Evaluating Onsite and Online Internship Mode Using Consumptive Metrics

Abstract

The paper aims to assess the effectiveness between onsite and online internship mode by measuring the critical components of learning through the Kirkpatrick's ‘consumptive metrics' model. The primary goal of internship is to assist university students in their progression from the academic to a professional work environment. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted this process where it temporarily moved to online mode. Hence, the authors use Kirkpatrick's ‘consumptive metrics' (CM) for evaluating the learning resources consumed using two constructs namely ‘reaction' and ‘learning'. Using 21 onsite and 20 online intern reports, researchers objectively measured the difference in alignment of theory with practice between onsite and online mode. The research revealed that while the CM components namely ‘course satisfaction' and ‘training relevance' on the interns are similar for both modes, there is a considerable reduction in the effectiveness of internship in terms of the CM components namely the ‘training environment', ‘knowledge gained', and ‘career advancement' in an online mode.