Learning Outcomes

The purpose of the internship for credit program is to give students who have not previously worked in the computing industry, a chance to embark on a structured program revolving around the student's education. Specific learning out comes are listed here:

The successful student will be able to:

create (predefined and specific) deliverables over a three month full time work experience.
effectively convey information by writing concise, informative, and interesting summaries of the high level weekly results of their internship. These essays should be formal in tone and reflect not only the accomplishments of the student, but also how these tasks are helping the student grow and develop.
be able to describe the attributes of an invested mentor as well as appraise the benefits of a mentor/mentee relationship in industry
learn how to approach co-workers and mentors in order to form the relationships that build a successful professional network
apply the necessary practices of a successful long term software development project, including task management, versioning, collaboration, meetings, etc.
discuss the necessary path of a long term software development project including requirements analysis, coding, testing, and deployment
judge the effectiveness of the companies organization structure
demonstrate specific examples showing the benefits of self motivation, professionalism, and initiative

These learning objectives will be measured via the individual writing assignments in the course as well as the midterm and final evaluations by the student's employer.

University of Utah Guidelines - Grade Definitions

The following grading guidelines for the University of Utah are outlined in the Faculty

Regulations (VIII.8):

A, A- : excellent performance, superior achievement

B+, B, B- : good performance, substantial achievement

C+, C, C- : standard performance and achievement

D+, D, D- : substandard performance, marginal achievement

E : unsatisfactory performance and achievement

Grading Overview

Grading for the course will be divided between your performance in the internship (as described by the employer evaluations) and your technical writing abilities. The following point system will be used.

(~6 pts) Initial Paperwork
(~36 pts) Weekly Essays (12 total)
(~26 pts) Midterm and Final Employer Evaluation (13 pts each)
(~9 pts) Final Essay

At the end of the internship, the following grading scale will be used:

A : 67-77 (e.g., proficient writing and good+ evaluations)
A- : 62-66
B+ : 57-61 (e.g., adequate+ writing and good reviews, adequate writing and glowing evaluations)
B : 52-56
B- : 46-51 (e.g., adequate writing and adequate evaluations)
C : < 46
D : < 38
E : < 30

On the whole, most students should expect to earn, on the order of, a B+/A- in the course. Students are encouraged to meet with their faculty instructor at the midpoint and end of the internship process to discuss their work, grade, and experience.

Please note that the above grades are a guideline and will be used in most cases. If special circumstances warrant, the instructor reserves the right to adjust the grade as appropriate. If this is the case, your final letter grade will contain a description of why the grade was adjusted up or down (usually due to problems/excellence in the internship itself) and you will be given a week to discuss the grade with the professor.

Weekly Discussions

In order to allow student interns from across the valley and the country to share and explore their internships more effectively, students will be required to actively communicate with their peers through the Canvas Discussion mechanism. For more information, please see the pinned "Instructions and Requirements".

Students who fail to actively participate will receive a letter step reduction in their final grade (e.g., from an B+ to a B).

Employer Evaluations Grade Scale:

The employer's midterm and final evaluations will be graded on a thirteen-point scale. It is expected that School of Computing students will perform in an exemplary manner during their entire internship and should earn high praise in the written reviews by the industry sponsor. You should be aware that your training through your course work has prepared you to be an excellent intern.

(-5 pt) A failing review.
(0 pts) A poor review. (It should be noted that, over the past decade, no University of Utah CS student has received a failing or poor review.)
(7 pts) An adequate evaluation. For example, when a student does what is required of them, but does not standout or go above and beyond.
(10 pts) A good evaluation. For example, when a student is praised by their employer for taking initiative and/or getting extra work done, and done well: "We are happy to have [student] on our team and expect them to grow more valuable as time goes by.".
(13 pts) A glowing/top of class type of evaluation. For example, when an employer mentions that the student has far exceeded expectations and is functioning at or above the level of regular employees: "[Intern] greatly exceeded the expectations for a [company] employee with less than two years of experience.".

Essay Grade Scale:

Your essay assignments will be graded on a three point scale. The final report is worth four normal essays.

The grading categories are:

(-1 pt) Missing: Work that is not turned in will result in a negative point.
(1 pt) Needs Work: indicates that there are grammatical and/or spelling errors that detract from the writing. Alternatively, logistical mistakes such as an incorrect title or not following the template instructions can result in this score. It can also mean a) that the information presented does not match the topic of the essay, or b) the essay does not address the "meta" issue of how the student has grown as a result of the analysis, or c) the essay is uninspiring or dull. It is expected that many students will have multiple weekly essays in the “needs improvement” category, unless you spend considerable time on your essays, including multiple drafts.
(2 pts) Adequate: indicates the student has written a reasonable essay but it contains errors, either in form or content. Most students who have practiced their writing and spend a reasonable amount of timing writing and proofing will land in this category or the next.
(3 pts) Proficient: indicates a well written essay, with one or zero grammatical/spelling errors and with a compelling narrative. The structure should flow well throughout each paragraph and throughout the entire document. The writing should not only cover "what" was done in a given week, but "how" you individually are growing/learning/evolving as a software engineer. A good college level writer should be able to achieve an Adequate grade with a single draft of a paper. A Proficient grade will often require making one (or several) editing passes.
(4 pts) Wow: this score is reserved for extremely well written essays that are very polished and completely error free, as well as being informative and compelling. Few students achieve this mark on any essays. It is a goal to strive for, but usually beyond a reasonable expectation. It is not necessary to earn "Wow" grades to earn an A in the course (and in fact, the Wow is mostly a bonus grade).

Essay Format Guidelines

Assignments should be explicitly formatted as shown in the Essay Template

Further, each essay should:

be titled with your name, the date, the phrase "SoC Internship Report", and the week and topic
be a single page!
be single spaced
have a font size of 12
be justified (i.e., the right margin should be smooth)
be handed in a PDF file
have paragraphs that are easily identifiable

Additional Content Guidelines

Your essays should:

be filled with concise and meaningful information. Do not go into too much technical detail. Try to make logical assumptions about what the reader knows or doesn't know (e.g., don't explain what GIT is).
discuss some of the day-to-day experiences that relate to the topic at hand.
discuss how the experience (based on the topic) has affected your growth as a software engineer
be approximately 500 words long; long enough to contain pertinent information but short enough not to allow for "fluff"
be checked for typos and grammatical errors
follow proper writing guidelines, such as topic sentences, unified themes, consistent tone, tense, etc.

Additional Information on Essay Grading

Here are additional guidelines on what makes WOW, Proficient, Adequate, and Needs Work Essays

Wow: Outstanding work. The paper is excellent in nearly all respects:

It is well argued and well organized, with a clear thesis;
it is well developed with content that is specific, informative, interesting, appropriate, convincing, and compelling;
it has logical transitions that contribute to a fluent style of writing;
it has few, if any, mechanical, grammatical, or diction errors; and
it demonstrates command of a mature, unpretentious diction.

Proficient: Good work. The paper shares most characteristics of a "Wow" paper, but it:

may have some minor weaknesses in its argumentation;
may have some minor lapses in organization and development;
may contain some sentence structures that are awkward or ineffective;
may have occasional mechanical, grammatical, or diction problems;
may be less distinctive in its use of language.

Adequate: The paper generally competent; it is the average performance. Compared to the above paper, it may have a weaker thesis and less effective development. Further, it:

may have serious shortcomings in its argumentation;
may contain some lapses in organization;
may have poor or awkward transitions;
may have less varied sentence structures that tend toward monotony;
may have more mechanical, grammatical, and diction problems.

Needs work: Such a paper generally

presents no clear thesis;
displays major organizational problems;
lacks adequate support for its thesis;
includes irrelevant details;
includes confusing transitions or lacks transitions;
fails to fulfill the assignment or follow instructions;
contains ungrammatical or poorly constructed sentences and/or demonstrates problems with spelling, punctuation, diction, or syntax which impede understanding.

Feedback:

Your essays will generally be graded in batches. The first batch at the third week, the second batch before the midterm visit, and the final batch at the end of the semester. Two important notes:

If you receive feedback which shows improvements that could affect essays already handed in but not yet graded, you are encouraged to edit and update those essays and hand them in again. An ungraded essay can be resubmitted at any point if you make improvements to it.
There will be feedback given directly on the PDF you submit. When reviewing your grade make sure you not only look at the overall comment; make sure to review the details page showing any highlighting and specific feedback directly on the essay.

General Advice:

Please make sure to re-read your essay before submitting. It is suggested you finish you essay on a Friday, the revisit it on Saturday or Sunday to do a polishing/editing pass.

You are encouraged to use the University Writing Center for help with your writing.

Finally, make sure each essay addresses the “meta” issues of your internship, i.e., what did you learn about yourself while.

A note to non-native speakers:

If English is not your first language, I suggest you have a native speaker proof your document and go over any changes/suggestions with you before you hand the assignment in.