Other Instructions

You are expected to devote your time to work and activities in the Cooperative Extension unit. Your supervising Extension agent is in a professional, salaried position.  This means they are paid for the job they do, not for the hours worked.  Therefore, Extension agents will frequently work more than 40 hours per week or 8 hours a day.  Because you are in a non-exempt, hourly position, you are limited to working only 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week before you are eligible for overtime.  Always check with your supervising agent before working overtime to ensure that you are following the guidelines of the Fair Labor Standards Act.

At your Cooperative Extension Internship site, you will be expected to “be an Extension agent.” That means all kinds of additional responsibilities both inside and away from the office.  If your supervising Extension agent is spending a week at camp, so are you. If he or she attends regional planning commission or other local service meetings, evening Cooperative Extension programs, program advisory committee meetings, weekend programs and events, Extension Leadership Council meetings, district meetings, and other such professional responsibilities, most likely, SO WILL YOU. In these respects, consider yourself to be a full-fledged Extension agent while you are participating in the internship.

Whenever you leave the office for any reason, be sure that you have the approval of your supervising Extension agent and “sign out” according to office procedures. Planned absences from work are to be reported to your supervising Extension agent as far in advance as possible.

Learn all you can while at the internship site. An Extension agent has a challenging job. Get all the experience possible in all phases of the job - organization, planning, teaching, fieldwork, and evaluating educational programs.

Make special efforts to become familiar with:

  1. The schedule of activities occurring in the local unit
  2. Unit and/or program situational analysis and other needs assessments
  3. Instructional and service programs
  4. Unit policies and procedures
  5. Unit budget
  6. Unit filing system
  7. The agent’s annual personal action plan
  8. Civil Rights compliance including contacts collection and reaching underserved audiences
  9. Sources of supplies and materials
  10. Sources and kinds of reference materials
  11. Agricultural and family organizations and/or local youth serving agencies
  12. 4-H activities, required records, and reports
  13. Available professional education programs and other training, required records, and reports; and special administrative policies