Students participating in Chicago Semester (CS) are juniors and seniors from 13 Christian liberal arts colleges in the Midwest. We are committed to providing these students a supportive home base in Chicago, an introduction to life in an urban center, thought-provoking seminars and coursework, and, what often is the biggest draw, an internship in their field of study.

Many organizations welcome interns from our program and make a serious investment in students' education and development of work knowledge and job skills. Before each semester begins, CS staff arrange three to five interviews for each student at a variety of sites. These sites, in turn, may be interviewing several students for a single internship position. Final decisions are based on mutual agreement between the intern and the prospective site supervisor. We have found that the opportunity to choose, rather than accept a decision made by someone else, fosters a strong sense of ownership and commitment for both sides of this internship match.

Students work 32 hours per week without pay on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday. Internships typically last 13½ weeks. Instead of salary, students are compensated at their sites with conscientious supervision/ mentoring, relevant assignments or projects and academic credit awarded by their colleges. Since its founding in 1974, CS has developed over 1300 internship sites and supervisors. We serve between 130-150 students each academic year.

The organization sponsoring an intern becomes a collaborator in the CS program, a partnership that requires some planning and a set of agreements. We ask the sites to assign a seasoned employee to supervise and become a mentor, who will:

• Help the student(s) get oriented to the office and organization/company.
• Attend a morning orientation meeting at CS early in the semester.
• Meet at least once a week with the intern.
• Assist in developing a student-initiated learning contract for the internship, which contains goals, objectives, specific tasks and evaluative criteria.
• Provide meaningful learning opportunities and responsibilities for the intern. We ask that clerical tasks constitute no more than 20% of the student's job description.
• Participate in a midpoint and final evaluation session at the site involving the intern, the site supervisor, and the CS supervisor. Evaluation tools will be provided. A grade for the semester is turned in at the final evaluation, which is then forwarded to the student's college.

We pledge to support both the site and the student, offering a third party voice if and when needed; make resources available for supervisors in their responsibilities; and provide a weekly small group format for the intern to reflect on his/her experience, led by a knowledgeable CS staff person.

Our history tells us we have provided valuable opportunities for both internship sites and students. Sites benefit from having energetic, gifted young people to help them reach organizational goals. Students gain job experience and develop skills that serve them well in the future. We hope you will decide to become a partner with us at Chicago Semester!