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Placing and Monitoring Students
The Faculty Field Education Coordinator and/or the Field liaison helps students successfully transition into agencies and the field learning experience. The Faculty Field Education liaison Coordinator collaborates with the field instructor to facilitate agency interviews that reflect student interests. After the students have completed their agency interviews, The Faculty Field Education liaison Coordinator connects with the students to assess for agency and student fit. Following the agency's invitation and the student's acceptance, dates for placement are confirmed.
At the onset of the student's practicum, the Faculty Field Education liaison orients the field instructor to expectations of the student field learning experience, reviews required program procedures and how they may fit with the regular work of the organizational setting. Content covered for field instructor orientation includes:
- EMU social work program's mission, goals, & core competencies.
- Overview of the social work curriculum and program assessment.
- Expectations for the field instructor supervision of and support to the student.
- Expectations for the student learning assignments for practicum seminar class, including the syllabus.
- Processes expected to be used by the faculty liaison and field instructor(s) in facilitating and assessing student learning.
- Processes expected to be used by faculty
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- liaison and field instructor(s) to engage in problem-solving and conflict resolution as necessary.
Participation in the practicum seminar class with the other students in that practicum cohort assists students to successfully navigate the early weeks of student transition into their field practicum settings.
The student practicum placement process includes the completion of a A Memorandum of Agreement between the student, The the Faculty Field Coordinator or Field Education liaisonLiaison, Field Instructor, and organization director is signed. The agreement includes clarification about the student's professional liability insurance coverage. The University's liability insurance covers all EMU social work students in their field practicum. Agencies may also provide professional liability insurance for EMU social work student completing field education. It is recommended that students purchase individual coverage through NASW Assurance services.
The Field Instructor and student also complete the student's Goals and Objectives for Practicum document detailing a student plan for operationalizing Learning Contract which identifies specific activities for learning in the placement. The Learning Contract for practicum document operationalizes the program's core competencies and demonstration of to a particular setting detailing how the student will demonstrate social work practice knowledge, skills and values. The student's learning Goals and Objectives for Practicum Learning Contract must be approved by the faculty coordinator.
The Faculty Field Education liaison maintains regular contact with the field site during the student's field learning experience, which includes site visits confirming student progress and ongoing in-person contact with clients and constituencies of the placement organization. Typically there is a visit near the onset of the senior practicum, there may be a mid-semester visit scheduled if need is apparent, and then a final visit is scheduled at the end of the practicum.
Following the end of placement, the field coordinator follows up with personal contact with any field instructor who indicates questions or concerns in their evaluations regarding how any placement proceeded or the program’s procedures. Ongoing placements continue in sites year to year, if the field coordinator judges that students have been given adequate field instruction and administrative support for successful placements. At the onset of the each new student's practicum, even for sites that have hosted students previously, the Faculty Field Education liaison faculty field liaison re-orients the field instructor to expectations of the student field learning experience, reviews required program procedures and how they may fit with the regular work of the organizational setting. Content covered for field instructor orientation includes:
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