as meeting with mentors. Intern Chapel (1 hour 1-3 days/week) worship, prayer, speakers. Church Staff Meeting (1 hour/month) Partners usually only schedule interns to participate in this on a monthly basis, at most. Step Five: Add Academic Building Blocks Academic Building Blocks - Your internship overview is also the place to make clear the academic expectations for interns, as well as the academic support the program provides in partnership with Northwest. Live Class Times (2-3 hours) Meeting times for courses with a live instructor including Webinar courses (live online instructor). Study Hall (2 hours) requires all students to study in one place providing time for student interaction and for CPP Coordinators to observe students and monitor grades. Required for all probationary students and those who fail the week two grade check. On-site Writing Center (1-2 hours) Opportunity for students to students develop writing and research skills with English or writing tutor contracted by the CPP Partner, or using the online writing center. Required for Probationary Students. Foundations for Success Tutorial (1 hours) Workshop on the basics of academic success, required for probationary students and recommended for all students (NU provides curriculum). Personal Study Time eight hours scheduled study time per class in 2-hour blocks (plus additional 5 hours discretionary study time). A - Internship and Practicum Worksheet - 4
Step Six: Add Personal & Relational Building Blocks Personal Building Blocks The strength of the CPP is integration of life-changing relationships with the ministry training, and academic rigor and. This focus on relationships and personal self-care must be represented in the weekly internship schedule. Here are some of personal & relational building blocks to consider in your weekly internship schedule. Interns Day Off (One Day) A key aspect of ministry training is learning self-management and self-care. It is strongly suggested that all CPP Partners identify one day a week as the interns day off, where there will be no scheduled internship or academic duties (of course the students may be using the day for personal study time). Intern Play Day (or night) Many CPP Partners schedule one night a week (day a month) for a fun intern activity. Mentor Time Although interns receive much mentoring throughout their internships, some CPP Partners pair each intern with a personal mentor not connected to their academics or internship to talk about life and what they are learning. The mentor time schedules that weekly hour (or more) they will meet. Peer Mentor Time Some CPP Partners pair each intern with another intern (sometimes one a year ahead or behind them in the same program) as a peer mentor. The peer mentor time identifies a weekly hour (or more) that they will meet with that person. Exercise Time (one hour/day) As in full-time vocational church leadership, a healthy body matters but is often neglected. Many CPP Partners require interns to schedule one hour a day, or every other day for some kind of physical activity (of their choice). Step Seven: Complete Practicum Templates The Practicum Syllabus Templates are the documents that help you lay out the different levels of internship in the form of a class, called a Practicum Syllabus. Most CPP Internship Programs have three levels of internship level one ministry tour, level two serving in a specific ministry, level three leading in one specific ministry that describe the intern s progression through their internship training program. Each student who wishes to receive Practicum credit for their internship must have their own Practicum Syllabus. However, since many internships are the same, you may do one Practicum Syllabus for each level of internship and use that for multiple students. Download the Practicum Syllabus Templates on the Eagle Internship and Practicum page. The Practicum Roster is a simple class list of all students in your CPP Program who will be receiving practicum credit. The roster is turned in at the beginning of each semester with the full list of students, and then resubmitted at the end of the semester with a practicum grade for each student (see below). Although NU only awards a pass or fail for practicum, we ask coordinators to submit an A-F letter grade (letter grades give you more ability to motivate students). A - Internship and Practicum Worksheet - 5
Step Eight: Complete Your Internship Application & Overview Internship Application and Overview The final step in preparing your CPP Internship/Practicum is to complete your Internship Application and Overview (see the Internship Application and Overview Template). This document is what you will use to recruit students (and parents) by giving them an overview of your program. It also has all the necessary materials to have a student apply to your internship program. Take a little extra time to make the Internship Overview page reflect the unique aspects of your own internship program. You may also want to insert a weekly schedule grid (even if it is just as an example) after the Internship Overview page. That is one more way to give students and parents an idea of how serious and rigorous this program is. Step Nine: Key Dates During the Semester Here are the key dates for running your Internship/Practicum once you have it ready to go (steps 1-8) What to do Fall Spring Submit Practicum Syllabi for all students Aug 30 Jan 15 Submit Practicum Roster for your CPP Aug 30 Jan 15 Submit Practicum Grades for your students Dec 1 Apr 30 A - Internship and Practicum Worksheet - 6