Rules and Regulations

c. External Learning Experiences

An external learning experience is a competency based learning experience, paid or unpaid, that enhances lecture and laboratory instruction and is provided at work sites appropriate to the discipline. The inclusion of an external learning experience in both certificate and applied associate degree plans is strongly recommended. The external learning experience allows the student to have practical, hands on training and to apply learned concepts and theories in a workplace setting. There are five types of external learning experiences: clinical experiences, internships, practica, co operative education, and apprenticeships.

Clinical and internship experiences provide workplace settings in which students learn and apply program theory and management of the work flow. Clinical experiences must take place in a health care setting and students must not be paid for the learning experiences. Internship experiences take place in any setting outside of health care and students may or may not be paid for the learning experiences. (Please refer to Table 3-3, Clinical Experience and Internship Courses in this chapter.)
Practica and cooperative education provide workplace settings in which students gain practical experience in a discipline, enhance skills, and integrate knowledge. (Please refer to Table 3-4, Practicum and Cooperative Education Courses, to determine which type of external learning experience is most appropriate.)

To determine which external learning experience is appropriate, colleges should review the criteria in Tables 3-3 and 3-4. Clinical experiences and internships are defined as closely supervised experiences with instruction in theory provided concurrently. Practica and cooperative education courses are less closely supervised, apply previously learned theory, and are suitable for the student who can work more independently and is either working in the discipline (cooperative education) or who is almost ready for career entry (practicum).

 
Apprenticeships provide workplace settings that are registered with the Bureau of Apprenticeship and Training (BAT) of the U.S. Department of Labor. See details later in this chapter.

1. General Information Regarding Clinical Experiences, Internships, Practica, and Cooperative Education

(a) External learning experiences must ultimately be under the control of the educational institution, although individuals in the sponsoring workplace may be responsible for the daily supervision of the student or for the lecture component of cooperative education.

(b) External learning experiences must be governed by a written, signed agreement between the higher education institution and the organization providing the experience. The higher education institution must maintain copies of such agreements and have them available for review by the Coordinating Board staff. (A sample affiliation agreement is available upon request from the Community and Technical Colleges Division of the Coordinating Board.)

(c) Each institution must assure that the external learning experience is consistent with industry standards, supports specific written objectives outlined by the educational institution, and emphasizes current practices in the field of specialization.

(d) Prior to the beginning of the external experience, the institution must provide both the student and the external site with written documentation of the objectives, instructional strategies, and evaluation mechanisms of the external learning course.

(e) The institution must approve and evaluate all training locations and must evaluate all faculty members who supervise students. The on-site supervisor of each external experience should have appropriate qualifications in the applicable discipline. Written evaluation records must be maintained by the educational institution.

(f) A written External Learning Experience Evaluation Form, based on the student learning plan and describing student learning outcomes, must be developed by the instructor in conjunction with the external learning supervisor and provided to the supervisor at the external site. This form will allow the supervisor and the instructor to monitor student progress and learning activities accurately. The profile may be in the form of a matrix or checklist (see sample at end of the chapter) and maintained at the educational institution.

(g) Prior to the external experience, each student must receive a statement of the expectations of the external site.

(h) A student must be working toward an AAS or certificate in the specific technical education program to enroll in a course that provides external learning experiences except for those students in career exploration courses. (Career exploration courses must be for credit, not for continuing education.) Each student must be in contact with a designated instructor (college faculty or designated employee of external site) while at the work site.

(i) External learning experiences may be paid or unpaid and full or part-time depending upon the type of experience and credentialing requirements. Employment obtained for the purpose of wage earning only must not be considered as an external learning experience in the program.

(j) Institutions are encouraged to provide access to liability insurance for their students who are enrolled in the external learning experiences.

(k) For income tax purposes, to differentiate stipends from wages, colleges, businesses, and industries participating in external learning experiences are encouraged to refer to appropriate labor laws for clarification of employment versus non-employment relationships. The following six criteria should be met to indicate a non-employment relationship:

• the training, even though it includes actual operation of the facilities of the employer, must be similar to that which would be given in a workforce education program;
• the training must be for the benefit of the trainees or students;
• the trainees must not displace regular employees but rather work under their close supervision;
• the employer that provides the training must derive no immediate advantage from the activities of the trainees, and on occasion the employer’s operations may actually be impeded;
• the trainees or students should understand that they are not necessarily entitled to a job at the conclusion of the training period; and
• the employer and the trainees understand that the trainees or students are not entitled to wages for the time spent in training.

(l) The maximum number of external contact hours in an AAS program must not exceed 1,008 hours unless the program is specifically exempt. Exemption may be granted to health professions programs based on the standard of practice for the specific discipline. To apply for an exemption, a professional organization must submit to the Coordinating Board a request and a rationale for such exemption. If a waiver is granted, it will apply to all programs in that discipline.

After reviewing state and national standards of practice for the following disciplines, external hour caps for the following disciplines have been established:

(m) External learning experiences must be properly sequenced with other courses in the program. To ensure that the student has developed a minimum level of technical competency prior to entering the work site, external courses must have a lecture and/or laboratory prerequisite or co-requisite.

(n) In clinical, internship, and practicum experiences, formally scheduled discussion of the external experience with students is considered part of the external experience, not a lecture, for credit hour assignment.

(o) External learning experiences in continuing education courses must be approved in advance and are available only on a limited basis. External learning experiences may be approved for continuing education courses as follows:

• Up to ten contact hours in a topic may be part of a lecture/laboratory course.
• More than ten contact hours in a topic must be contained in a free-standing course separate from any lecture or laboratory course. Refer to the WECM inventory for currently approved courses. Any external learning courses not already listed in the WECM must be submitted as Local Need courses and must be approved in advance of instruction to receive funding.

(p) The following definitions are used in Tables 3-3 and 3-4:

• Clinical preceptor: a work-site supervisor who oversees the daily, hands-on experiences of a health professions student in the work place.
• Close supervision: to remain within a short distance in time or space; very attentive; constant oversight, guidance, and review of the hands-on experiences of a health professions student; daily organization of the student’s activities.
• Direct supervision: daily oversight, guidance, and review of the hands-on experiences of workforce education students; daily organization of the student’s activities.
• Indirect supervision: general oversight and guidance of the hands-on experiences of workforce education students; periodic review of the student’s progress; overall organization of the student’s activities.

Table 3-3. Clinical Experience and Internship Courses

Table 3-4. Practicum and Cooperative Education Courses