Two of the most underrepresented groups among the CU Boulder employee population are individuals with disabilities and veterans. Individuals with disabilities and veterans often face challenges when either entering or rejoining the workforce. As part of the campus’ broader outreach efforts, the Diversity and Inclusion Program has partnered with the State of Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) and Workforce Boulder County (WfBC) to create a paid internship opportunity for individuals with disabilities and veterans.

The purpose of the Internship Program is to:

  • Provide individuals with disabilities and veterans the opportunity to gain professional employment experience at CU Boulder in order to enhance those individuals’ future employment potential
  • Allow program participants to gain occupational skills, obtain professional experience in a university setting, and establish a current work history

In all cases, the prospective interns will be pre-screened to ensure they have the skills needed for the chosen role. DVR and WfBC will decide on a competitive market wage to pay the interns depending on funding availability.

While the interns are paid for their work by DVR and WfBC, the departments agree to monitor the work of interns and provide supervision just as the department would for any employee. Supervisors of the interns must provide required evaluations of the work performed, as well as verify the hours worked of the intern to provide to DVR and WfBC. The internship can last up to 6 months, depending on the source of funding and the hours worked per week. Departments who are interested in hosting an intern should contact David Pacheco with the Diversity and Inclusion Program.

Setting Up an Internship

  1. Contact the Diversity & Inclusion Team
    • David Pacheco from the D&I team will meet with any individuals from the interested department to discuss the Internship Program, explain the requirements in detail, and answer questions about what to expect.
  2.  Create a Job Description
    • The department should have an idea about a specific position, role, or project for the intern. Based on the desired role for the intern, the department should create a job description, with desired qualifications, for the intern to be submitted to DVR and WfBC. Because the internship is for a limited time and could be for a specific project, the job description does not have to be at the same level of detail as a job description for a permanent employee at CU Boulder. However, the duties listed in the job description should be similar to those of a permanent or regular employee, and not just “busy work” that the department needs done. The D&I Team, as well as the Position Management Team in Human Resources, can provide feedback on any proposed job description for the intern.
    • Template:  Workforce Boulder County Sample Job Description Template
  3.  Submit the Job Description
    • The job description will be submitted to DVR and WfBC. Based on a review of the duties, requirements, and desired qualifications provided by the department, DVR and WfBC will refer potential interns from individuals registered with each respective agency and whose skills and background seem like a match. DVR and WfBC will send the resumes of the potential interns to the interested department to review.
  4. Conduct Interviews
    • The department will interview the potential interns to get to know the individuals and determine if the individuals have the skills and qualifications to perform the proposed duties. The department can explain what work it would like to see performed and its expectations in order to allow the proposed intern and department to both decide whether the arrangement would be mutually beneficial. There is no obligation on the department to select any of the potential internship candidates.
  5. Requirements & Assessment
    • If and when a match is made between the department and an intern, the D&I team, DVR, and/or WfBC will all meet with the department and potential supervisor to review the internship program requirements, provide job evaluation forms, timesheets, etc. The D&I Team can work with the department to assist in any training or evaluation needed.
  6. Setting up the Internship
    • If the intern has never been a student or employee at CU Boulder, the department should set up the intern as a POI in HCM so that the intern have an IdentiKey created, key, or anything else necessary for the intern to begin working. The process should be similar to the onboarding of a new employee.

Who to Contact

David Pacheco, JD
Affirmative Action Officer
David.Pacheco@colorado.edu
303-735-9019

FAQ's

The interns are paid by either the State of Colorado Division of Vocational Rehabilitation (DVR) and Workforce Boulder County (WfBC), or in some cases, both agencies. Each agency works with different populations that can overlap.

DVR assists “individuals with disabilities prepare for, obtain, advance in, and maintain employment by providing a range of services based on [the person’s] individual employment needs and goals.” For more information about DVR and eligibility for their program, please visit the Workforce Boulder County website. 

WfBC offers unique, hands-on opportunities to help people find the right career path, enhance their ability to land a job, and better their personal finances and economic stability. WfBC works with local employers to determine their specific hiring and business needs, develop strategies to boost talent recruitment and connect them with quality people ready to do the work. To discover more about what WfBC can do for you, visit the WfBC website.

The length of the internship depends on whether the potential intern works with DVR, WfBC, or both. As noted above, to be eligible for assistance from DVR, the intern must be a person with a disability. DVR will pay wages for a maximum of 160 hours for the intern. WfBC can provide funding for up to 6 months, depending on the situation. In those cases where the potential intern is an individual with a disability, the person may be eligible to work with both DVR and WfBC and thus be able to “stack” internship hours from both agencies and thus have a longer internship. The D&I team will work with the department, DVR, and WfBC in those cases to set up the best arrangement.
DVR and WfBC each have their own requirements, but the responsibilities are essentially the same. The department and supervisor hosting an intern must:
  • Interview and select clients referred by DVR and WfBC.
  • Provide sufficient tasks per the job description to occupy the intern during work hours.
  • Provide sufficient equipment/materials so that work assignments may be carried out by the job description.
  • Designate a supervisor for each intern assigned.
  • Complete progress reports or evaluations every month (or other designated timeframe) and provide them to the host agencies. Both DVR and WfBC have progress reports/evaluation forms that can be used by the department.
  • Approve/sign the client’s weekly timesheets to verify hours worked during the duration of the internship. In no circumstances may an intern ever work more than 40 hours per week.
  • Comply with the requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act and other pertinent federal, state, and local employment laws.

Most importantly, the intern should be treated as part of the team in the department, just like any other employee. The intern should be introduced to other coworkers and included in all employee activities. The intern should be provided training not only for the job but also any other employee development opportunities provided in the department. Remember, the internship is meant to provide professional job experience for the intern to assist with future employment opportunities, not simply conduct “busy work” for the department or provide free labor.

CU Boulder does not require background checks for those who are not employees of the university, such as interns and volunteers. When providing interns, DVR has agreed to conduct a state of Colorado criminal background check. This background check is not as extensive as that conducted for employees of the university. WfBC works with ADP services to perform checks. Through this agency, WfBC can check criminal backgrounds in all states, verify social security numbers, and review the sex offender list if required by the nature of the CU Boulder position. If the department hosting a potential intern believes a background check is necessary, the department and the D&I team will work with the Department of Human Resources to determine what level of background checks should be conducted.
The Internship Program was only recently established at CU Boulder and is currently focused on interns who are veterans, individuals with disabilities, or both. Veterans and individuals with disabilities are two of the most underrepresented employee populations on campus and CU is required under federal law to conduct specific outreach efforts to these populations as part of Affirmative Action. However, if the program is successful and departments at CU Boulder are willing to host interns, the program can be expanded to target other underrepresented populations in the future.
As part of the Internship Program and to increase disability awareness as a whole, DVR offers several presentations that can be hosted by the department. The  list of presentations can be found in the training menu document.