June 30, 2010
As you know, the legal and
ethical issues surrounding unpaid internships have been highly debated in
recent months. With your input, NACE is addressing this issue. I am happy
to share with you NACE’s Position Statement on Unpaid Internships. I will
also highlight some of the work we have done surrounding this issue, and
detail the information and resources we will provide to you in the near
our key goals while developing a position statement was to engage our
members in the process. In May, we conducted a national survey of employer
and college members to gain insight into their internship practices and
thoughts on unpaid internships. (Click here for the
executive summary of the survey.) Furthermore, we held a roundtable
on the topic during the NACE 2010 Annual Conference earlier this month.
position statement is framed by the following principles, beliefs, and
- Internships provide unique and valuable experiences
for students both academically and in professional career preparation.
- The term “internship” encompasses many different
program models (i.e. paid and unpaid; full time and part time; of
varying length; as a required part of an academic curriculum or as a
course option; for academic credit or no credit). The broad use of
this term to cover diverse circumstances makes it difficult to apply
common and consistent standards, guidelines, and applicable policies.
- Internships exist or can exist in literally every
kind of business, industry, organization, and sector—both public and
- What constitutes an internship is determined in the
final analysis by the student’s college or university and the
- Internship programs should ideally involve a close
partnership between the university, the participating student, and the
employer in which all accrue some form of benefit.
- The federal and state governments have significant
roles in providing and enforcing laws and guidelines to protect the
interests of both employers and employees in the workplace.
- Unpaid internships in the not-for-profit sector
reflect the fiscal realities and limitations for organizations in that
sector and are acknowledged accordingly in current Department of Labor
guidelines and enforcement practices.
- All interns, regardless of their compensation,
should enjoy similar basic protections in the work setting consistent
with all laws, ethical considerations, and sound business practices.
the above principles, beliefs, and assumptions, and the information
supplied by our members, NACE’s position statement on the issue of unpaid
National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), representing more
than 3,000 higher education institutions and employing organizations,
recognizes the enormous value of internship programs to individual student
participants and both the higher education and employer communities. We
believe that the U.S Department of Labor criteria for assessing whether
internships in the for-profit sector may be unpaid must be reviewed and
further clarified to ensure they account for the incredible diversity of
students, higher education institutions, and employing organizations
involved in such programs. Further, all interns, regardless of their
compensation, should enjoy similar, basic protections in the work setting
consistent with all laws, ethical considerations, and sound business
forward, NACE will provide you with the latest information and resources,
and keep you apprised of developments concerning unpaid internships. A
virtual seminar on the topic is planned for July 26 (details to come). In
addition, NACE legal advisers are developing an FAQ document to assist
members in their work with interns and internships; we expect to release
this resource shortly, and will notify you when it is available.
I appreciate the feedback we
received from you, our members, as a result of our survey on the
issue. Your input is guiding our response to this important
issue. Thank you for your participation.
2009-10 NACE President
Vice President, Human Resources & Administration
The Field Museum
National Association of Colleges and Employers
62 Highland Avenue • Bethlehem, PA 18017 • Phone: 800.544.5272 • Fax: