National Park Service Internship Program Qualitative Assessment

OMB Control Number 1090-0011

NRSS Intern Survey

As a past participant in the NRSS internship program, we are reaching out to you to help us with an assessment of the program. This survey is a part of a study supported by the National Park Service that will allow us to understand the impacts of the program from the perspective of previous interns.

This survey should take approximately 20 minutes to complete and is it important that you know that your participation is completely voluntary. We do not collect personally identifiable information and your responses will be anonymous. Therefore we are asking that you complete as much of the survey as you can and provide answers to the questions to the best of your recollection.

Clicking the ‘I give my consent’ response below will indicate that you are willingly agreeing to participate, and that you may discontinue participation at any time without penalty.

Feel free to contact the primary investigators on this project, Ryan Roberts at [email protected], Larry Perez at [email protected], or Melanie Wood at [email protected], with any questions or concerns you may have about this study.

We would be happy to send you a copy of the final results. Please check the box below and we will send the results to this email address upon completion of the study. Thank you again for your participation.

• I give my consent

• I do not give my consent

• Please send me a copy of the results

PAPERWORK REDUCTION and PRIVACY ACT STATEMENT: The Paperwork Reduction Act requires us to tell you why we are collecting this information, how we will use it, and whether or not you have to respond. We are authorized by the National Park Service Protection Interpretation and research in System (54 USC §100702) to collect this information. The routine uses of this information will be for the benefit of NPS to identify whether or not the NRSS internship program is meeting its intended outcomes, as well as provide recommendations to more effectively reach these goals. Your responses to this collection are completely voluntary and will remain anonymous. You can end the process at any time and will not be penalized in any way for choosing to do so. All versions of the information collected will be destroyed at the end of the collection period and NO personal identifiable records will be maintained or stored for any purposes. The resulting data will only be reported in aggregates and NO individually identifiable responses will be reported. A Federal agency may not conduct or sponsor, and you are not required to respond to, a collection of information unless it displays a currently valid OMB Control Number (1090-0011). We estimate that it will take about 20 minutes to complete and return this questionnaire. You may send comments concerning any aspect of this information collection to: Ryan Roberts: [email protected] (email); or Phadrea Ponds, NPS Information Collection Coordinator at [email protected] (email).

Block One: This first set of questions asks you to provide some demographic information about yourself.

1) What is your age? ______

2) What is your gender? _______

3) Which of these categories best indicates your race? (Please select all that apply)

• American Indian or Alaska Native

• Asian

• Black or African American

• Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

• White

4) Please select the fields(s) below that best describes your academic background. (Please select all that apply)

Art & Humanities Biological Sciences Business Communications Economics Education Environmental Studies Engineering & Computer Science Geography

History International Studies Language Law Mathematics Physical Sciences Social Sciences Other (please specify): _______________

5) Please select the fields(s) below that best describes your work experience. (Please select all that apply)

Art & Humanities Biological Sciences Business Communications Economics Education Environmental Studies Engineering & Computer Science Geography

History International Studies Language Law Mathematics Physical Sciences Social Sciences Other (please specify): _______________

6) Employment Status: Are you currently…? (Please select only one)

• Employed for wages (go to Question 6a)

• Self-employed (go to Question 6a)

• Military (go to Question 6c)

• Student (go to Question 6c)

  

• Out of work and looking for work

• Out of work but not currently looking for work

• Homemaker

• Retired

• Unable to work

• Other (Please specify): _____________________________

6a) Please select only one (go to Question 6b)

Employee of a for-profit business Employee of a not-for-profit, tax-exempt, or charitable organization Local government employee (city, county, etc.) State government employee Federal government employees

Employee of an academic or research organization Consultant/contractor Self-employed Other (please specify): _______________

6b) Does your current work fall under any of the following focus areas? Please select all that apply (go to Question 6c)

Cultural Resources Management Environmental Change Facilities Management Natural Resources Management

Public Education Public Lands Management Sustainability NOne of the above

6c) How long have you been in your current position? Please round to the nearest year.

(go to Question 6d)

______ Years

6d) Did your internship experience aid in you being hired for your current position? (go to Question7)

• YES

• NO

7) When did you complete your internship?

2010 2011 2012 2013

2015 2016 2017

Block Two: The next set of questions are focused on your assessment of the internship experience.

8) How often did you apply the following sets of skills during your internship?

Skills	Never	Rarely	Sometimes	Often	Always
Critical thinking	1	2	3	4	5
Creative thinking	1	2	3	4	5
Leadership	1	2	3	4	5
Communication	1	2	3	4	5
Problem-solving	1	2	3	4	5

9) During your internship, were you able to participate in any type of training or workshop opportunities?

• NO (go to Question 10)

• YES

If YES, can you please list the type of training/workshop opportunities you participated in during your internship? ______________________________________________

If YES, how satisfied were you with the training/workshop opportunities afforded during your internship?

Very satisfied	Satisfied	Neither	Dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied
				

10) During your internship, were you able to participate in any type of networking opportunities?

• NO (go to Question 11)

• YES

If YES, please select the choice(s) below that best describe the type of networking opportunities you participated in during your internship.

Professional Workshops Professional Conferences YLCC Workshop Personal Introductions In-Park Events

Off-site Events Site Visits Informal Gatherings Other (please specify):_______________

How satisfied were you with the networking opportunities afforded during your internship?

Very satisfied	Satisfied	Neither	Dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied
				

11) After you completed your internship, did you have the opportunity to share the outcomes of your internship to an audience?

• NO (go to Question 12)

• YES

If YES, Approximately how many times have you shared the outcomes of your internship? ___________

If YES, What type of audience(s) have been present for you to share the outcomes of your internship? (Please check all that apply)

National Park Service Staff National Park Service Partners National Park Service Visitors Professional Organizations Community Organizations

Conference Attendees Higher Learning Institutions K-12 Educators K-12 Students Other (please specify): _______________

If YES, how satisfied were you with the opportunities afforded to share the outcomes of your internship?

Very satisfied	Satisfied	Neither	Dissatisfied	Very dissatisfied
				

12) Were you able to publish on the outcomes of your internship?

• NO (go to Question 13)

• YES

If YES, how many times have you published on the outcomes of your internship?

	Number of publications
Peer-reviewed publications
Non peer-reviewed publications

13) Did your internship experience inspire additional (non-internship) studies/projects that you have published?

• NO

• YES

If YES, how many times have you published on additional studies/projects?

	Number of publications
Peer-reviewed publications
Non peer-reviewed publications

14) Please indicate how strongly you agree or disagree with the following aspects of the internship:

	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Neither	Agree	Strongly Agree
My mentor and I were successful at accomplishing the goals we set at the beginning of the internship	1	2	3	4	5
The internship design was of high quality	1	2	3	4	5
My mentor and I were successful at building a mentoring relationship	1	2	3	4	5
My experience with the internship program was an overall success	1	2	3	4	5

Block Three: The last set of questions are focused on the impacts of the internship in relation to your interest in professional advancement opportunities.

15) Have you attempted to use the Direct Hire Authority option while job seeking?

• Not applicable - Internship was between 2010-2013 (go to Question 16)

• NO (go to Question 16)

• YES

If YES, can you please briefly describe your experience attempting to use the Direct Hire Authority?

__________________________________________________________________

16) Since your internship, have you pursued any additional work related to your internship topic of focus?

• NO

• YES

If YES, can you please briefly describe this additional work? _______________________

17) Since your internship, do you currently or did you ever work for the National Park System?

• NO

• YES

18) Would you consider working for the National Park Service again in the future?

• NO

• YES

If YES, why would you consider working for the National Park Service again in the future? (Please select all that apply)

A government career focused on the natural world interests me I believe in the National Park Service mission I believe potential exists for a lot of good work to be carried out on public lands I like the staff and general atmosphere at the National Park Service I seek the benefits of a job in federal service

I seek the stability of a job in federal service My time as a National Park Service intern was memorable and enjoyable It would provide additional opportunities to work in other areas of federal service Other (please specify): ______________________________

If NO, please explain why you would not consider working for the National Park Service again: ___________________________________________________________________

19) What focus areas would you consider working on in the future? (Please select all that apply)

Adaptation Cultural Resources Management Education Facilities Management Land Management Law Enforcement Natural Resources Management Outreach/Communication

Policy Planning Science Sustainability Sustainable Operations Visitor Services None of the above

20) Has your internship experience impacted you professionally in any additional ways? If so, can you please describe how?

______________________________________________________________________________

21) Are there any other aspects you believe the internship program is missing that would have benefited you professionally over time? If so, can you please describe them here?

______________________________________________________________________________

Thank you for taking the time to complete this survey!

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