By BLAIR HICKMAN ProPublica, ROBERT COLLINS, and EVE FELDBERG

Internships can be invaluable when done well, but getting academic credit doesn’t necessarily make it legal— or educational. As ProPublica has reported, some colleges are sending students into unpaid internships that may not meet the federal government’s guidelines for when interns should be paid.

Are colleges doing everything they should to protect students from exploitation and abuse in unpaid positions? Whose responsibility is it to ensure students receive the protection they deserve? Where does Tufts stand?

The Tufts Observer is partnering with ProPublica, a Pulitzer-prize winning newsroom in New York, to explore that question. The Observer has also launched its own investigation of internships at Tufts, and we need your help.

If you have done an internship for credit, you can join the effort to expose potential abuse by reviewing your experience. Students have shared great experiences and not-so-great experiences, filled with busy work, out-of-pocket expenses, and little support from their schools. What was your internship like? Tell us here.

Your review will go into a ProPublica database that includes two streams of information: detailed data about schools’ internship policies by major (as provided by intern coordinators), and your reviews of for-credit internships.

You can help the Observer‘s investigation of internships at Tufts by contacting Robert Collins (robert.collins@tufts.edu) and Eve Feldberg (eve.feldberg@tufts.edu).

Help the Observer and ProPublica find out by leaving a review, sharing this project with your friends, or getting in touch with us. Spread the word by tweeting or posting on Facebook with the hashtag #ProjectIntern.