Automotive Engineering Technology Internship Requirement Petition

It is established in the Automotive Engineering Technology curriculum that an internship is a requirement for graduation. This is ubiquitous in many programs, not only at Ferris, but at many other universities across the globe. An internship requirement can be argued as вnecessaryв for the betterment of the student, academically and professionally. However, it can also be argued that an internship requirement serves the agenda of Ferris more so than that of the studentsв. This assertion is proven by the fact that Ferris requires students to pay for the credits associated with the internship. If Ferris was indeed interested in the success of its students, then it would make it obvious in the way of providing internship opportunities by forming key partnerships in the automotive industry, which it has failed at doing. What Ferris has done however, is tell its students that they are required to obtain an internship, and not only will they have to find it, but any monetary gain they receive from the internship must go directly to the university for the 4 credits required for the internship вclassв. This obscene aspect of the program, in the opinion of students, parents, and faculty, is an extreme injustice and should be done away with.

However, the point of this petition is not only to bring to light the injustice of requiring students to pay for working, but also to show that the internship requirement itself should be temporarily abandoned. There is no time more pressing than now to abandon the internship requirement due to the dire economic situation leaving new graduates in worse shape to find employment than any other time in recent history. According to the US Department of Labor, the unemployment rate for February 2009 was 8.1\% . To put that percentage in perspective, 651,000 jobs were lost that month, and a total of 2.6 million jobs were lost in the last 4 months alone! The situation is even more dire for recent college graduates because employers are taking advantage of the economic crisis by employing job seekers with experience for less pay. In light of the recent economic recession, it is proposed to Greg Key, the Department Chair of the Automotive Engineering Technology Program, to temporarily abandon the internship requirement due to the non-existence of jobs available for college graduates. If the internship requirement is deserted, AET graduates could obtain their degrees that they worked so hard for the last four or five years instead of waiting around stagnantly for months, even years before a potential automotive engineering position could be acquired. Furthermore, it will create more opportunities for AET graduates to potentially find jobs in other industries. But before automotive engineering technology graduates can begin seeking employment outside the automotive industry, a degree must be held, proving that they have a college education. Therefore, the purpose of this petition is to show support of the temporary abandonment of the internship requirement and for the immediate change in the automotive engineering technology curriculum so that graduates can earn the degree they deserve and need.