The UNC Department of Computer Science’s U.S. Internship Position Statement Developed by Stephanie Johnson, Career Development Manager, July 2022 

Based on the guidelines set forth by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), an internship can be defined as:

“An internship is a form of experiential learning that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Internships allow students to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths, and allow employers to guide and evaluate talent.” (NACE, 2018)

For this definition to be properly implemented, academic units such as the UNC Department of Computer Science must develop criteria that will define an internship for its students and respective employers. Listed below are these criteria, based on The Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Criteria for an experience to be considered as an internship for UNC-CH Computer Science students:

● The skills or knowledge gained must apply to other employment settings within the technology industry.

● The experience must be an extension of the course material learned in the curriculum and the classroom. It must not only be for the advancement of a company or organization of any kind, ranging from large tech firms to start-ups.

● There is a desired beginning and end of the experience, and the job qualifications and responsibilities are detailed and outlined by the employer.

● There is ample supervision by an experienced professional from within the tech industry and is there to provide both beneficial and constructive feedback.

● There must be clearly defined goals or objectives of the experience and the student must know what their expectations are upfront.

● There should be materials, resources, and/or training available to the student at any time, regardless of whether the experience is had in person or remotely.

If these criteria are met, then it believes that the UNC Department of Computer Science categorizes this as a legitimate internship.

Unpaid Internships “Background: The FLSA requires “for-profit” employers to pay employees for their work. Interns and students, however, may not be “employees” under the FLSA—in which case the FLSA does not require compensation for their work.

The Test for Unpaid Interns and Students: Courts have used the “primary beneficiary test” to determine whether an intern or student is, in fact, an employee under the FLSA. In short, this test allows courts to examine the “economic reality” of the intern-employer relationship to determine which party is the “primary beneficiary” of the relationship. Courts have identified the following seven factors as part of the test:

● The extent to which the intern and the employer clearly understand that there is no expectation of compensation. Any promise of compensation, express or implied, suggests that the intern is an employee—and vice versa.

● The extent to which the internship provides training that would be similar to that which would be given in an educational environment, including the clinical and other hands-on training provided by educational institutions.

● The extent to which the internship is tied to the intern’s formal education program by integrated coursework or the receipt of academic credit.

● The extent to which the internship accommodates the intern’s academic commitments by corresponding to the academic calendar.

● The extent to which the internship’s duration is limited to the period in which the internship provides the intern with beneficial learning.

● The extent to which the intern’s work complements, rather than displaces, the work of paid employees while providing significant educational benefits to the intern.

● The extent to which the intern and the employer understand that the internship is conducted without entitlement to a paid job after the internship.”

Sources: https://www.shrm.org/resourcesandtools/tools-and-samples/toolkits/pages/employinginterns.aspx https://www.naceweb.org/about-us/advocacy/position-statements/position-statement-us-internships/ https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/flsa https://www.dol.gov/agencies/whd/fact-sheets/71-flsa-internships