Internship or Sabbatical Opportunity Focused on the First Year of College

Are you looking for internship or sabbatical opportunity focused on the first year of college? The John N. Gardner Institute for Excellence in Undergraduate Education is seeking applicants for a summer and/or fall internship or sabbatical experience.
 
The Gardner Institute (formerly the Policy Center on the First Year of College) is in its 11th year of service to the international higher education community, with special emphasis on assessment and planning efforts to improve the success of entering college and university students, both first-time and transfer. The Institute is located in the beautiful western North Carolina Blue Ridge mountains, in Brevard, a small county seat town of 6000 people. Brevard is a college town of note particularly because it is the home of the world famous Brevard Music Center and Festival. Also, the town and the Institute are very close, 35 miles, to an outstanding regional city, Asheville, N.C. with a regional airport just 19 miles from the Institute.
 
Role: Your primary role in this professional development experience would be to assist Institute staff in conducting in-depth qualitative research on the progress and outcomes achieved by selected participants in Foundations of Excellence in the First College Year, the Institute’s signature self-study and action-planning process. From the overall list of 167 colleges and universities that have participated in Foundations of Excellence, we would select those that have completed action and implementation plans. Your task would be to follow up with these institutions to determine the current status of these plans – which were implemented, which were not, and outcomes to date. In addition, information will be gathered regarding how the institutions approached the self-study process in terms of task force organization, leadership, data collection and dissemination, communication and marketing efforts, level of student involvement, timelines, prioritization of action items, etc. You would also have the opportunity to be involved in other Institute activities, working closely with all Institute staff members.

Location: The Gardner Institute is located on the campus of Brevard College. The office is pleasant and accessible. Parking is absolutely no problem! Applicants would be able to work on site in a dedicated Institute office or from an off-site location. However, preference will be given to applicants who are able to work on site.

Compensation: This would not be a funded position.

Qualifications: Applicants should have the following abilities: 
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills  
  • Knowledge of qualitative research methods 
  • Outstanding organizational and self-management skills  
  • At a minimum, applicants must be enrolled in a graduate degree program. 

For internship applicants, preference will be given to those with a master’s and/or doctoral degree.

Chief among these qualifications are strong organizational and communication skills. The Gardner Institute may request a writing sample from applicants.

How to apply: If you would be interested in exploring this opportunity, please correspond with the Institute’s Vice President and Senior Scholar, Dr. Betsy Barefoot at barefoot@fyfoundations.org. Please provide a cover letter detailing your academic interests and experience and attach a resume.