Philip Merrill College of Journalism | University of Maryland

JOUR 199 Survey Apprenticeship
Winter 2008

Penny Bender Fuchs
Director of Career Placement and Professional Development
3118 Journalism Bldg.
Phone: 301-405-2796
Fax: 301-314-9166
pfuchs@jmail.umd.edu

Important note: This is a one-credit pass/fail course that does not count toward your graduation requirements.

Requirements for this course:

60 hours of service in an approved apprenticeship extended over 3 weeks, Jan. 2-22, 2008
A positive job evaluation from job site supervisor.
Midterm Report, due in 1117 JRN by 4 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 9. (No electronic submissions.)
Final Report, due in 1117 JRN by 4 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 22.(No electronic submissions.)
One time sheets, due Jan. 22.
A one-on-one conference by Jan. 22.

Grading:
Students must complete the required number of apprenticeship hours, receive good job evaluations from their supervisors and show up on time for their conferences to pass this course. Other work will be weighted as follows:

Midterm Report: 45 percent
Final Report: 45 percent
One-on-one session with me: 10 percent

Midterm Report:
In three to five double-spaced pages, demonstrate your understanding of your employer and what goes on in your workplace. A copy of this report will be available to students in the college’s career center. Cover these topics:

A description of the organization, including the type of medium and who owns it. Is this a weekly newspaper, a Web site or a network affiliate, for instance? Give the circulation, market size or daily unique hits and note the target audience.
History and mission of this company.
A description of the personnel and the management – how many employees work there and who reports to whom?
Note the diversity of the office in terms of race, gender and job type. You will likely need to get these facts from your employer.
What is a day like in your office? How do the deadlines work – describe the process of putting out the publication or getting the show on the air.
How did you get this internship and what is your role there?
At the end of this report, include the employer’s contact information for students who wish to apply for this internship.

Citing your sources: The sources you use to write this paper must be cited clearly within the text. You may use footnotes or provide attribution in newspaper style, but it must be obvious to the reader where you got your facts. Credibility and integrity are hallmarks of what we do as journalists, so you must be stringent about crediting your sources. Facts stated without attribution or footnotes may result in an F on this paper.

Final Report:
In 3-5 pages, double-spaced, evaluate your experience. Provide a thoughtful assessment of the type of work you were assigned and whether it was useful to you as a student and a budding journalist. Cover these topics:

Describe the skills you gained -- journalism skills as well as real-world skills, such as building relationships with supervisors, interacting with co-workers and managing work and school responsibilities.
Relate your internship experience to your education at the College of Journalism. Did your journalism classes prepare you for this internship? Why or why not?
What have you learned that you will remember 10 years from now?
If you were training your replacement, what would you advise him or her?
What could have been better about this experience – on your end and on the supervisor’s?

In addition to content, all assignments are graded on the quality of the writing and attention to AP style, grammar and spelling. Be warned -- points will be deducted for grammatical errors, misspellings and sloppy prose, so proofread your work before handing it in.

Meeting deadlines is crucial in this profession. No work will be accepted after the deadline for any reason. If you fax your work, please do so before 3:55 p.m. on the day it is due or it will surely not arrive on time. Once you have faxed your work, call or e-mail to confirm it arrived and save your confirmation sheet as proof you sent the materials in by deadline.

Time Sheet:
Bring in, mail or fax the time sheet by Jan. 22. Be sure to total the hours and have your supervisor sign it. You must have a minimum of 60 hours of service to get credit for this class.

Conference with internship coordinator: If you have not taken JOUR 399, plan to meet with me for approximately 30 minutes before Jan. 22. This meeting is not a requirement for upperclassmen who have already taken JOUR 399, although it is encouraged. However, it is mandatory for freshmen and sophomores who have not fulfilled the internship requirement. Punctuality is mandatory. Conferences may not be rescheduled if you do not contact me ahead of time.

Academic Integrity:
Along with certain rights, students also have the responsibility to behave honorably in an academic environment. Academic dishonesty, including cheating, fabrication, facilitating academic dishonesty and plagiarism, will not be tolerated. Any abridgment of academic integrity standards will be referred directly to the dean and the university's Office of Judicial Affairs. Confirmation of such incidents can result in expulsion from the university. All students will be required to sign an academic integrity pledge at the beginning of the semester that will cover all assignments in the course.

Equal Opportunity:
The University is an equal opportunity institution with respect to education and employment. The university's policies, programs and activities are in compliance with pertinent federal and state laws and regulations on nondiscrimination regarding race, color, religion, age, national original, sex, sexual orientation and handicap. On your apprenticeship site, if you perceive any problems related to the above or if you believe you have been the target for sexual or other forms of harassment, contact Olive Reid, Director of Undergraduate Programs in 1117 JRN. I want this to be a valuable learning experience for you. If you or your site supervisor has any questions, call 301-405-2796 or the Student Services Office, 301-405-2399, Mon. - Fri., 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.