GENS 200/400

Professional Experience and Community Service (1-3 units)

Course Description

General Studies 200 (GENS 200) and 400 (GENS 400) courses offer SDSU students the opportunity to receive up to six units of credit applicable to the bachelor’s degree for their participation in an internship or community engagement experiences. The purpose of the program is to provide community engaged experiences for students in departments or schools that do not have formal internship or community-engaged learning programs. Credit may be applied toward fulfillment of major or minor requirements only with the approval of the department chair or designee.

Why Experiential Learning Matters

Experiential learning, including internships and service/community engagement, provide opportunities for students to learn or hone specific skill sets. As an example, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) eight Career Readiness Competencies:

1. Critical Thinking/Problem Solving: Exercise sound reasoning to analyze issues, make decisions, and overcome problems. The individual is able to obtain, interpret, and use knowledge, facts, and data in this process, and may demonstrate originality and inventiveness. 
2. Oral/Written Communications: Articulate thoughts and ideas clearly and effectively in written and oral forms to persons inside and outside of the organization. The individual has public speaking skills; is able to express ideas to others; and can write/edit memos, letters, and complex technical reports clearly and effectively. 
3. Teamwork/Collaboration: Build collaborative relationships with colleagues and customers representing diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, religions, lifestyles, and viewpoints. The individual is able to work within a team structure and can negotiate and manage conflict. 
4. Digital Technology: Leverage existing digital technologies ethically and efficiently to solve problems, complete tasks, and accomplish goals. The individual demonstrates effective adaptability to new and emerging technologies. 
5. Leadership: Leverage the strengths of others to achieve common goals, and use interpersonal skills to coach and develop others. The individual is able to assess and manage his/her emotions and those of others; use empathetic skills to guide and motivate; and organize, prioritize, and delegate work. 
6. Professionalism/Work Ethic: Demonstrate personal accountability and effective work habits, e.g., punctuality, working productively with others, and time workload management, and understand the impact of non-verbal communication on professional work image. The individual demonstrates integrity and ethical behavior, acts responsibly with the interests of the larger community in mind, and is able to learn from his/her mistakes. 
7. Career Management: Identify and articulate one's skills, strengths, knowledge, and experiences relevant to the position desired and career goals, and identify areas necessary for professional growth. The individual is able to navigate and explore job options, understands and can take the steps necessary to pursue opportunities, and understands how to self-advocate for opportunities in the workplace. 
8. Global/Intercultural Fluency: Value, respect, and learn from diverse cultures, races, ages, genders, sexual orientations, and religions. The individual demonstrates openness, inclusiveness, sensitivity, and the ability to interact respectfully with all people and understand individuals’ differences.

Professional Experience Placement

An placement for professional experience (paid or unpaid) is a required aspect of this course, and is the student’s responsibility to secure. Information on how to find and secure a placement can be found on the Career Services website. IS3D students may also work with the IS3D Internship Coordinator to secure a placement. All agencies (e.g. organization, company) placing students in work or service placements for academic credit must have an active Service Learning Agreement (SLAs) on file with the university. Students can visit the SDSU Procure-to-Pay website to verify if their chosen agency has an active SLA with SDSU, or to explore agencies that already have SLAs on file. If the placement is with an agency that does not have an active SLA on file with SDSU, the course instructor will work with their supervisor to complete the required Internship Site Questionnaire (ISQ) and SLA. Agencies not willing to complete an ISQ and/or SLA with SDSU may not place students in work or service placements for credit. Examples of appropriate work/service placements for this course include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Employment, paid or unpaid, related to the student’s professional goals, resulting, for example, in an evaluation of the management structure of an organization, a “newcomer’s” guide to the profession, or completion of a specific project assigned by the employer and evaluated by the faculty mentor or GENS 200/400 instructor; 
• Work in a social service agency, hospital, or school, to complete projects such as an analysis of agency effectiveness or interactions among similar agencies or direct support services for clients or students; 
• Political work designed to produce a project, such as a position paper for a candidate, a campaign strategy, or canvassing of voters for a voter-attitudes study; 
• Work in a campus advising or tutoring center and keeping a journal to document reactions to and handling of situations, personalities, etc. and analyzing those reactions in a psychological self-profile.

Number of Units

Students are expected to enroll in units based on the number of hours of effort per week at the placement site. Thus, the student’s work should be at an appropriate level to provide a valuable learning experience as well as a real benefit to the employer. 

• 1 Unit   0-7 hours per week
• 2 Units 8 to 14 hours per week
• 3 Units 15 or more hours per week

Please note that students should assess the value of participating in a work/service placement if they are required as a condition of the placement to offer more than 20 hours per week of their time. Time commitments of more than 20 hours per week may present issues that can negatively impact a student’s academic coursework or progress toward a degree.

Student Enrollment Checklist

Download GENS 200-400 Student Enrollment Checklist PDF

Initial Steps for all Students

• Step 1. Meet with your major advisor to discuss whether there is an option for you to receive academic credit through your major. If not, continue to step 2. 
• Step 2. Secure a work, internship or service placement. Information on how to find and secure an placement can be found on the Career Services website.
• Step 3. Complete the Course Application.
• Step 4. Send your employment/internship offer letter (on an official company email or stationary with physical address, websites, etc.) to the course instructor.
• Step 5. Complete the SDSU Student Release of Liability Waiver sent by the course instructor (Adobe e-Sign).
• Step 6. The course instructor will review campus records to see if your employer has an approved Service Learning Agreement (SLA) on file with SDSU General Studies. If they do not,  the course instructor will work directly with your organization to complete the two required forms: 1) Internship Site Questionnaire (ISQ) and 2) Service Learning Agreement (SLA). You can help this process by alerting your supervisor to expect these forms. You will not be provisioned permission to add the course until steps 1-6 are complete. 

Steps Based on Track

Track B: GENS 200/400 CANVAS Course (most common)

Students whose placement is off campus, or on campus with a faculty member who is unable to develop and/or supervise the academic component of the course. Students complete the course under the supervision of the GENS 200/400 instructor, as outlined in this syllabus. The GENS 200/400 instructor determines the student’s final grade. There are no additional steps for Track B students. 

Track A: Faculty Contract (less common)

Students complete the academic work outlined in the Faculty/Student Contract rather than the assignments and assessments outlined in the general GENS 200/400 syllabus, and may disregard most course communications. The faculty mentor determines the final grade in the course, and communicates that grade to the course instructor. This track is appropriate in the following scenarios:

1. Students have a placement on-campus with a faculty mentor AND the faculty mentor is willing to supervise both the professional experience AND develop/supervise academic work required for academic credit (e.g. readings, assignments). 
2. Students are repeating the course for credit (have taken Track B already). Course instructor serves as faculty mentor to develop an alternative curriculum.

• Step 7. This step only applies to Track A students. Work with the SDSU faculty mentor to complete the Faculty/Student Contract and submit the completed contract to the course instructor. This step may happen concurrent to steps 1-7.

Additional Step for International Students

Once all of the above steps are complete, and the course instructor has provisioned your permission to enroll in the course, international students must complete a final step. 

• Step 8. This step only applies to international students. Complete the Curricular Practical Training (CPT) Form and send it to the course instructor for their signature. Once signed, you submit the completed form to the International Student Center. You may not work at your placement until the CPT Form has been fully processed (please confirm with the International Student Center).

Additional Information 

• The course instructor may ask to meet with you to discuss your placement at any point in this process. Failure to respond to requests to meet/discuss may delay your enrollment.
• Adding the course late is at the discretion of the course instructor for compelling reasons. Students will be required to follow the Late Schedule Adjustment procedures. 
• The enrollment process can take up to two weeks or more, so please plan ahead and respond promptly. If you have not received permission to enroll, or you have not heard anything from the course instructor for 14 days, feel free to reach out for an update.