Submit an Experience

Student's Role

Writing Job-Related Objectives When Requesting an Experience in Handshake

Objectives are written as part of the Handshake online form when you "Request an Experience." It is helpful when writing objectives to refer back to the experience posting of duties, expectations, and/or responsibilities. 

• One of the main keys to the successful completion of your experience is the development of personalized and clearly defined objectives. It is the student's responsibility to determine how the experience connects to their academic coursework to date.
• This will be unique to each student and will take some thought and planning prior to completing the objectives section in Handshake. Take time to consider your interests, strengths, and goals and how to incorporate them into your objectives.
  • How will you apply your classroom knowledge to your experience?
  • How will the duties in this experience connect to your major and future career?

Examples of Well-Written Objectives

• As a psychology major, I will be working for a non-profit where I will be analyzing statistical data and how data is utilized to make decisions.
• As a biology and pre-medicine major working for Altru hospital providing patient care in the geriatric unit, I will utilize the skills and knowledge learned from my genetic and physiology coursework to research, assess, and provide exceptional care.
• As a marketing major interning at ABC company, I will research potential clients, conduct a one-week marketing marathon, and provide a chart to unit leadership that summarizes the results. I will utilize the skills learned in my MRKT 300, COMM 110, and COMM 345 courses.
• As a mechanical engineering major partaking in a co-op experience at Bobcat, I will be designing and creating robotic prototypes utilizing the skills learned in my CAD course, ME 101, and ME 201 courses.
• As an english major, my internship with UND's Digital Press will allow me to practice and utilize my written and oral communication skills. My experience at UND's Digital Press should give me additional knowledge about how professionals write and publish, all while allowing me to polish my own reading, writing, and editing skills. In turn, I hope to use the knowledge and skills I gain through my internship in my future coursework and career.

Examples of Objectives That are Not Well-Written

The examples below are too general and do not connect the experience back to educational coursework.

• I will learn to design a better manufacturing robot for my company.
• I will learn the overall operations of XYZ company.
• I will efficiently learn to use the inventory scanner.
• I will learn as much as I can about the treatment for breast cancer.

Employer, Preceptor, Faculty Researcher, etc.

• The individual overseeing the experience will receive an email sent by Career Services/Handshake with a link to view. Follow the prompts to review and approve the student’s submitted experience. Please note: sometimes Handshake emails can go to Junk/Clutter.
• Two weeks before the end-of-term, a final evaluation will be sent out in an email from Career Services/Handshake. The individual overseeing the experience (employer, preceptor, faculty researcher, etc.) will complete the Final Evaluation by following the link provided.
• Once completed, this will be shared with the faculty coordinator/instructor of the class by the Career Services office.

Faculty Coordinator/Instructor of the Class

• Prior to the approval process in Handshake, the faculty coordinator/instructor of the class may receive an email from or have an appointment/conversation with the student to determine if pre-requisites for the class are met.
• If pre-requisites are met, the student will report the experience in Handshake to begin the electronic approval process. Once the student completes their submission, the individual overseeing the experience will receive the approval email first.
• Upon their completion, an email from Career Services/Handshake will come to the faculty coordinator/instructor of the class with a link to follow. This link provides all the information submitted by the student, including their objectives for review and to approve or decline and add comments at the end if necessary.
• The Career Services Experiential Learning Coordinator will receive an email when all above steps are complete and finalize the approval process. If applicable to the program, final evaluations will be auto-generated two weeks prior to the end of the semester. Please note: no mid-term evaluations are sent.
• Students and employers have 5 days to complete the final evaluations. Career Services will email the faculty coordinator/instructor of the class the results in a spreadsheet to be used for grading purposes.

Career Services

• The overall responsibility of Career Services is to keep the student’s Submit an Experience on track from start to finish.
• Career Services reviews the student’s submitted experience and verifies all fields and all assigned approvers are appropriate.
• Career Services initiates the approval process in Handshake.
• Students and employers will receive the final evaluation and have 5 days to complete. Once evaluations are complete, Career Services will send an email with the final results to the faculty coordinator/instructor of the class the first day of finals.

Career Services is here to help address any questions or troubleshooting. Please contact:

steffanie.young@UND.edu
701.777.3906

For co-op positions only, you either register for one or two credits, determined by the number of hours you are working. You must work an average of 20 hours per week to receive one credit, or 40 hours per week to receive two.

• 1 credit = half-time student status
• 2 credits = full-time student status

Credits for internships and other experiences vary and are determined by your department's faculty coordinator/instructor. 

• A Final Evaluation survey is emailed to the student and the employer to complete two weeks prior to the end of the semester. 

  • Students will have the opportunity to reflect on what helped them achieve their learning objectives, explain why an objective may not have been accomplished, rate their academic department and employer regarding the experience process, provide feedback, etc. 
  • Employer/supervisor will be able to reflect on the student's communication skills, collaboration, problem solving, professionalism, and comment on exceptional points or deficiencies.  

• To review your objectives, log-in to Handshake.

  • Go to Career Center on the left-hand side of your homepage and choose Experiences from the middle tabs
  • Click View Details to see this semesters' experience.
  • Your objectives can be found by scrolling down to the bottom of the survey response. 

• Students and employer/supervisors will receive an email from Career Services via Handshake two weeks before this is due. Please watch your inbox and clutter folders for this email. The email contains the link to the final evaluation.