19
saving an organization resources which would be associated with
hiring additional staff?
These are all critical cost considerations. But what often gets
lost from this perspective is providing and paying for what is
necessary to ensure a positive student experience in Washington.
Counselors, full-time faculty, administrative support which could
monitor internships, and more resources for home campus staff to
recruit and orient Washington students are often lesser
priorities because they increase costs, lack visibility and
glitz, and are not easily amenable to raising new dollars. At
sponsoring organizations, the title of "internship director"
often reflects an unwanted additional task imposed upon a staff
member with substantial existing responsibilities. Similarly,
monitoring interns from a central location in an organization is
viewed frequently as an unaffordable luxury. These alternatives
are also ignored because college administrators and decision
makers in sponsoring organizations are often oblivious to the
affective side of student life.
Parents are equally an important part of this equation. In
increasingly demanding a job oriented education, they too often
ignore critical dimensions of a Washington experience. Since
Convention