Thank you for your interest in hiring an intern from the Nonprofit Leadership Studies program at UA Little Rock. Please review the following information about our internship program.
What is the purpose of the NPLS Internship?
To obtain a Certified Nonprofit Professional credential through UA Little Rock, our students are required to complete 300 internship hours at a local 501(c)3. The goal is to provide the student with a meaningful and intensive on-the-job training experience in preparation for their future career as a nonprofit professional. The purpose is also to provide local organizations, like yours, with the opportunity to train and utilize future nonprofit professionals.
Why should I hire an NPLS intern?
Organizations receive the following benefits when they offer internships to NPLS students:
- Access to a highly qualified candidate pool for potential/future vacancies
- Minimized recruiting costs and training time
- The ability to observe potential employees under actual working conditions, without a long-term commitment
- Established connections to university resources
- The ability to meet personnel demands during peak periods and for special projects
Does my organization have to pay the intern?
NPLS internships can be paid or unpaid.
How many hours will the intern work for us?
You can choose to have an intern for 150 hours or 300 hours. The intern’s schedule is negotiable.
What is the process for hiring an intern?
We ask that your agency help our interns acquire skills to help them pursue a career in nonprofit leadership and management. We use an educational contract to plan for the intern experience and a set of two evaluations to measure the intern’s learning outcomes.
1. Educational Contract
The contract explains our program’s competency requirements – the skill sets our students are hoping to gain during their time at your organization. Please consult with us about ways that students can meet a competency if you’re having trouble. This document should be filled out prior to the student beginning the internship. We ask that someone be designated as the intern’s “supervisor” who can fill out the contract form (with the student) so that all expectations are clearly laid out beforehand.
2. Midterm & Final Evaluation
These evaluation forms should be filled out by the intern’s supervisor. The midterm evaluation should be completed when the student has completed half of his/her hours (150 hours or 75 hours, depending on the length of service).
The final evaluation should be completed prior the intern’s last day. The intern will be responsible for keeping up with these deadlines.
If you are interested in hiring an NPLS intern, please contact Dr. Derek R. Slagle at drslagle@ualr.edu or 501-916-3331. You can also learn more on our NPLS website.
