Creating a Paid Internship Program; a Guide for Small University Teams During a Global Pandemic

Subtitles

• Why We Started
• How It Works
• Collaboration Across Disciplines
• Marketing and Outreach
• Challenges and Evaluations

Why We Started
During the past year, many critical internships for students in Boise State’s College of Business and Economics (COBE) were canceled due to COVID-19. Our college’s career services collaborated with University Advancement directors to find new ways to empower donors and employ students and created a program called Bronco Corps. The program was inspired by the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business Hope Corps initiative. Since August 2020, Bronco Corps has provided Idaho-based small businesses and nonprofits with interns at no cost, while giving students the opportunity to gain valuable professional experience. Following a successful pilot funded entirely by donations, an additional gift enabled Bronco Corps to continue through 2021. As of April 2021, nearly $150,000 has been paid to students for their work. 

How It Works
Bronco Corps connects students to small businesses and nonprofits who have been impacted by COVID-19. Interested employers work one-on-one with our office to post and promote positions. Our staff is well-versed in identifying and understanding the needs of employers, developing job descriptions, and making the recruiting process efficient by utilizing existing tools and systems. We chose not to place students into specific roles. Instead, employers have autonomy to identify students they want to interview and hire, selecting the candidate that is best for the role and their organization. Through this program, our office also provides funding for each intern. Students are paid $12.50 per hour and can earn up to $2,000 (160 hours) per position. Offering paid internships is important to us since many of our students are nontraditional. Paid internships allow our students to prepare for the future without having to sacrifice financial security. To date, over 20 internships have been successfully completed, 24 are active, and 15 are currently in the application process for future semesters.

Collaboration Across Disciplines
A program like Bronco Corps doesn’t necessarily need a large department or designated coordinator to function. Once systems and processes are in place, you just need a few individuals within your team who can manage employer participation and oversee administrative tasks. Beyond our office, cross-departmental collaboration within the University has been vital to the success of this program. We maintain a close relationship with our development director, sharing frequently about our programs and objectives. Therefore, they were able to secure and customize funding for Bronco Corps quickly. We also utilized Boise State’s Human Resources team to build a new student employment model. Fostering working relationships and open communication with offices outside of our college opened up opportunities for program development that might otherwise have fallen flat.

Marketing and Outreach
Similar to collaboration, timely marketing and promotion has been essential for this program. We first publicized the availability of internship funding to small business and nonprofits through local chambers of commerce, community foundations and government agencies, such as Idaho’s Small Business Development Center. Further, we utilized Boise State's NPR affiliate radio station to promote the program and gave an in-depth interview on a popular television channel to communicate the ways students, organizations and donors could get involved. Dedicating time to marketing and outreach early on helped fuel interest and support for this program. 

Challenges and Evaluations
Designing and managing this program has been a very rewarding experience, but it also has had its challenges. Because this program needed to be implemented quickly (in response to the pandemic), some of our processes were created by experimenting with methods until we found the most successful solutions. Communication between employers and students was a challenge as well, and sometimes we stepped in to troubleshoot or resolve conflicts. Early on we learned that it was best to focus on solutions rather than how problems emerged. Being solution-focused allowed us to keep moving and not get bogged down by barriers. We were always able to go back later and reflect on how problems emerged. 

We continue to ask students and employers to complete an exit survey. This data helps us understand program effectiveness and reflect on how we might make improvements. So far, we have received positive feedback and gratitude from both students and participating organizations. In some cases, employers have created additional positions or have hired the student serving their organization after the internship is complete. 

Final Thoughts/Takeaways
COVID-19 put a lot of pressure on our small business and nonprofit community, in addition, our students were left without work and professional opportunities. Bronco Corps allowed us to support our local community and actively create and connect our students to valuable, paid internship opportunities. If you are interested in collaborating with your development team and creating a similar program we encourage you to do so - it’s been a rewarding experience!

By Laura Chiuppi (M.Ed), Director, Career Services, College of Business and Economics & Monique Halgat (B.A), Administrative Assistant, Career Services, College of Business and Economics