Standards are how a virtual internship stays real.

Coaching quality

Coaches read the brief. They comment in the order of question, evidence, logic, recommendation, communication, habits. They do not rewrite the student’s report as a courtesy. They use the two-call model described in the brochure as scarce live time, backed by written comments. They do not move minors onto unsupervised private channels as the only path.

A coaching relationship is not employment supervision unless a separate agreement says so. Coaches should not imply that the student works for a host organization the student does not work for.

Academic integrity

Students record sources. They can walk through their spreadsheet live. They label estimates. They do not paste a generated report and call it an internship. They do not copy model solutions into the portfolio. Group work names owners.

When integrity fails, the educational response is a required process: rebuild from the source log, or do not receive a completion claim. Kindness without that line turns GVI into a certificate printer.

Evidence policy

Certificates describe the pathway and the work submitted. They are not job titles. Best-performance recognition is for a subset and must be based on reviewed files. Recommendation support is optional and must be specific. Portfolios may include student-created artifacts that are shareable. They may not include confidential or others’ work.

Public marketing, including partner posts, must not convert the 2021 brochure network figure into a live audited list, and must not promise letters or awards as automatic.

Referencing policy (from the brochure, still in force as a principle)

On a CV, virtual experience belongs in extracurriculars or as certification/achievement, using provided wording. On LinkedIn, it belongs in licenses and certifications, not as employment. Students must not present the program as work experience on LinkedIn.

Data and safeguarding posture

Collect the minimum. Keep program communication on documented channels. Include a school or family adult in high-school administration. See privacy. Standards here are educational; privacy is informational; neither replaces counsel for a paid cohort.

Changing the work, not the standard

Cohorts may change length, track questions, or coaching schedule. They may not change the meaning of “done,” the integrity rule, or the employment-language rule without an explicit, student-facing document.

Cases the standard is meant to catch

A generated report with no source log. A LinkedIn Experience line that says Analyst at a host. A certificate issued despite missing modules. A partner post that quotes 3,000+ organizations as a live list. A coach rewriting the deck until it is theirs. A minor moved to a private app. Each case has a response: no completion claim, correction, pause, or removal. If GVI does not catch these, the rest of the curriculum is decoration.

Students can use this list as a self-audit before they submit the closing pack. Catching yourself is professionalism. Waiting to see whether anyone notices is not.