For college students strapped for cash, what could be worse than an unpaid summer internship? Maybe having to pay to get one.

Driven in part by labor-law concerns about uncompensated work, companies are increasingly requiring that students receive college credit for their internships -- or lose their slot. While many colleges are finding creative ways to satisfy employers without actually granting credit for nonacademic work, others are offering some form of credit, and demanding that students pay the related tuition.

In the past five years, the number of companies that require students to get college credit for their unpaid work has increased between 30 percent and 40 percent, says Mark Oldman, co-founder of Vault Inc., a New York career-information company. According to the company's study of around 500 students, 64 percent of interns today get paid, compared with 66 percent last year.

New York-based Fox News Channel, a unit of News Corp., began requiring its summer interns to get college credit for their unpaid work starting in 2002. Other companies that have long imposed credit requirements include fund manager Legg Mason Inc. and publisher Hearst Corp.

At the colleges, the growing number of interns seeking credit is leading schools to rethink their policies. Few have had a formal plan for crediting internships, in part out of concern that it isn't in the proper spirit of academic endeavor. Some would simply send a letter to employers reassuring them of the value of internships to the student's experience. But faced with students who are losing their chance at desirable internships and experience, schools are finding ways to accommodate them.

Brandeis University, in Waltham, Mass., reorganized its approach to internships about five years ago to come up with uniform requirements. Students pay $200 to enroll in a one-credit class designed for interns, where they are required to produce schoolwork related to their job experience, such as a journal or essay about what they've learned. Southern Cal in recent years added a one-credit online class titled "Internship for Liberal Arts," for which undergraduates pay more than $1,000.

Other schools are stopping just short of rewarding credit. "We spend an enormous amount of time telling students we're on their side but can't just hand out credit," says Thomas D. Lancaster, senior associate dean for undergraduate education at Emory University in Atlanta.

Dr. Lancaster says that if students receive any credit related to internship work, it is through an independent study, which can cost $3,800 for a typical four-credit summer course. But now, school officials are beginning discussions on offering a special notation on a student's transcript that nominally would be worth one credit, but wouldn't actually count toward a degree. The fees for such a credit would have to be determined, he says.

Employment lawyers say there has been a burst of lawsuits in recent years related to the Fair Labor Standards Act, which regulates wages and overtime. The number of FLSA collective-action suits filed nationwide almost tripled to 1,076 in 2004, from 397 three years earlier, according to an analysis by Allan Weitzman, who heads the employment-law practice for Proskauer Rose LLP in Boca Raton, Fla. Such suits largely center on issues of overtime pay, he says. But the increase may be leading employers to be more careful in general about their work forces, including making sure their internships are clearly defined and not exploitive.

One of the factors the Labor Department uses to define an unpaid "trainee," or intern, is that the experience is for the benefit of the student. Receiving credit for the experience helps satisfy that requirement, says Mr. Weitzman.

Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore formed a faculty committee last fall to consider the growing requests for internship credit. The committee sought to preserve its "fundamental principle that academic credit is given only for academic work," says Paula Burger, dean of undergraduate education, while at the same time encouraging work experience. A tentative recommendation includes offering one-credit courses where students would work with a faculty sponsor over the summer, and not have to pay tuition. The program would start next spring.

"We are recognizing the fact that students who want to earn credit are paying by virtue of the forgone income," Ms. Burger says.

A number of schools are addressing students' concerns that having to pay tuition for an unpaid internship would put such jobs out of the reach for many financially -- when internships are increasingly important to fill out students' resumes.

The University of Pennsylvania's College of Arts and Sciences developed a free "internship credit" last summer -- a notation on the transcript that wouldn't count toward graduation. Assistant Dean Diane Frey says the school came up with this "partial solution" after more students were being turned away from internships. "We're not going to give credit for something that doesn't have any academic component," says Ms. Frey, adding that she didn't like the idea of students having to pay tuition on top of having to work for free. "This," she says, "has worked more effectively" to satisfy companies' requirements.

Dartmouth College has traditionally sent companies letters assuring them of the value the school places on such internships. "For many years, the letter did the trick," says Skip Sturman, director of career services, and the credit requirement would go away. But in recent years, he says, some companies have become more insistent on credit. In certain cases, when the letter fails, his office will suggest a student pay for a community-college class to satisfy the credit requirement -- though the credit wouldn't count toward a Dartmouth degree.

That's what Dan Kozikowski did two summers ago, when he interned at General Electric Co.'s NBC Universal, which requires that students get academic credit for unpaid work. After several weeks of searching for a program, the Princeton, N.J., native came across Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay, which he paid $300 for an online internship course. He submitted periodic reports to the technical college during his 12-week internship.

"I found it really frustrating," Mr. Kozikowski says of the tuition. "You're working for free already, and you have to pay the rent," he says. He wound up borrowing the $300 from his older sister.

To make things easier financially for students, Clark University in Worcester, Mass., in recent years has offered fractions of credits for summer internships, such as quarter-credit and half-credit options, to keep costs as low as $200, says David McDonough, director of career services, adding that the companies seem satisfied.

Since 2000, Hamilton College has offered a free quarter credit for summer interns. In addition, the Clinton, N.Y., school has developed "summer internship stipends" for students who otherwise might not be able to accept unpaid positions. This summer, 13 students were able to qualify for stipends, funded from alumni and other donations, ranging from $1,000 to $6,000. Career Center Director Kino Ruth hopes to expand the program to reach hundreds of students over the next five years.

For the Record

Some of the ways colleges are addressing unpaid interns' need for academic credit:

One-credit courses, for which students pay tuition

"Notations" on academic transcripts that nominally are worth credit but may or may not count toward graduation

Fractional credits that are either free or less costly than summer course work

Recommending community college for the summer

Give Me Credit

Here's a look at how different colleges handle credit requirements when it comes to internships.

Dartmouth College (Hanover, N.H.): Has traditionally sent a letter that explains the school's policy of not awarding credit for internships, while noting the value the school places on internships. In recent years, the letter hasn't always worked, says a college official. Sometimes officials advise students to enroll in community college for a summer to earn credit.

Emory University (Atlanta): Doesn't award academic credit for "nonacademic" summer internships, unless the student finds a faculty member to work with. The college is in early talks to look for a way around the requirement.

Hamilton College (Clinton, N.Y.): Offers a free "internship for credit" programthat awards a quarter-credit for unpaid summer internships.

Johns Hopkins University (Baltimore): A faculty committee has made recommendations to allow for a free single credit for students doing unpaid internships. The credit would count toward a degree.

University of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia): The College of Arts & Sciences recently developed a notation on the transcript that stops short of awarding credit for internships.