Calbright Career Bridge FAQs - Participants

Calbright Career Bridge provides participants with paid work-based learning (WBL) opportunities. Calbright certificate holders engage in employer-led micro-internships that allow them to apply their classroom knowledge to real-world scenarios. These projects help recent certificate completers to develop both technical and durable skills while gaining practical experience to enhance their career readiness. The experience is 100% remote on a project platform hosted by Riipen, the leading work-based learning platform bringing together educators, participants, and employers.

Career Bridge offers:

To participate, please be sure to:

You can complete one Calbright Career Bridge micro-internship. Each lasts approximately 40 hours and must be completed within 2 to 6 weeks, with final deliverables that you will upload to the Riipen platform.

All Calbright Career Bridge micro-internships must be completed in 2-6 weeks and each participant is expected to contribute 40 hours to the project. A project timeline can be adjusted, as long as it still meets those requirements and if both the employer and the participant team are in agreement to do so.

Participants receive:

Final deliverables generally include files such as evidence of your contributions or a comprehensive written summary of the work completed, and a completed work log. Your final submission uploads should demonstrate that 40 hours of work have been completed for the micro-internship. You will also be requested to fill out a series of brief surveys before, during, and after your micro-internship. You will receive your stipend upon satisfactory completion of the micro-internship, and after you have responded to the final survey.

Once you submit your final deliverables, employers will have the chance to leave feedback on their experience working with you - both public (on your project platform profile) and private feedback. They will also be asked to approve the deliverables, confirm that the project adhered to the Calbright Career Bridge Terms and Conditions, and that the deliverables were completed within 40 hours per participant.

We encourage you to keep open lines of communication with the employer during the project to ensure you are both in agreement about the desired outcomes and deliverables. The Riipen team will also review your final deliverables to ascertain that a good faith effort has been made to complete the work as defined by the employer. If needed, the Riipen team will follow up with yourself and the employer to ensure all deliverables have been uploaded.

Each participant will be paid for the micro-internship in the form of a stipend, with payments processed via Career Catalyst. You will get paid after you have completed the project, uploaded all deliverables demonstrating a good faith effort, and after you have responded to all surveys.

Your stipend will begin to be processed when your employer provides feedback on their experience with you.

Upon joining Calbright Career Bridge, participants will submit a W9 form to Career Catalyst so that payment and the appropriate tax form(s) can be issued. (W9 forms include participant legal name, social security number, mailing address, etc.)

All participants engaged in the Calbright Career Bridge program for the 2025 tax year will be issued tax documentation You can expect to receive this in February 2026.

If you need a verification letter to confirm your participation in Calbright Career Bridge you can request one by sending an email to people@riipen.com and we can verify the dates of your participation.

Unfortunately not. Participants will be paid a one-time stipend once all deliverables, including surveys have been completed, submitted, and approved. For that reason, participants who do not fully complete the project will not be paid. If you cannot complete a micro-internships, please communicate with the employer and the Riipen team clearly and in a timely manner. This will ensure that other participants are treated fairly and that you will remain eligible for possible future micro-internship opportunities on the Riipen platform.

If you’re struggling to get in contact with a member of your team, be sure to let the employer know immediately by sending a message on your team page on the Riipen platform. Message the Riipen team as well via email (calbrightcareerbridge@riipen.com), or via live chat on the Riipen platform. The Riipen team will then reach out to the team member and the employer, with the aim to re-engage the team member and to understand if there’s additional support we can provide.

Continued unresponsiveness or a lack of commitment is a breach of the program’s Terms & Conditions. This may lead to a team member being removed from the project. If that happens, you should work with the employer to readjust the project deliverables and continue your 40-hour project.

If you’re struggling to get in contact with your employer you should also let the Riipen team know as soon as possible via email (calbrightcareerbridge@riipen.com), or via live chat on the Riipen platform. The team will then reach out with the aim to re-engage the employer and understand if there’s additional support we can provide. Continued unresponsiveness or a lack of commitment is a breach of the program’s Terms & Conditions. This may lead to the employer being unable to post additional projects on the platform.

At the end of your micro-internship, if 14 days have passed and the employer has not provided feedback, please reach out to the Riipen team. We will contact your employer again and if we do not hear back we will review your final deliverable on behalf of the employer.

No. Participants are neither employees of the organization hosting the micro-internship, nor of Riipen, the project platform owner, or Calbright College. As such, participants do not qualify for any benefits and will not obtain any record of employment from these organizations.

Yes. It is the responsibility of the employer to provide software license/access to participants if required to perform the work.