HYPE Career Ready® Program

The HYPE Career Ready® Program is a co-curricular program students complete over the course of their entire career at Heidelberg. HYPE aims to cultivate career competencies that are crucial for students’ professional lives. Completion of the program enhances our students’ knowledge necessary to engage in an ever-changing global society and provides an advantage to our students given employer demand for the 6 HYPE skills. The HYPE Career Ready® and Placement Office is responsible for continual assessment and any programmatic changes to this graduation requirement.

HYPE Skills

Upon completion of the HYPE Career Ready® Program, students will recognize how each skill integrates into their professional goals after graduation. Students must complete experiential learning sessions in each of the following categories:

• Career Search & Placement: recognize and develop the knowledge and skills necessary to successfully apply and secure preferred placement upon graduation.
• Collaboration and Conflict Management: recognize group dynamics and divergent perspectives in order to think critically, to analyze, and adjust to accomplish common goals.
• Communication: recognize and develop the skills necessary to synthesize ideas and ask the right questions in order to communicate effectively.
• Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging: recognize, understand, and learn how to navigate and foster an environment that is diverse, offers equal access and opportunities for a team where everyone is treated fairly, respectfully, and feels accepted.
• Financial Literacy: recognize, understand, and learn to effectively use various financial skills, including personal financial management, budgeting, and investing.
• Technology: recognize, develop and quickly adapt to new or unfamiliar technologies in the workforce.

HYPE Career Ready® will be administered over the course of the academic year and will include all members of the Heidelberg community (students, faculty, and staff/administration).

Program Graduation Requirements

Students must complete 8 keynote speaker sessions and 16 skill units across the 6 HYPE skills. For upper-level experiences, students must complete one 300-level career experience (practicum, internship, student teaching, job shadowing or other experience approved by the HYPE Career Ready and Placement Office in collaboration with the student’s major academic department) and one 400-level Career Ready Portfolio .

Students earning credit for courses prior to entering Heidelberg may complete alternate program requirements. The total number of HYPE Units required is dependent upon the number of course semester hours transferred into Heidelberg.

• 55 semester hours transferred: Complete the entire program. Students must complete the entire program.
• 56-87 semester hours transferred: Students must complete 4 keynote speaker sessions and 8 skill units across the 6 HYPE skills. For upper-level experiences, students must complete one 300-level career experience (practicum, internship, student teaching, job shadowing or other experience approved by the HYPE Career Ready and Placement Office in collaboration with the student’s major academic department) and one 400-level Career Ready Portfolio.
• 88 + semester hours transferred: Students must complete 1one 300-level career experience (practicum, internship, student teaching, job shadowing or other experience approved by the HYPE Career Ready and Placement Office in collaboration with the student’s major academic department) and one 400-level Career Ready Portfolio.
• Students enrolled in the 1-2-1 Nursing Pathway with Terra State Community College must complete 2 keynote speaker sessions and 5 skill units in Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging, Technology, Financial Literacy, Communication, and Collaboration & Conflict Management.

Students may request a review of alternative HYPE Units when prior life experiences, including but not limited to military service, career/employment, and family obligations are relevant. Additionally, students with a bachelor’s degree from a four-year, accredited institution are exempt from the HYPE Career Ready® and Placement Office. Inquiries for a formal request may be made to the HYPE Career Ready® Program. Students who enroll at Heidelberg as adult (23+ years) students can request an exemption from the HYPE Career Ready® Program. Inquiries for a formal request may be made to the HYPE Career Ready® and Placement Office.

HYPE Grade

Each unit enrolled is provided a grade for transcription purposes as well as tracking progress. HYPE Career Ready® completed requirements will be given a symbol of NG-No Grade-Attended. HYPE Career Ready® non-completed requirements will be given a symbol of NU-No Grade-No Attendance.

HYPE Registration

Registration, Adding and/or Dropping HYPE activities follows the course registration policies listed within the Academic Policies section of the catalog. When registration assistance is needed, students should contact their advisor. The last day to add without special permission is three class days prior to the HYPE Career Ready® event.

Career Development and Placement

The HYPE Career Ready® and Placement Office serves students exploring resume and cover letter development, interview skills growth, internship opportunities, full-time employment, and/or graduate school search.

Experiential Learning Opportunities

The HYPE Career Ready® and Placement Office provides undergraduate students with the opportunity to apply knowledge obtained through coursework to an on-the-job experience. Internships and experiential learning opportunities allow students to develop the knowledge necessary to further their careers. Additionally, internships and experiential learning opportunities provide work experience that can enhance credibility in a highly competitive marketplace.

An internship or experiential learning opportunity will include various learning experiences that can be taken for undergraduate academic credit. An internship or experiential learning opportunity is a component of the educational program that provides an opportunity to enhance the student’s intellectual development through the application of knowledge. An internship or experiential learning opportunity is not an experience that can be purely observational.

The HYPE Career Ready® and Placement Office is responsible for maintaining all internship and experiential learning program records. The HYPE Career Ready® and Placement Office provides information on possible internship and experiential learning opportunity locations, general guidelines, departmental guidelines, and copies of all necessary forms. Academic internships and experiential learning opportunities are initiated and approved in the department sponsoring and supervising the internship or experiential learning opportunity.

Internships/Experiential Learning Opportunities and Course Load, Zero Credit Hour

1. Students are only eligible for a zero credit hour internship or experiential learning opportunity during the summer semester.
2. Students carrying a course load of 18 credit hours or more are not eligible to participate in transcribed internships/experiential learning opportunities.
3. Students may not satisfy the requirements for the zero credit internship or experiential learning opportunity in a single 40-hour workweek without written permission from the faculty and off-campus supervisors.
4. Students enrolled for zero credit hour internships/experiential learning opportunities will satisfy the same requirements as students enrolled for a 1 credit hour internship or experiential learning opportunity.

Internships/Experiential Learning Opportunities and Course Load, Credit Hour

1. Students planning to take an internship or experiential learning opportunity for credit are eligible to participate during any semester.
2. For each credit attempted, 40 hours of work related experience is required.

Internship opportunities are available to juniors and seniors in good academic standing, with a minimum 2.00 cumulative grade point average. Underclassmen may be eligible to participate in an internship with the written approval of the faculty advisor and off-campus supervisor. Each academic department, however, can set its own internship policies (e.g., GPA and credit hour limits).

Guidelines are detailed in the HYPE Career Ready® and Placement Internship and Experiential Learning Opportunity Program Handbook, available online. The amount of course credit that may be earned through an internship or experiential learning opportunity varies by department. A student cannot apply more than 15 internship credit hours towards the degree requirements. Students register for internship or experiential learning opportunity credit by completing an Internship and Experiential Learning Opportunity Contract. Students must secure the approval of both a faculty advisor and an internship or experiential learning opportunity supervisor who will oversee the student’s on-site work. Internship/Experiential Learning Opportunity credits may not be applied to the General Education Requirements, and credit must be earned during the semester which the internship or Experiential Learning Opportunity is completed.

Internship credit may be applied toward a major or minor if one or both of the conditions below are met:

1. An internship or experiential learning opportunity is required of all students seeking a degree within that major;
2. The administering Department Chair has granted prior approval for the internship or experiential learning opportunity to be applied toward the major or minor.