• Course Name: The Reimagined Internship: Reimagining The Pathway to Student Success from First-Year through Graduation
• Course #: UNST 490 (enrollment in the course is contingent upon application and acceptance)
• Day & Time: M, 2:30-5:00PM
• Course Challenge Statement: Every JMU student begins their journey with the One Book and ends it with Senior Compass, but what about tailored and specific guidance and pathways in between? How might we design a new student-centered experience that fills the expectation and guidance gaps between the One Book and Senior Compass?
• Students Eligible to Enroll: Rather than recruiting specific majors, this experience seeks students with combinations of skills. The cohort will be built to maximize the skills across the ten student participants. Students from across all majors are encouraged to apply. Ten students will be selected from the internship application with one or more of these skills: product management, storytelling, instructional design, graphic design, UX/UI, learning technologies, communication, software development, statistics, ethical reasoning, understanding student behaviors.
• How to Register: Interested students must apply for the course and internship on Handshake (application coming soon!) by Friday, November 13, 2026. Search The Reimagined Internship. 

 Teaching Team from:  

• Division of Access and Enrollment
• Division of Academic Affairs
• Division of Student Affairs 

Instructors: 

• Brad Barnett, Associate Vice President for Access and Enrollment Management & Director of Financial Aid, Access and Enrollment 
• Anthony Miles, Interim Director Learning Technologies Services, JMU Libraries 
• Jonathan Stewart, Assistant Vice President, Student Affairs 

JMU X-Labs and the Virginia Office of the Attorney General are partnering to offer a new, 10-week research lab to a 15-member cohort of JMU students. Through a blend of classroom instruction and practical application, students chosen for this program will develop solutions and research results focused on tackling organized retail crime across Virginia. The cohort will present their solutions to the problem to JMU leadership and members of the Virginia Office of the Attorney General.

This immersive program builds on collaborative solutions and research developed during the Fall ‘25 JMU X-Labs Course: Reimagining Virginia’s Fight Against Organized Retail Crime. Read more about this course here: https://www.jmu.edu/news/2026/01/12-xlabs-retail-crime-lab.shtml.  

Challenge Statement: How might we develop solutions focused on logistics and marketing that help the Virginia Office of the Attorney General tackle organized retail crime across Virginia.  

Responsibilities: Accepted students are expected to attend, in-person, a 2-hour lab meeting for 10 weeks. 

• Every Wednesday from 3:00 – 5:00 p.m.
  • Additional student work hours are scheduled by the students (expected additional hours: 4 per week).
• Beginning February 10, 2027, and ending April 21, 2027 (no lab meeting held Wednesday, March 17, due to JMU spring break).
• The 2-hour lab meeting will take place at JMU X-Labs in Lakeview Hall. Additional lab meeting locations and field trips may be scheduled.  

Students will receive a stipend of $1,000 or receive research credit for participating in the program. Students may be eligible to apply this program towards an internship within their department in addition to receiving the stipend or research credit. Justice Studies students may be able to earn course credit in lieu of stipend.

How to Apply: Interested students can apply through Handshake by clicking here and searching for Research Lab with JMU X-Labs. Submitting an application means you are available for the in-person Spring ’27 2-hour research lab for 10 weeks beginning February 10, 2027, and ending April 21, 2027. 

Teaching Team Members:

• Fadi Majzoub – Professor, Marketing, College of Business 
• Raktim Pal - Professor, CIS and BSAN, College of Business 
• Melissa Švigelj - Professor, Justice Studies, College of Arts and Letters 
• Virginia Office of the Attorney General - Industry Partner