Rubric for Assessment of Student Performance in Internships

Background: Internships are a key component of the NEWPATH program. Each student in the program is expected to engage in an internship program that lasts a minimum of six months (half-time), typically split into two three-month long internships during the summers at the end of the sophomore and junior years of the student's undergraduate program. These internships are typically with IT startups associated with TechColumbus and are intended to develop and hone the entrepreneurial skills of NEWPATH students. For full details, please see the main internships page.

Rubric: The rubric below is used to evaluate the student's performance in the internship along a number of dimensions, and the importance of each dimension to a budding IT entrepreneur. For convenience, the dimensions are arranged into three groups, these being, respectively, technical knowledge and skills, professional skills, and entrepreneurial skills. In the table below, each dimension is listed in a separate row; and for each dimension, four possible levels of achievement, rated "marginal" through "distinguished", are described. The last two columns are to be filled in by the evaluator; these two columns represent respectively the actual level of achievement of the student being evaluated with respect to the particular dimension and the importance of that dimension for a future IT entrepreneur. Please send comments on, or suggestions for improvement in, the rubric to neelam AT cse.ohio-state.edu

Details: Each NEWPATH student intern's immediate supervisor is requested to complete this evaluation at two points during each internship: approximately halfway through the internship and immediately following completion of the internship. If you are supervisor for a NEWPATH intern, please read the descriptions in the table below of the four possible levels of achievement for each item and choose, from the drop down menus in the last two columns, the appropriate values representing the level of achievement exhibited by your supervisee along that dimension and the importance, in your opinion, of that item for success as an IT entrepreneur. Following the table are a few free-form questions that ask for your opinions on the items included in this evaluation and a few that seek your ideas concerning the NEWPATH internship program. Once you have answered all the questions, including your name, intern's name, and your contact information (below), please click the "Submit Responses" button at the end of the form. If you are supervising more than one intern, please submit a separate evaluation for each intern. If you have any questions about this form or encounter difficulties with it, please email neelam AT cse.ohio-state.edu or ramnath AT cse.ohio-state.edu

The internship program, as noted above, is a key part of NEWPATH; and your evaluation will play an essential role in improving the program over time. Please be assured that your evaluation of the NEWPATH student you are supervising will be treated as completely confidential and will be available only to the student's faculty advisors and to the NEWPATH team. In particular, it will not be available to the student being evaluated, although the information will be of great value to the student's advisors in identifying and recommending, to the student, specific courses to take or other activities to participate in, in order to address important weaknesses in the student's abilities. We realize that your time is valuable and sincerely thank you for taking the time and effort to complete this evaluation.

Name of intern:

Name of supervisor:

Name of person completing form:
(if different from supervisor)

Company:

Contact Information: (e-mail preferred)

   Level:
  Marginal Level:
  Satisfactory Level:
  Proficient Level:
  Distinguished Actual level of
Achievement Degree of
Importance

Technical Knowledge and Skills:

Understanding of essential computing principles and ability to apply them in practice Basic understanding of some main principles of computing; rarely sees their relation to practice; Reasonable understanding of most key computing principles and, with some guidance, often sees applicability to practical problems and situations; Good understanding of all important computing principles; almost always able to see their applicability to practical problems and situations; Thorough understanding of important computing principles; able to carefully analyze the extent of their applicability to practical problems; often able to come up with novel ways to tweak given situations to enable applicability of standard computing techniques.

Knowledge of, and facility with, standard programming systems and tools Minimal familiarity with a few languages and tools; needs much more exposure to a range of modern systems and tools; Reasonable familiarity with a number of common tools and languages; needs guidance in choosing the best tools for specific situations; Good familiarity and experience with a range of tools and languages; usually able to choose the most appropriate tools for specific applications; Wide experience with, and deep understanding of, a wide range of tools and languages; not only able to choose the most appropriate tool for specific situations but also able to combine various tools in novel ways to address unusual needs.

Knowledge of key business principles and practices Minimal knowledge of business practices; no intuition for what is important from a business point of view vs. what is not; Some knowledge of business processes and practices; often needs guidance in understanding what is important and what is not; Good understanding of business processes and practices; is usually able to focus on key problems and identify solutions appropriate to the business's needs; Keen, intuitive grasp of business problems and how to address them; not only finds solutions to problems faced by the business but is often able to identify new business opportunities.



Professional Skills:

Teamworking skills Loner with poor team skills; often misses team meetings and, when present, often does not listen to alternative viewpoints, occasionally engages in "put-downs" and personal attacks; Some team skills; when others make an effort to work with him, works reasonably well with them; Good team skills; makes a definite effort to understand others' ideas; works well with other team members to find solutions to common problems. Born team-player and team-leader; not only helps team develop solutions to a range of problems, but also gets buy-in from all members of the team and helps team members develop a sense of team loyalty.

Communication skills Poor oral and written skills; poor organization of presentations with unclear main points and conclusions; does not seem aware of audience reactions; poor contribution during team presentations, discussions; Somewhat developed oral and written skills; presentations reasonably organized but not always effective; written documents are adequate but reader has to struggle to keep reading; positive contributions during team presentations, discussions; Good oral and written skills; well organized presentations and written documents; very good contributions to team presentations, discussions; Superb presentations and written documents; creative slides and compelling writing style; keeps the audience/reader engaged throughout; helps team members during their presentations and greatly contributes to effectiveness of team discussions.

Networking skills Poor networking skills; has a hard time in informal settings; finds it difficult to talk about his own projects or getting others to talk about their interests; Moderate networking skills; is usually quiet in informal settings but if the other side draws him out, is able to talk convincingly about his projects; Good networking skills; able to talk comfortably to technical and non-technical people and explain his ideas; shows interests in others ideas and points of view; Superb networking skills; able to talk enthusiastically to nearly everyone from CEOs to engineers and salespeople and gets them interested in his projects; is able to move conversation in the direction he wants to take it.

Knowledge of ethical issues Little or no understanding of ethical or professional issues even where there are serious questions involved; Some understanding of professional and ethical issues raised directly by particular business decisions; when the connection is not immediate or direct, needs help in seeing the issues; Good understanding of all important professional and ethical issues related to various business practices and decisions. Deep understanding of professional issues involved and the ethical implications of particular business decisions; pays careful consideration to implications to society as a whole of business decisions and practices.

Lifelong learning (LLL) skills Poor LLL skills; when researching a problem or technology, collects only minimal information; analysis of the information tends to just restate it; Some LLL skills; when researching, tends to be too focused on the given problem, ignoring potentially important related issues; some analysis of collected information but somewhat shallow; Reasonable LLL skills; competent at gathering all relevant information and analyzing it; Excellent LLL skills; excellent research skills, often finding relevant information in unusual places; detailed analysis of information with well supported conclusions.



Entrepreneurial Skills:

Ability to innovate Very limited; usually thinks in terms of small and incremental changes both in functionality and marketability; Some ability to innovate; occasionally thinks outside the box, but often needs a bit of a push in the right direction; Good ability to innovate; often comes up with novel ways to solve problems or to use existing tools and systems for unusual purposes; Bubbling with novel new ideas and ways of applying existing ideas and products; often they don't pan out but doesn't let that discourage him;

Ability to see opportunities and understand market forces Not a market-oriented person; focuses on technology issues with no regard for what will sell; Some theoretical understanding of market forces; often needs help in applying the theory to real markets; Good understanding of market forces; good appreciation of essential factors that will determine success or failure of a new product; Sees opportunities where others see only problems - the proverbial "lemonade maker"! If anyone is likely to make it as an entrepreneur, this is the one!

Ability to sell ideas to VCs and others Poor sales skills; often doesn't see how to present ideas in a manner tailored to the listener; as a result, even his likely-to- succeed ideas tend to get overlooked; Some ability to present his ideas especially to sympathetic audiences and with advance preparation; Good ability to present a strong business case; is usually able to think on his feet and address any concerns or questions that VCs and others bring up; Born salesman! Can persuade the most skeptical people to seriously consider investing in his vision.

If there is any particular item of knowledge or skill in the table above in which you feel your supervisee's ability is especially lacking, particularly when compared to its importance for successful IT entrepreneurship, please identify it and briefly describe the actions that we could take to address this weakness in any NEWPATH student:

(comments on particular weaknesses of supervisee)

If there is any particular item of knowledge or skill in the table above in which you feel your supervisee's ability is especially outstanding, please identify it and briefly suggest actions that we could take to develop similar abilities in any NEWPATH student:

(comments on special strengths of supervisee)

If there is any particular items of knowledge or skill that is missing in the table above that, in your opinion, is essential for successful IT entrepreneurship, please identify it:

(suggestions concerning additional key items of knowledge/skill)

Please make sure you have provided entries in the last two columns for each dimension in the rubric, and provided the intern's name and your name and contact information before you:

Name of intern:
Name of supervisor:
Name of person completing form: (if different from supervisor)
Company:
Contact Information:	(e-mail preferred)

	Level: Marginal	Level: Satisfactory	Level: Proficient	Level: Distinguished	Actual level of Achievement	Degree of Importance
Technical Knowledge and Skills:
Understanding of essential computing principles and ability to apply them in practice	Basic understanding of some main principles of computing; rarely sees their relation to practice;	Reasonable understanding of most key computing principles and, with some guidance, often sees applicability to practical problems and situations;	Good understanding of all important computing principles; almost always able to see their applicability to practical problems and situations;	Thorough understanding of important computing principles; able to carefully analyze the extent of their applicability to practical problems; often able to come up with novel ways to tweak given situations to enable applicability of standard computing techniques.
Knowledge of, and facility with, standard programming systems and tools	Minimal familiarity with a few languages and tools; needs much more exposure to a range of modern systems and tools;	Reasonable familiarity with a number of common tools and languages; needs guidance in choosing the best tools for specific situations;	Good familiarity and experience with a range of tools and languages; usually able to choose the most appropriate tools for specific applications;	Wide experience with, and deep understanding of, a wide range of tools and languages; not only able to choose the most appropriate tool for specific situations but also able to combine various tools in novel ways to address unusual needs.
Knowledge of key business principles and practices	Minimal knowledge of business practices; no intuition for what is important from a business point of view vs. what is not;	Some knowledge of business processes and practices; often needs guidance in understanding what is important and what is not;	Good understanding of business processes and practices; is usually able to focus on key problems and identify solutions appropriate to the business's needs;	Keen, intuitive grasp of business problems and how to address them; not only finds solutions to problems faced by the business but is often able to identify new business opportunities.

Professional Skills:
Teamworking skills	Loner with poor team skills; often misses team meetings and, when present, often does not listen to alternative viewpoints, occasionally engages in "put-downs" and personal attacks;	Some team skills; when others make an effort to work with him, works reasonably well with them;	Good team skills; makes a definite effort to understand others' ideas; works well with other team members to find solutions to common problems.	Born team-player and team-leader; not only helps team develop solutions to a range of problems, but also gets buy-in from all members of the team and helps team members develop a sense of team loyalty.
Communication skills	Poor oral and written skills; poor organization of presentations with unclear main points and conclusions; does not seem aware of audience reactions; poor contribution during team presentations, discussions;	Somewhat developed oral and written skills; presentations reasonably organized but not always effective; written documents are adequate but reader has to struggle to keep reading; positive contributions during team presentations, discussions;	Good oral and written skills; well organized presentations and written documents; very good contributions to team presentations, discussions;	Superb presentations and written documents; creative slides and compelling writing style; keeps the audience/reader engaged throughout; helps team members during their presentations and greatly contributes to effectiveness of team discussions.
Networking skills	Poor networking skills; has a hard time in informal settings; finds it difficult to talk about his own projects or getting others to talk about their interests;	Moderate networking skills; is usually quiet in informal settings but if the other side draws him out, is able to talk convincingly about his projects;	Good networking skills; able to talk comfortably to technical and non-technical people and explain his ideas; shows interests in others ideas and points of view;	Superb networking skills; able to talk enthusiastically to nearly everyone from CEOs to engineers and salespeople and gets them interested in his projects; is able to move conversation in the direction he wants to take it.
Knowledge of ethical issues	Little or no understanding of ethical or professional issues even where there are serious questions involved;	Some understanding of professional and ethical issues raised directly by particular business decisions; when the connection is not immediate or direct, needs help in seeing the issues;	Good understanding of all important professional and ethical issues related to various business practices and decisions.	Deep understanding of professional issues involved and the ethical implications of particular business decisions; pays careful consideration to implications to society as a whole of business decisions and practices.
Lifelong learning (LLL) skills	Poor LLL skills; when researching a problem or technology, collects only minimal information; analysis of the information tends to just restate it;	Some LLL skills; when researching, tends to be too focused on the given problem, ignoring potentially important related issues; some analysis of collected information but somewhat shallow;	Reasonable LLL skills; competent at gathering all relevant information and analyzing it;	Excellent LLL skills; excellent research skills, often finding relevant information in unusual places; detailed analysis of information with well supported conclusions.

Entrepreneurial Skills:
Ability to innovate	Very limited; usually thinks in terms of small and incremental changes both in functionality and marketability;	Some ability to innovate; occasionally thinks outside the box, but often needs a bit of a push in the right direction;	Good ability to innovate; often comes up with novel ways to solve problems or to use existing tools and systems for unusual purposes;	Bubbling with novel new ideas and ways of applying existing ideas and products; often they don't pan out but doesn't let that discourage him;
Ability to see opportunities and understand market forces	Not a market-oriented person; focuses on technology issues with no regard for what will sell;	Some theoretical understanding of market forces; often needs help in applying the theory to real markets;	Good understanding of market forces; good appreciation of essential factors that will determine success or failure of a new product;	Sees opportunities where others see only problems - the proverbial "lemonade maker"! If anyone is likely to make it as an entrepreneur, this is the one!
Ability to sell ideas to VCs and others	Poor sales skills; often doesn't see how to present ideas in a manner tailored to the listener; as a result, even his likely-to- succeed ideas tend to get overlooked;	Some ability to present his ideas especially to sympathetic audiences and with advance preparation;	Good ability to present a strong business case; is usually able to think on his feet and address any concerns or questions that VCs and others bring up;	Born salesman! Can persuade the most skeptical people to seriously consider investing in his vision.


If there is any particular item of knowledge or skill in the table above in which you feel your supervisee's ability is especially lacking, particularly when compared to its importance for successful IT entrepreneurship, please identify it and briefly describe the actions that we could take to address this weakness in any NEWPATH student:
	(comments on particular weaknesses of supervisee)


If there is any particular item of knowledge or skill in the table above in which you feel your supervisee's ability is especially outstanding, please identify it and briefly suggest actions that we could take to develop similar abilities in any NEWPATH student:
	(comments on special strengths of supervisee)


If there is any particular items of knowledge or skill that is missing* in the table above that, in your opinion, is essential for successful IT entrepreneurship, please identify it*:
	(suggestions concerning additional key items of knowledge/skill)