TheAssociatedCollegesofIllinoisKemperFoundation LiberalArtsinBusiness2014GrantProgram

Overview Studentsmajoringintheliberalartsoftenlackunderstandingofhowbusinessfunctionsandhowtheir backgroundandskillsetcanfitintotheworkplace.Thislackofunderstandingmaylimittheirinterestin andorientationtocareersinthecorporateworld.TheAssociatedCollegesofIllinois,inpartnershipwith TheKemperFoundationhavemadeagrantavailabletostudentsworkingandlearninginnonpaid, fulltime,summerinternshipswithbusinesses.Theseworkplaceexperienceswillbesupplementedwith onlinetrainingmodulestohelpstudentsbetterunderstandhowbusinessfunctions.Eachstudentwill evaluatethemselvesandbeevaluatedbytheirsitesponsor.Thegoalistogrowthenumberofstudents whobetterunderstandthemselvesandthebusinessworld,aswellastheirpotentialplaceinit. Thisopportunitywillbeavailabletofifteen(15)liberalartsmajorswhocurrentlyhaveanunpaid,summer internshipinaforprofitbusiness.SelectedinternswillcompleteanonlineBusinessFundamentals courseforliberalartsmajors,aswellasanadditionalcareerexplorationmodulepertainingsolelytothe insuranceindustryandwillreceivea$3,000stipendperstudentforan810weekinternship. 1. InterestedstudentswillsubmitanapplicationpacketbyMay2,2014whichwillinclude: a. Applicationformwhichincludesthebusinessandsitesupervisorcontactinformation b. Onepagestatementonwhytheyshouldbeselectedtoreceivethegrant c. Resume d. GradereporttoconfirmtheirGPA e. Academicadvisorreference 2. StudentswillbeselectedandnotifiedoftheirgrantnolaterthanMay30,2014. 3. ACIwillemailemployerstoconfirmthestudentsname,startdate,enddate,andthatthestudent hasreportedfortheirinternship. 4. Thefirsttwopaymentswillbemadetostudentsatregularintervals(e.g.,aftertwoweeksandthen againatthefourweekmarkforasixweekinternship).Thefinalpaymentwillonlybemadeafter thestudentcompletesafinalassessmentoftheirexperienceandtheemployerconfirmsthe studenthassuccessfullycompletedtheirinternship. 5. Studentswillberequiredtotakeanonlinecoursecoveringvariousaspectsofbusiness.One segmentwillbeassignedeachweekforsixweeks.Oneadditionalcareerexplorationmodulewill focussolelyontheinsuranceindustry.Eachsegmentwillincludeapreandposttest. 6. Internshipsupervisorswillbeencouragedtoassiststudentinternsinconnectingthecontentofthe BusinessFundamentalsonlinecoursetotheexperienceoftheinternship. 7. StudentinternswillbeencouragedtocreateaFacebookGrouptoconnectandlearnfromeach other.

CourseOverview Thecoursewillconsistofsixsegments,eachonefocusingonadifferentfunctionalareainabusiness includingtherolesandresponsibilitiesofpeoplewithinthatarea.Eachsegmentwillalsoincludesome verybasicbackgroundinformationonbusinesstheoryandsomeofthevocabularyoneislikelyto encounterwhendealingwithdepartmentswithinthatfunctionalarea.Eachclasswillinclude12,1020 minutevideoswithdownloadablenotesandsupplementalreadinglists.Short,onlinepreandposttests willbecreatedforeachsegmentofthecourse. Evaluation/Assessment Assessmentwillbeakeycomponentoftheseinternships.Studentswillevaluatethemselvesinthepre andposttestforeachvideolesson.Theywillalsosubmitafinalonlineevaluation,whichwillincludeboth quantitativeandqualitativemeasures.Theemployerwillalsoevaluatethestudentandsharetheir feedbackwiththemandwithACI. StudentCriteria Toparticipateinthisprogramandreceivethe$3,000grant,eachselectedstudentmust: 1)BeenrolledfulltimeatoneoftheACImembercollegesasasophomore,juniororsenior 2)Beenrolledinaliberalartsmajorandnotalsomajoringinbusiness,management,oritsequivalent 3)MaintainacumulativeGPAof2.5orabove 4)Berecommendedbythestudentsacademicadvisor 5)Beabletoprovidetheirowntransportationtotheworksite. 6)Havenootherjoboracademicresponsibilities(suchasaresearchproject)forthesummer 7)Bearesponsibleambassadortothecommunityfortheircollege CollegeInvolvement 1)ThecollegeshouldactivelypromoteTheACIKemperFoundationLiberalArtsinBusiness InternshipProgramopportunity. 2)TheInternshipand/orCareerCenteroneachcampusmaypromotethisasacreditbearing opportunityiftheysochoose. 3)Allassignments,processesandrequirementsastheyrelatetocreditbearingacademicoptions whichmayberequiredbythemembercollegeshallbetheresponsibilityofthemembercollege, notACI. 4)Thegrantrecipientsexperiencemaybecountedaspartoftheschoolsinternshipparticipation rate,whetherornotitiscompletedforacademiccredit.