Received April 2nd,
"Hello SMART Scholar,
By now, you should have received an email, containing COVID-19 information and guidance from the SMART Program Manager. A key piece of this guidance was regarding COVID-19’s impact on upcoming planned internships.
This email contains important information, elaborating on that guidance. Please use the following rules when determining your ability to intern this summer:
All internships for the summer of 2020 will be waived.
If the distance between your summer address and sponsoring facility location, as outlined on your Internship Request is less than 50 miles, and you would like to complete the internship during the summer, you will need approval from both your sponsoring facility and the SMART Program. If your sponsoring facility has provided written support for an internship, please contact your Scholar Coordinator (
smartscholar@smartscholarship.org) as soon as possible to request an internship. Each internship request will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. If the distance between your summer address and sponsoring facility location, as outlined on your Internship Request is greater than 50 miles, requests to complete your internship will not be approved.
If your internship is waived and you do not complete a summer 2020 internship, you may consider one or more of the following alternatives:
If you are interested in participating in an alternatively timed internship that would not impact your academic pursuit and graduation timeline, please contact your please to contact your Scholar Coordinator (
smartscholar@smartscholarship.org). Additional guidance on alternatively timed internships is provided below.
In lieu of an internship, if you choose to enroll in summer courses (remote or in-person), please to contact your Scholar Coordinator (
smartscholar@smartscholarship.org) as soon as possible. Additional guidance on summer enrollment and additional tuition is provided below.
If you choose to partake in outside employment, please inform your Scholar Coordinator (
smartscholar@smartscholarship.org) as soon as possible, in order to ensure compliance. Additional guidance on outside employment is provided below.
Alternatively Timed Internships
Section 11.2 of the SMART Scholar Handbook dictates that “Scholars with alternative academic schedules… may receive alternative timing or internship lengths upon prior approval of the SMART Program.” Alternatively timed internships are requested via a Service Agreement Amendment Request and are considered on a case-by-case basis.
Additional Tuition and Enrollment
Typically, all additional enrollment (and accompanying tuition) – outside of the standard academic year – must be approved through a Service Agreement Amendment Request (SAAR), as outlined in Section 7.5 of the SMART Scholar Handbook. Due to the extenuating circumstances, SMART will waive this requirement. If you will be waiving your internship and plan on enrolling in summer courses, please contact your Scholar Coordinator as soon as possible. In lieu of a SAAR, a memo will be added to your record to indicate this waiver of the SAAR requirement. Please note, you are still required to keep SMART informed of any and all updates to your academic pursuit and graduation timeline. If any changes to said timeline result from additional enrollment, you must indicate such via an Award Length Change SAAR.
Outside Employment
Scholars who engage in outside employment, in lieu of their planned summer internship must ensure that employment complies with Section 5.9 of the SMART Scholar Handbook. The SMART Handbook bars SMART scholars from partaking in employment that is federally funded or funded through federal taskings (contracts with the United States government). If you do plan to partake in outside employment this summer, a Service Agreement Amendment Request (SAAR) is not needed, given the unique circumstances. You are however, required to inform your Scholar Coordinator of outside employment plans, to ensure compliance.
Best Regards,
SMART Team"