Work-Study Field Education Option
Students who are requesting to complete their field placement at their current place of employment must complete the “Employment-Based Field Placement Application” and submit it to their Field Placement Coordinator. This application must be submitted with the student’s SW 689, 789, or 889 field placement questionnaire. The Placement Coordinator and the Director of Field Education will review the student’s application and make a determination regarding the acceptance of the proposal. An employment agency may be used as a field placement site only when ALL of the requirements listed below are met. These requirements can be found on the field website. The guidelines are also listed below.
Requirements:
•The agency must be approved by the Office of Field Education. If the agency is not currently affiliated with the field education program, all agency development paperwork and a site visit must be completed prior to the start of field placement.
•The student’s field placement must be in a different program or department than the program/department in which they are employed.
•Field placement learning activities must differ from the student’s current employment responsibilities and must exceed present job skills and knowledge. Field placement learning activities must be specifically related to the student’s designated course syllabus (SW 689, 789, or 889).
•The student’s field instructor and employment supervisor must be different people.
•The student’s employment hours and field hours must be separate and clearly defined.
•The student must have been employed by the agency for a minimum of 60 days prior to submitting an employment-based field placement application. Any exceptions must be approved by the Director of Field Education.
•Release time for coursework and field placement must be assured.
•The student must intern in increments of at least 4 hours. It is the agency’s decision as to what type of compensation the student receives while in placement.
•Field credit will not be granted for previous professional work experience (Council on Social Work Education policy).
•There will be no retroactive approvals for employment-based field placements; no field hours will be credited before the application is approved.
•In general, students in the Advanced Standing program (ASAP) are not allowed to do a placement at their current or previous place of employment.
•The College does not recommend a second year of employment-based field placement; however, we do recognize that there are some agencies that may afford the student a very different and educationally sound second year experience. The College will evaluate each proposal on its individual merits as related to the expectations of the College and the Council on Social Work Education (CSWE).
•Work study proposals are evaluated and approved for only one course at a time; no exceptions.
•The completed application must be submitted with the student’s SW 689, 789 or 889 Field Questionnaire.
•A letter from the agency executive or designee must provide written approval and commitment to the employment-based field placement proposal.
