Every student in the master’s program in college student personnel administration (CSPA) completes two required internships after the first year of study. Our students intern at colleges and universities throughout Western New York and, literally, all over the world, in a variety of different offices.
Not only do these internships provide students with outstanding hands-on experiences in the field, they also provide evidence that our students are mastering the learning goals of the program. Pictured above from left to right; Emily Cole ’13, Sam Cardamone ’12, Amanda Poppe ’14 and Erin Willis ’14, who are all currently working in some area of international education.
Each internship is evaluated through the student’s reflective paper and through an evaluation developed by CSPA faculty and completed by the student’s supervisor. The evaluation utilizes a five-point scale and consists of 16 questions, eight of which are directly linked to CSPA learning goals. There is also space for supervisor comments. The data are analyzed each semester, and over the past three years, the average evaluation score is 4.49. During that same period, the program’s placement rate within six months of graduation is more than 93 percent.
Sandra Estanek, PhD, CSPA program director, is proud of these numbers because they provide strong evidence of our students’ learning, indicate the program’s success at preparing students, and support the value of its theory-to-practice educational philosophy.
Submitted by: Sara Morris, PhD, associate vice president, academic affairs
