It makes "green sense" but it is so Post-Industrial

What's more, working alone prepares students for the workplace of the future, which Ms. Hendershot predicts will incorporate more off-site, project-based employees. An increasing number of workers already telecommute, she says.

"A virtual internship is an internship of desperation," says Steven Rothberg, president and founder of CollegeRecruiter.com, a career Web site for college students and recent graduates. It's often not a student's first choice, he says.