University Radio Welcome Letter

Welcome to the University Radio Department!!!

Hi I am your manager here at University Radio.  I hope that you are as excited as I am about you joining our team. I know the first couple weeks can be really scary and confusing but we are all here to help you, and we were all there too!

Hopefully you were able to or will be attending the orientation for all the new interns and are looking through all the information that was sent in your onboarding packet. If you have not done so already, please fill out your paperwork and send it in to HR (doing so gives you 4 hours of credit towards your internship). Also please make sure you have set up your Podio account and have explored Google Docs, Google Drive, and the Google Calendar as these are tools you will use regularly as an intern at University Consulting regardless of what department you are in. Also please be sure to set your email signature as University Radio Content Designer.

Please make note of the following meetings:

AHOD (All Hands on Deck) Monday nights 9pm-10pm Eastern (Mandatory)

Communications - Tuesday nights 8pm-9pm Eastern (Mandatory)

University Radio Department Meeting- Sunday nights 9pm-10pm Eastern (Optional but helpful to attend for information and getting your hours in.)

*These should all be in your calendars and you can choose the time zone you are in and set reminders to help you attend these meetings.*

Please talk to me if you are concerned about meetings, I know it can seem overwhelming! I’m here to help you.

Internship reminders:

Clock in and out for all meetings, trainings and when you are working on projects.

*PUT SPECIFIC NOTES IN YOUR TIME CLOCK* (EXAMPLE: downloaded programs, read emails, looked over new information sent to drive)

DO NOT clock in for class seminars or when doing work for the classroom portion of this term.

If you need a time card correction, fill out the TCC form immediately and send it to the manager.

Attend all meetings but if you are unable to attend please let the manager know and review missed meetings in Podio.

WPR sheets are due no later than Tuesdays at 11:59pm

Respond to emails within 24 hours. WIth this internship being connected by the internet, communication is the key to success.

University Radio Reminders:

Ensure all programs needed are downloaded. And accounts are activated.

All media needs to be approved by the manager/ scheduler before uploaded to radio.co

All music, ads need to have 7 seconds of silence added for smooth transitions

All media must be in MP3 format

Playlists need to be at least an hour long

Resume button should be in the on position for each play list

NO EXPLICIT CONTENT. Keep it clean and classy.

If you are behind on hours contact the manager for help and ideas, we are in leadership to help you succeed!!!

Please reach out to me whenever you need me and I look forward to training you and leaving University Radio in your hands.

Sincerely,

Positions at University Radio:

Manager-

Scheduler-

Assistant Scheduler -

Project Developer-

Content Designer-

Content Designer -

Content Designer -

Content Designer -

Manager – Maintains team’s day to day activities, communicates with team on a daily basis, Reviews W.P.R. sheets and submits time, makes time clock corrections. Provides additional training when necessary.  Conducts department meetings. Reports to Media Director

Project Developer - When the manager hears from the client, they will pass along information to be written up into a script for a commercial or segment. The Project Developer will write the script and return to the manager for approval who will either pass it along to the content designer for recording or back to the project developer for recording.  (Works together with content designer)

Content Designer - Records ads and segments. When complete return back to manager for approval.  May sometimes write and record their own segments.  Manager will then pass along to the scheduler to be inserted into the schedule.  (Works together with project developer)

Scheduler – Makes a daily playlist schedule.  Responsible for inserting new ads into playlists, inserting new playlists into the schedule and maintaining media content of station via radio.co.  Schedule should stay around two weeks ahead to ensure that there is constant music play. (no dead air).  May also write and record their own segments from time to time.

Assistant Scheduler - May write and record segments at times.

Everyone will start as a Content Designer, but you will have the opportunity to move to a different position if you desire.  This is a copy of your job description which will be requested by your professor on the academic side of the internship.

 Important Downloads/Information

Audacity - This is an audio recording/editing software needed to create/record commercials, and edit radio shows. (Always save in mp3 format)

http://sourceforge.net/projects/audacity/

Audacity YouTube Tutorials

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G7BZjjH4I9M

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pK2SNAmv5RM

Lame - Works with Audacity to transfer audio into mp3 smoother and faster.

http://sourceforge.net/projects/lame/?source=recommended

Clip Converter/ Cloud Converter-This program helps to convert files from YouTube and/or iTunes to MP3 format. Copy and paste the following link to your browser (Bookmark it!)

http://www.clipconverter.cc/

In the circumstance that the Clip Converter is not functioning (which has been more often than not lately) please use the following converters: http://www.youtube-mp3.org  or http://convert2mp3.net/en/index.php

Radio.co-This is the program that runs our radio station. It houses our media, playlists and functionality of the station. You receive an invite from radio.co to your student email (it always lands in the spam folder, don’t know why so I will let you know when they go out so you can start checking your spam for it.) once you have confirmed bookmark this also.        www.Radio.co

These programs have had some technical issues; if anyone is interested in tackling this project just let me know.

DJ LIVE on air programs needed:

Winamp for broadcasting is only available for the Windows operating system - Download ihttps://radio.iljmp.com/1/winamp?kw=%7Bkeyword%7D&device=%7Bdevice%7D&creative=%7Bcreative%7D&lp=%7Blpurl%7D

You will also need the latest DSP plugin, http://download.nullsoft.com/shoutcast/tools/shoutcast-dsp-2-3-5-windows.exe

Also Recommended (if you use a smartphone or tablet):

 Download the following apps:

1)    Time Clock Free: Allows you to clock in and out through your phone/tablet

2)    Podio: Listen to archives of AHOD, Department & Communication Meetings

3)    AdobeConnect:  Connect to meetings through your phone.

4)    Google Docs: Utilize for any documents such as Time clock correction forms or WPR’s.

While not required, they make accessing your internship a whole lot easier and hassle free.

What to Expect During Your First Week of Internship

GOING FORWARD, ALL EMAILS WILL BE SENT TO YOUR University STUDENT EMAIL ONLY!  WE WILL NO LONGER SEND TO YOUR PERSONAL EMAIL ADDRESS. YOU WILL NEED TO CHECK YOUR University STUDENT EMAIL DAILY!

1.         Before you go any further in the letter, CLOCK IN. Your time clock ID and Password are in your Welcome Letter, as well as the instructions and a link to the time clock.

●      Every type of work that you do related to your internship (such as weekly meetings, projects, emails, etc.) will need to be logged in your timeclock.  (cannot clock in for your class course work)

●      You will receive an attachment in your Welcome Letter explaining how to get started with your time clock. In addition to the attachment, there are instructions in your personal folder that has been shared with you.  Follow the instructions!  Remember that you have to log in AT LEAST 10 hours of what you have done each week. 

●      There is a TIME CLOCK CORRECTION (TCC) sheet if you forget to log in or out. This must be submitted no later than each Tuesday at 11:59 P.M. EST. 

2.         You will receive 4 hours of credit toward your time clock ONLY if you complete the Required Electronic HR Forms within in the first week of your internship. A link was provided to you in your Welcome Letter and is available below.

●      Required Electronic HR Forms

3.         You have been assigned to a particular department. This information was provided to you in your Welcome Letter. Contact the HR Generalist that sent you the letter if your department manager does not reach out to you within the first few days of your first week in the internship... They will be more than happy to help you.

●      Your job description should be provided to you by the department you are working with, if a link was not included in your Welcome Letter.

4.         There are weekly meetings that you will need to attend. Each department will inform you as to when your department meetings are. In addition, there is an All Hands on Deck (AHOD) meeting every Monday at 9:00 p.m. EST. This AHOD meeting is where all of the departments provide updates as to what they have been working on or are in need of.

5.         Again, please reach out to the HR Generalist that you received your Welcome Letter from if you have any questions and have not heard from your manager. DO NOT WAIT! Your active participation in the internship is crucial to your success in the program.

New Intern 1^st Week Project List

●      Attend Weekly AHOD Meeting - Monday 9pm EST

●      Register and Access Podio (Review Podia PowerPoint)

●      Set-up and Create a Google Drive Account (Review Google Drive PowerPoint)

●      Set-up and Log into Timeclockfree.com (Review Time Clock Power Point)

●      Review TCC  Form (Time Clock Correction Form

●      Review WPR Form (Weekly Performance Review)

●      Attend Weekly Department Meeting Monday 8 pm EST

●      Complete all I-9, W-4, and other HR Forms

●      Review your job description provided by your leader.

●      Download programs specific for your department (Audacity, clip converter, lame)

●      Login to radio.co using your student email.

●      Contact your mentor and/or manager directly for any and all issues you may encounter on your journey! They are here to help you.

Your assignments will be emailed to you weekly by your manager.

Let me know as soon as you have completed setting up all your programs and are ready to get started.  I will give you an easy task to help you familiarize yourself with the programs that we use.

  Meeting Attendance Policy

PURPOSE

To ensure that every intern understands that attendance to departmental meetings are a requirement to the University Consulting internship.

SCOPE

This policy applies to all interns, managers, directors, and vice presidents within the University Consulting department.

Meeting Policy:

●      Conference meetings are held at least once a week for your specific department and the entire University Consulting team

●      Specific department meeting will be assigned a day and time by your department manager and director

●      The entire University Consulting team meets every Monday at 9:00pm (AHOD) and attendance is mandatory for every intern

●      If you are unable to attend any of the meetings, notify your manager and director ahead of time.  They will provide instruction on any make-up assignments that must be submitted to obtain credit.

●      Check all emails for the date, time and log in information regarding your meetings

●      When you sign in to the meeting you are required to use your first and last name as well as your department title.

These meetings are very important. This is where the teams come together and share information on how to make the internship more valuable as well as training all interns on new system processes.

Student Run Internship Organization

Kaplan Radio

KapRadio is completely intern run and has been since founders Professor Marty McDermott and Kevin Cojanu started the station on May 19, 2012.  The radio station is internet based and broadcasted. KapRadio provides more than just music, they also do work with non-profit entities by creating radio commercials, conducting research and promoting non-profit causes though social media.

There are several different departments within KapRadio that help to keep the station running smoothly. The manager is in charge and oversees all activities as well as coordinates projects. The scheduler creates new playlists and puts them into rotation on the radio. The editor is in charge of making sure any content put out by KapRadio is valid and free of error. Our social media director keeps all accounts updated with what’s going on at KapRadio and connects with listeners in a fun way. The consultant is the liaison and point of contact for all special projects as well as other departments.

During my time at KapRadio I held two different positions. The first was as the KapRadio Social Media Director. In this position I recreated social media sites for the station on Facebook, Twitter & LinkedIn. All previous log-in information had been lost which resulted in the brand new accounts having to be created. This also led me to create training material for interns about how to make posts as well as how to pass on ownership of the sites. I also made frequent posts on these sites to support non-profit entities like Toys for Tots and Team Tassey. I also held the position of senior scheduler. In this position I created playlist and put them into rotation on the radio and maintained the stations schedule. I also worked with other departments to create radio commercials for non-profits and put them into rotation. Occasionally I would help with special projects when they were assigned.  

During our weekly KapRadio AHOD meetings, we had training sessions to learn how to use the programs necessary to convert music from YouTube into mp3s. We used Audacity, Studio365 and Live365. We received supervision in the form of accountability when projects were completed. We were required to keep our manager updated on what was going on with projects we were working on. We would send emails to inform our manager of when projects were completed as well as to give updates when projects took a longer than expected.

This experience has been a whirlwind of highs and lows. The onboarding process was frustrating because it felt so disorganized and I received no contact for several days. Once someone reached out to me I quickly jumped into my position and enjoyed being a part of the KapRadio team. I loved being able to use my creative side to create playlists as well as creating training material for the social media sites. Although there were many great parts of this internship, I did feel frustration with feeling like I was only doing busy work. I hope for future interns that KapRadio can do more collaboration with other departments in order to do more intellectually challenging work.

This internship as well as the experiential learning course was different from any of my other classes at Kaplan University thus far. All of my education came into play to help me through this internship because of what I had learned. The class that stood out to me the most as helpful was team dynamics. I was able to start the internship with knowledge about how communication in teams work. I also have greatly improved my writing capabilities during my time at Kaplan and this helped me to clearly writing training material for the social media sites. I also utilized resources at Kaplan such as previous textbooks and the Kaplan Library that helped me to be a better intern.

The biggest organizational problem was with the onboarding process. There was a major lack of organization to get interns into their department. The confusion led to frustration that made me feel like the organization was not professional and something I would want to be a part of. There was a string of non-descriptive emails that were supposed to be the training and onboarding packet that was not sufficient for getting students up to speed. There was no direct name given to me to contact to ask questions to and I had to go to my academic dean for help because no one would give me a contact name. It took a whole day of searching to finally be reached by someone to answer my questions and it was a problem that seemed to frustrate many other students as well.

With the biggest issue being confusion the most beneficial recommendation would to give each new intern a name and telephone number of someone from their department that they can ask questions to. There should also be prerecorded welcome videos that train employees on how to use all the different technologies required for their internship. A detailed handbook should be created for each department that outlines the roles and expectations for the position each intern can hold. There should also be a descriptive week 1 to do list for each department so that new interns can be up to speed on everything they could possibly need to know about their department.

There would be many benefits to the entire KapConsulting company if they choose to follow my recommendations. Interns would start out with a strong understanding of what the internship is about. More informed interns mean that they can begin productive work much sooner. There would be an increased rate of productivity because interns would not fumble around the first few weeks while they try to figure out what is going on. KapConsulting could even take on more complex projects because interns would have a higher level of understanding. There would be increased organization for the onboarding process and points of reference any time an intern had a questions about the internship.