College intern funding renewed

Companies can get $3,000 in salary reimbursement for their interns.
By HAROLD GWIN
VINDICATOR EDUCATION WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Gov. Bob Taft's decision to extend funding for the Third Frontier Internship Program for an additional year is good news for engineering students at Youngstown State University.
The university was able to use the program to help fund some 70 internship slots in high-tech industry over its first two years, and the extension of the program should bring the number of internships to 100, said Patricia K. Veisz, director of the Ohio Small Business Development Centers of Ohio program at YSU, which administers the program.
"It's accomplishing exactly what it was intended to accomplish," said Dr. Cynthia S. Hirtzel, dean of YSU's William Rayen College of Engineering and Technology.
The program is designed to enrich the education of college students, entice them to remain in Ohio after graduation and help to create the high tech jobs that will keep them here.
Schools participating in the internship program got word early this year that the third year of funding was being eliminated, which meant the program would have ended this month.
However, the state has since reversed that decision, and Taft said the program will run through June 2007.
Whether it will extend beyond that date remains to be seen as a new administration will take over in Columbus next year. However, the program is so good that it should cross political lines, Hirtzel said.
It's a "win-win" for both the interns and the companies that hire them, she said.
The program's benefitsThe internship is a valuable real-world learning experience for students, and the companies get up to $3,000 in salary reimbursement for each intern they hire for a 26-week period. The companies also get the benefit of young people working with state of the art equipment and get access to top-notch university equipment that they might be unable to afford on their own, she said.
Hirtzel said YSU's internship program has brought about $210,000 in salary reimbursements so far.
The intern pay scale starts at $10 an hour, but Hirtzel said some companies have used the program reimbursement money to increase their interns' pay scales.
"This showcases the talented students that are going to YSU," Veisz said.
More than 15 students have gotten permanent jobs with the companies that hired them as interns, she said.
The university gets a lot of feedback from the companies involved, not only on this program but also on what those companies are doing and what they need from prospective employees.
That type of partnership helps tailor the university's educational programs to fit local needs, she said.
The program was open only to college sophomores and juniors when it started, but seniors as well as master's degree and doctoral students can now participate.
Companies wishing to participate in the program need to be aware that all students must be placed in internships by June 30, 2007, and complete their internships by September 2007, Veisz said.
gwin@vindy.com