Be the Change Funded Student Internship

Purpose

The Be the Change Funded Student Internship is an opportunity for a student at an URMIA member institution to learn more about higher education risk management through a paid internship working alongside professionals at a member institution. One $7,500 grant will be awarded.

URMIA will award the grant to an institution prepared to offer this learning experience to a student from a population underrepresented in higher education risk management. Applying member institutions will be asked to explain the importance of—and demonstrate their interest and commitment in—promoting a sense of belonging within their institution.

Eligibility

Only employees from URMIA member institutions are eligible to apply, host, and manage this funded internship. The applicant will be asked to share a preliminary internship plan that meets the following criteria:

• Those responsible for risk management at the institution will supervise the internship position.
• The student will fulfill duties in-person, virtually, or a combination of both.
• Administrative tasks should comprise no more than 20% of the intern’s time.
• The internship must begin within 2025 calendar year and last 8-12 weeks.

URMIA peers serving on the Belonging Committee will select the grant recipient.

Recipient Requirements

Internship Administration

The institution will be expected to:

• Develop a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the student intern to include a job description, understanding of supervisor expectations, and a formal evaluation at the end of the experience. URMIA will provide a MoU template to the grant recipient that may be used.
• Encourage applicants with minority backgrounds, non-traditional education, distinctive experiences, or unique histories to apply. 
• Employ a student to fill the internship position.

Reporting

Immediately following the conclusion of the internship, the receiving institution will be required to submit:

• A program evaluation from the intern
• A testimonial in writing or video from the intern about the benefits of the internship experience
• A formal evaluation of the internship from the institution’s perspective
• A testimonial in writing or video from the institution’s perspective about the benefits of the internship to the institution (may be one video with institutional and intern perspectives)
• A budget detailing how the intern grant funds were used
• Any grant funds not used for the internship program

Use of Funds

The Be the Change Funded Student Internship grant is for $7,500 and will be awarded directly to an URMIA member institution. The entirety of the internship award must be applied to the student intern's salary and related learning experience. The recipient institution will be asked to supply a final budget at the culmination of the internship, and therefore agrees to refund to URMIA any funds not directly used for the internship.

Acknowledgement

URMIA is grateful to FM for grant support that makes this opportunity possible.