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Experiential Education Guidance for Employers

Internship & Experiential Education is designed to assist in connecting students and employers in developing career-related learning opportunities in an internship, cooperative education (co-op), volunteer, service-learning, or externship experiences. The classifications sometimes vary depending on the academic discipline. All positions are carefully supervised, professional-level, and structured in which the student sets intentional learning goals and actively reflects on what has been learned. 

There are many benefitsto providing experiential education opportunities to University of Kentucky students. Whether you are looking to increase profitability and productivity, complete a project, or alleviate personnel shortages, hiring a student may be one of the most cost-effective decisions you will make – but there are more reasons to add students in a professional role to your team. Students are enthusiastic, present fresh ideas, contribute to the success of your organization, and provide a pool of potential employees with experience and training. 

At the University of Kentucky, there are two forms of experience opportunities offered to students: 

  • Academic Experiences:An academic experience indicates that a student will be seeking academic credit for a career-related experience. This process includes creating a Learning Contract, obtaining department approval, obtaining a UK Sponsor, submitting completed field hours, and receiving an employer evaluation. An academic experience may be either paid or unpaid. Academic experiences are typically done on a general elective, Pass/Fail basis with the number of acceptable credit hours determined by the student’s college or department.
  • Non-Credit Experiences: A non-credit experience implies that a student will be working for the benefit of experience gained, but not for any type of academic recognition. In this case, the employer should consider the intern as they would any other temporary employee. This option may be preferable to a student who does not need additional credit hours. Non-credit experiences are often paid in order to comply with U.S. Department of Labor laws. Exceptions made are those experience positions affiliated with non-profit organizations.

How Will Your Internship & Experiential Education Help Students? 

By participating, you become part of the educational process, sharing your valuable expertise, and teaching students about your profession. Offering experiential learning opportunities helps students: 

  • Obtain professional experience in their areas of academic study 
  • Create opportunities to work with professionals 
  • Learn about their own strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, values, etc. 
  • Develop marketable skills such as professionalism, leadership and problem-solving
  • Build confidence 
  • Define career paths 
  • Make valuable contacts 

 How Can You Participate? 

  • Develop a job description. Information needed for a strong position description would include duties & responsibilities, qualifications, compensation, provides training, duration of position, learning outcomes, if the position is virtual or in-person, and how the student will be supervised. 
  • Determine pay for positions. At least 75% of the student’s duties should be professional-level, non-clerical tasks. The average hourly rate ranges from $10.00 to $16.00 per hour, depending on the nature of the position and specific to the industry (i.e. engineering and accounting co-op or experience positions often pay more than the highest end of this range.) 
  • Post your position in Handshake
  • Receive approval of your posting 
  • Interview students and make offers directly to those selected 
  • Provide a quality learning experience for the student with consistent guidance and supervision 

Employer Recruitment Guidelines

UK Career Services is pleased that you are interested in recruiting and hiring students from The University of Kentucky.  Campus career services offices offer many options to help you connect with students and fulfill your recruitment objectives. The UK Employer Recruiting Guidelines summarizes UK employer recruiting policies and procedures.

Host UK Students!

Recognizing Your Students

  1. UK Experiential Education Awards
    1. Calling all employers that have hosted a University of Kentucky student... consider nominating that student for the UK Intern of the Year Award!

      The UK Intern of the Year honors undergraduate and graduate students who exceeded expectations, took ownership and initiative, grew as a professional, and made an outstanding impact on their organization. Businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies as well as UK offices, departments, and faculty can nominate a student for UK Intern of the Year that completed an internship between the period of January 2024 and December 2024.

      The award is labeled "UK Intern", but this does not exclude students completing other experiential education experiences such co-ops, fellowships, and clinicals. The students experience should have been a high impact form of learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skill development in a professional setting.

      To learn more about the awards process click here UK Experiential Education Awards.
  2. Social Media Student Spotlights
    1. Post student spotlights on your social media during or at the end of the students’ experience. Add to your post the university and the students’ academic college. Add the following hashtags to your post #hireblue and #universityofkentucky.