Some students enrolled in the Penn State Washington Program this semester have started the internships it offers later than they expected.

The program allows students to take classes on Thursdays while working at internships in the city during the rest of the week.

"You expect to get an internship relatively soon, and I just got mine now," Joe Ferry (senior-history) said.

Ferry, who has been in Washington, D.C., since fall semester started, began his internship Monday.

Robert Richards, associate dean for the College of Communications, said several internships took longer to get because of Sept. 11. Some news organizations now require background checks on interns, which can take several weeks, Richards said.

Jen Stefanski (junior-advertising) was in Washington, D.C., for two weeks without an internship, she said.

Kristen Dennis (senior-journalism) said she had to wait three weeks to get an internship.

The program could be improved if there were better lines of communication between the students and Keith Fledderman, the program's coordinator, over the summer, Dennis said.

Dennis e-mailed Fledderman over the summer for information about her internship, but never received a response, she said.

Ilyse Linder (senior-journalism) said Fledderman would not return phone calls concerning her internship at the beginning of the semester.

"It gave the impression to the interns that he hadn't even made contact yet because he wouldn't give us the information," Linder said.

Fledderman said he has addressed students' concerns in general.

"We've been responsive to student's concerns, particularly students with later start dates," he said.

Linder, who stayed at Penn State an extra semester for the program, was in Washington, D.C., for three weeks before starting her internship, she said.

Linder has scheduled a meeting between Richards and students involved in the program to discuss improving how long it takes students to start their internships.

Of the 36 students enrolled in the program this semester, the majority of them were placed in internships within one week after arriving in Washington, D.C., Fledderman said.

The first week of the program is dedicated to orienting students to the city, he added.

There were a few students who trickled into internships near the end of September, Fledderman said.

Despite the problems, most are very pleased with the program.

"It did take me a while to get an internship, but overall I think it's a good experience," Ferry said.