Student Intern or Research Contract Agreement

The Lehigh Earth Observatory (LEO) is committed to provide internship and research experiences to students. Some of those experiences allow students to earn academic credit, and others provide a modest stipend. Many of the experiences also involve partnership with an organization external to the University. The key elements of an internship or research opportunity are (1) the student does something rather than reading about it or listening to a lecture about it, (2) the student and faculty member (along with other students and partners from any external organization) work in a mentoring relationship, and (3) often, but not always, students work in teams toward a common goal. Evaluation of a studentÒs performance must, therefore, be based on what the student actually does, which means that the evaluation is outcome-based. We need to be very clear at the outset what our expectations are for outcomes.

1. All LEO internship and research experiences must yield a written report on the activity. The report should be turned in to the Faculty Mentor and the LEO Manager (Margie Barry, Office: Williams Hall Room 406A, E-mail: mmt1@lehigh.edu, Phone: 610 758-5411) at least three days prior to the last day of classes,, and it must include an electronic version of all documents and a hard copy. (The number of hard copies vary for specific projects, please check with your Project Advisor or Project Manager (George Yasko, Office: Williams Hall Room 207, E-mail: gby0@lehigh.edu, Phone: 610 758-4840. An example of electronic files should include a PDF format of the entire report, along with the report in it's original electronic format (Microsoft Word is preferred). If data is collected during the internship, it should be submitted in a Microsoft Excel format. If this data is being collected on a continuous basis, these data sets need to be turned in to the LEO Manager on the same continuous basis. For example, if you are collecting data weekly, the completed weekly data in Microsoft Excel format should be turned in to the LEO Manager that week, not later. At a minimum, the report needs an introduction (description of the project along with any necessary background material), a description of methods, a complete inventory with description of results (including data, observations, maps, etc.), and a summary. You can check on how to write a scientific report at the following link: http://www.leo.lehigh.edu/internships/internproced.html. In addition, any updated procedures should be turned in with the same format expectations. The faculty mentor will provide more specific guidance and might stipulate additional requirements for the report. Substantial research projects like a senior thesis need literature reviews and interpretive discussions.

2. In addition to the project report, the student must also provide a written evaluation of the experience that comments on how the experience advanced the student's educational goals and aspirations. Any recommendations and comments about your internships are welcome. If the project involves partnership with an external organization, the evaluation should include comments on that partnership. For team projects, the faculty mentor may request a confidential assessment of each team memberÒs contributions. And finally, the student must prepare a final presentation that will be presented with all of the other LEO Interns at a mutual time towards the end of the semester.

3. For projects that earn academic credit, the expected level of effort is 3 to 4 hours/week/credit. The faculty mentor and the student need to be clear about the number of credits for which the student is registered and the consequent commitment of time. Specific tasks will be planned with a view to the time commitment. Students should be aware that projects typically require an additional investment of time beyond the basic expectation in order to rise to a suitable level of excellence. Mid-course adjustments to the expected tasks may, however, be necessary if the time required for tasks is significantly different from (greater or less than) the time available. Note that students registering for EES 93 or 293 may receive credit toward various distribution requirements (NS, SS, HU, Lab Experience, Field Experience, or Free Elective). EES majors should also note the limitation on internship or research credits that can be applied toward the major.

4. The evaluation of the student's performance will be based on completion of the tasks, degree of engagement in the learning/mentoring process, effective participation in a team effort, and quality of the final report. The faculty mentor may stipulate additional factors for consideration.

Please print this page for your reference throughout the internship and the faculty mentor can complete the online application form by clicking on the link below:
Online Application.