The grading system for internship is flawed

3 months into internship/attachment, I learned so many things. Out of all those, one sticks out like a sore thumb. You couldn’t have guessed any better than reading my title, could you?

It is ironic. Students like me are sent out to do our internship (ITP), armed with what we have learnt for the past 3 years or so. Yet the one of the best thing that I have learned from this experience doesn’t come from the media line.

If you didn’t taste the chili, you won’t know how spicy it is right? I guess it can be applied here too. Until I felt what ITP is all about, my perception of it was that it’s a 3 months learning process in which students will get to experience first hand what the industry is all about.

True enough I got just that… and more.

What’s this Internship Programme?

ITP to DMC students is worth a whopping 17 credit units. That’s the damage of 3 major modules or thereabout. So a grade ‘A’ would be a great boost to our GPA. A grade ‘C’… well it just sucks. Simply said, our grade for ITP will affect our overall GPA even by the slightest bit, good or bad.

Being poly students we rely on our GPA scores to get into universities, just like how JC students pray hard to get a good score in their ‘A’ levels transcript. Even if that’s not our intention, obviously an A looks better on the transcript than any other grades right?

So for 12 whole weeks, DMC students will be doing their own stuff at their respective companies and at the end of each week, they are to be graded by their bosses based on how their performance.

But the grading system itself is bullshit, both in theory and practical.

Practical-wise: The ITP Log Book

As far as my education has carried me thus far, the most detailed break down of the marking system that I’ve seen is during my poly years. The marking scheme can stretch up till 2 pages full. There’s at least 5 categories that we have to excel in and each of these categories are fully explained to eliminate any grey area between them.

Language, Tone, Style, Format, Teamwork, Creativity - these are just some of the many criteria that I can pluck off my mind right now.

These criterion applies to assignments, projects and presentations. Not examinable modules of course. Only the lecturers have those model answers to our exam papers.

But the grading system in ITP reads as follows:

• A (Excellent) - Exhibit qualities beyond expectation and norms. An exemplary quality.
• B (Good) - Exhibit qualities which are considered necessary to produce good quality work.
• C (Average) - Exhibit qualities which are norm.
• D (Pass) - Exhibit qualities which varies between norm and unacceptable standard.
• E(Fail) - Exhibit qualities which are not acceptable and are hindrances to operations.

For the record, it occupies only 1/4 of a page.

Now lets compare - 2 pages VS 1/4 of a page; 6 credit units VS 17 credit units. Fair?

If you look at the ITP grading system as above, don’t you find asking yourself what’s the difference between a grade A and a grade B? Initially I didn’t. But it got me thinking when one of my colleagues asked me the same question and I can only give a monotonous errrrrrrr.

What the hell is an example of an exemplary quality, norm and unacceptable? Sucking up, do-as-you’re-told and slacken off?

That’s only the story on paper. Off it, there’s a whole lot more that left me bewildered.

Theory-wise: The Bosses

Bosses are humans and they have their a brain of their own. No doubt there’s no other better person to grade you other than your bosses. But humans are subjective creatures after all.

I have friends whose bosses come up to them on the first day of ITP saying I will be watching you closely. You better do your work well.

Then there’s another type of bosses that go Haiyah, chin chye lah… I give you A every week. Just make sure you come to work on time can already lah ok?

To make matters worse, even if they are the law-by-law kind of bosses, the grading system does little justice because of the grey areas which are so blatant in them. Remember I mention that my colleague asked me what’s the difference between grade A and grade B?

Then I pondered for a moment. I thought by right during ITP, you are supposed graded based on your performance? Since when it became so subjective?

Which brings me to the point of the students’ performances themselves.

So all these while in school, we were being drilled to give our best because our grades heavily depend on the work that we churn out. Then when ITP comes in, there’s no such thing already huh? And that grading becomes a subjective matter now?

I am not seeking for sympathy here. I’m speaking the truth of what really goes behind this whole thing called attachment/internship and maybe to a certain extent, speak up for my less fortunate friends.

I just feel that it’s so unfair for my fellow DMC friends who stare at the computer screen the whole day, switching from Photoshop to Freehand to Flash, getting their ideas onto paper every other day.

Or those who are in the production line who work ungodly hours, running here and there, having just 3 hours of sleep and developing huge eye bags along the way. At the end of the week, they didn’t deserve what they got.

What else do I need to do for me to move up to an A? my friend once asked the boss. It was only greeted with a wry smile and a change of topic.

Final say

All these are true recounts - there’s no point for me to fabricate these stories. And the school isn’t helping much either. We students anticipate the typical That’s working life for you! So learn to deal with it! response from them.

It’s saddens me to hear that hard work is not entirely recognized out there. Never mind the mindset about interns, or the lack of it. The ITP grading scheme itself offers little help to neutralize the subjectivity of bosses by having so many grey areas in it.

To think that 17 credit units may decide if a student gets into university or not, it’s seriously no laughing matter.

In the future when the prospective employer looks at the student’s transcript, perhaps he will assume that the student is not a good worker as he got a grade B or C for his ITP. The fact is, he worked his socks off.

All these are potentially decisive issues that is going to shape a student’s life in the future. Sadly, they are just taken with a pinch of salt.

No doubt ITP has broadened my thinking, made me wiser and more street-smart. But I learned so much more than what I thought I’d be learning. Soooooooo much more.

My only request - revamp this whole shit about ITP. It’s not as rosy as it looks on paper, really. Authorities in SP? Do what you guys are so used to do. Call everyone, sit in a meeting, discuss and pray for something productive at the end of the day. You can’t just continue living in self-denial can you?

I know you guys treat the “Any other comments” box as a passing glance. That’s why I don’t even bother filling it up.