Table of Contents

Field Instruction Mission and Purpose

Letter from the Director of Field Instruction

Welcome MSW Students and Agency Field Instructors to the School of Social Work Office of Field Instruction. 

The Council on Social Work Education states: “the intent of field education is to integrate the theoretical and conceptual contribution of the classroom with the practical world of the practice setting.” Essentially field education teaches future social workers “to think, to perform, and to act ethically and with integrity.” Student experiences during internships can be the most powerful and meaningful aspect of their education. 

Numerous organizations and settings such as family service agencies, community mental health settings, hospitals, residential treatment centers for children, homes for the elderly, group homes, crisis hotlines, health clinics, substance abuse and rehabilitation centers, veteran centers and governmental organizations have provided exciting and challenging opportunities for students to enhance their professional growth and development through experiential learning. 

The School of Social Work at Syracuse University thanks the agencies and professionals within those agencies who take on the role of teaching and mentoring students in their journey to become professional social workers. We understand the time, energy and resources that this commitment takes, and we appreciate the opportunity to work with each of you in the education and training of competent professional social workers.

This manual is intended to provide you with policies, procedures and other important information you will need during the field education practicum. Our goals are to provide an educationally sound experiences to each student, to ensure each student and field instructor is provided with individualized support and consultation and to successfully and effectively facilitate the development of social work competence. 

We hope your field experience will be both challenging and rewarding! 

Tracy T. Walker, L.M.S.W. 

Director of Field Instruction School of Social Work 

David B. Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics 244 White Hall 

Syracuse, New York 13244 (t) 315.443.5565 (f) 315.443.5576 (e) ttwalker@syr.edu 

The Office of Field Instruction (O.F.I.) website  is designed to assist both students and field instructors to navigate successfully through the field experience. 

The following Schools of Social Work are to be credited for material in this handbook: SUNY Albany, Hunter College, University of Chicago, California State University, Michigan State University, University of Akron. 

Field Instruction Overview

Field education is the signature pedagogy of Social Work education and is the place where students integrate their knowledge, values and skills of the profession into tangible practice experiences.  The real world social work setting allows students to be socialized to the profession and learn how to effectively navigate multiple settings and systems.  The program has established the policy that as of Fall of 2023, all internships, across all program levels and types are to be located within agency based settings where the student is expected to attend in-person.  The in-person experience is a fundamental requirement of social work education in the program.   

Residential BSSW Program

The BSSW field experience emphasizes generalist social work practice at the micro, mezzo and macro levels. Generalist practice is grounded in the liberal arts and the person and environment construct.  To promote human and social well-being, generalist practitioners use a large range of prevention and intervention methods in their practice with individual, families, groups, organizations, and communities.  The generalist practitioner identifies with the social work profession and applies ethical principles and critical thinking in practice.  Generalist practitioners incorporate diversity in their practice and advocate for human rights and social and economic justice.  They recognize, support, and build on the strengths and resiliency of all human beings.  They engage in research-informed practice and are proactive in responding to the impact of context on professional practice.  The learning experiences should be as broad as possible.

Field Practicum I & II

A field practicum (SWK 435 & 445) is required of the social work major and entails a minimum of 400 hours across 2 semesters of the senior academic year.  Students are placed in a social work setting for a minimum of sixteen hours a week, which meets the requirements for earning five (5) credits per semester.   Field Seminars I & II (SWK 436 and 446) and practice courses (SWK 401 & 402) are co-requisites of field practicum.  

Field Seminar I & II

Field seminar (SWK 436 & 446) facilitates students’ understanding of the learning experience through critical reflection on field and course work.  Students earn one (1) credit hour per semester for field seminar.

Residential MSW Program—60 Credit Hour

Field Instruction occurs throughout the graduate social work curriculum and is concurrent with specific coursework (see table below). Field Instruction requires two separate internships, one at the foundation level and one at the concentration level, either Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) or Advanced Integrated Practice (AIP). 

The foundation level is a minimum of 400 hours (200 per semester) and typically occurs across two consecutive semesters in one academic year. The concentration level is a minimum of 500 hours (250 per semester) and typically occurs across two consecutive semesters in the second or third academic years. Students will intern in social work settings for a minimum of sixteen hours a week, which meets the requirements for earning three credits per semester. A field seminar is a requirement of SWK 671 Field Instruction I, SWK 672 Field Instruction II and SWK 771 Field Instruction III. The field seminar facilitates students’ understanding of the learning experience through critical reflection of field and course work. 

Residential Advanced Standing Program—36 Credit Hour 

Field Instruction for Advanced Standing students is concurrent with specific coursework (see table below). Advanced standing students are required to complete one internship at the concentration level, either Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) or Advanced Integrated Practice (AIP). This field placement is a minimum of 500 hours and typically occurs across two semesters in one academic year. Students are placed in social work settings for a minimum of sixteen hours a week, which meets the requirements for earning three credits per semester. 

Online MSW Program—60 Credit Hour

Field Instruction occurs throughout the graduate social work curriculum and is concurrent with specific coursework (see table below). Field Instruction in the traditional online MSW program begins with a 3-credit remote simulated virtual field experience (VFX) course which is followed by a three-semester progressive learning in-person on site agency based internship (3-credits per semester).  This progressive learning internship begins with students developing social work foundation level competencies and then progressing into the development of the concentration level competencies, either Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) or Advanced Integrated Practice (AIP). 

The SWK 671 VFX course allows for 200 hours of internship experience.  The 3-semester progressive learning internship results in a total of a minimum of an additional 700 hours of in-person agency-based field experience.  Students will intern in agency based social work settings for an average of 16-20 hrs. per week depending on how many weeks you engage in your internship. The break down is as follows:  First semester (foundation level) is no less than 200 hours.   Second semester (concentration level)  no less than 250 hours and the third semester (concentration level) is no less than 250.    Students are expected to physically attend their internship at the assigned agency based location.  Students are required to stay in the internship until the last week of their final semester at the internship.  This means that students can not "speed up" and bank hours to end their internship early.  The program model is predicated on a concurrent model of internship and practice class.  

The VFX requires students to engage in synchronous live classes for 4 hours per week (scheduled two hours twice a week) and asynchronous content.  Between the 4 hours per week live classes and the asynchronous content, students can expect to be spending a maximum of 13 hours per week on this course.

The SWK 672 Field Instruction II and SWK 771 Field Instruction III and SWK 772 Field Instruction IV courses also require students to attend every other week 1 ½ hour virtual field seminar.  The field seminar facilitates students’ understanding of the learning experience through critical reflection of field and course work. 

Online MSW Advanced Standing Program—36 Credit Hour 

Field Instruction for Advanced Standing students is concurrent with specific coursework (see table below). Advanced standing students are required to complete one internship at the concentration level, either Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) or Advanced Integrated Practice (AIP). This field placement is a minimum of 500 hours and occurs across two semesters in one academic year. Students are placed in social work settings for a minimum of 16-20 hours a week, which meets the requirements for earning three credits per semester.  Students are expected to physically attend their internship at the assigned agency based location. 

SWK 771 Field Instruction III and SWK 772 Field Instruction IV courses also require students to attend an every other week 1 ½ hour virtual field seminar.  The field seminar facilitates students’ understanding of the learning experience through critical reflection of field and course work. 

Residential BSSW Field Seminar

Purpose of  Field  Seminar:

• Facilitate students’ understanding of the learning experience through critical reflection on field and coursework. 

• Students’ engage in a structured environment in which to integrate theoretical material learned in the classroom with field experiences.  

• The structure and assignments facilitate the synthesis of theory, research, policy, and practice and encourage exploration of the profession’s ethics as they relate to beginning generalist practice. 

• Through the completion of assignments, class discussion, and the field practicum, the student develops an understanding of the social work profession, including values, ethics, social work roles, key theoretical and practice concepts, the use of self, the integration of personal and professional values, and advocacy.

Residential MSW and Advanced Standing Field Seminar

Attendance and participation in the in-classroom field seminar components SWK 671: Field Instruction I w/ seminar, SWK 672: Field Instruction II w/seminar and SWK 771: Field Instruction III w/seminar is required.  Students can count in person seminar class time toward their overall internship hours.  

Purpose of Field Seminar 

• Facilitate students’ understanding of the learning experience through critical reflection on field and coursework. 

• Students’ engage in a structured environment in which to integrate theoretical material learned in the classroom with field experiences.  

• The structure and assignments facilitate the synthesis of theory, research, policy, and practice and encourage exploration of the profession’s ethics as they relate to beginning generalist practice. 

• Through the completion of assignments, class discussion, and the field practicum, the student develops an understanding of the social work profession, including values, ethics, social work roles, key theoretical and practice concepts, the use of self, the integration of personal and professional values, and advocacy. 

Online Traditional MSW and Online Advanced Standing Field Seminar 

Attendance and participation in the field seminar components of SWK 672: Field Instruction II w/seminar and SWK 771: Field Instruction III w/seminar and SWK 772 Field Instruction IV w/seminar is required. Field seminar live sessions occur every other week,  with the schedule established by the field team.   Students can count field seminar synchronous and asynchronous time toward their internship hours.  This is broken down as 2 hours the week of live session (1.5 for live session and .5 for asynchronous work) and .5 hours the week of asynchronous work/no live session.  

Purpose of Field Seminar 

• Facilitate students’ understanding of the learning experience through critical reflection on field and coursework.

• Students engage in a structured environment (asynchronously and synchronously) in which to integrate theoretical material learned in the classroom with field experiences.  

• The structure and assignments facilitate the synthesis of theory, research, policy, and practice and encourage exploration of the profession’s ethics as they relate to beginning generalist practice. 

• Through the completion of assignments and class discussion, the student develops an understanding of the social work profession, including values, ethics, social work roles, key theoretical and practice concepts, the use of self, the integration of personal and professional values, and advocacy. 

Description of Foundation and Concentration Level Internships

*all internships are expected to be in person, on site in approved agency based settings.  Students are expected to physically attend their internship at the assigned location.

Foundation Level 

The foundation level internship emphasizes generalist social work practice at the micro, mezzo and macro levels. Students learn how to advance human rights and social, economic and environmental justice, using a range of engagement, assessment, intervention and evaluation methods in their practice with individuals, families, groups, organizations, and communities. Students will develop their identity as a social work professional, while applying ethical principles and critical thinking in practice. Students will also learn how to engage in policy and research informed practice, while developing an understanding of the importance and influence of diversity and difference in shaping a person’s life experiences. 

Concentration Level 

The concentration level internship, either advanced clinical practice (ACP) or advanced integrated practice (AIP), focuses on a deeper understanding of specific knowledge, values, skills, and cognitive and affective processes consistent with each concentration area. 

ACP students learn to practice as clinical social workers. Students engage with individuals, families and/or groups to learn clinical assessment, diagnosis, research informed interventions and evaluation skills. Students will learn how to incorporate clinical practices compatible with a client’s culture and values, in addition to identifying barriers to treatment due to prejudice, oppression, privilege and power. Students also develop an understanding of mental health related issues and policies that affect and inform clinical practice settings. 

AIP students learn to effectively navigate multiple levels of social work practice by engaging in varied professional roles and/or functions. Students develop advanced skills in engagement, assessment, research-informed interventions and evaluation at the direct and/or indirect practice level, by working on with multi-disciplinary teams in community-based settings. Students learn to incorporate social work practices compatible with client, organizational and/or community cultures and values, as well as, developing advocacy strategies that address and alleviate causes of oppression. Students also learn how to modify existing policy or develop new policy at the agency, local, state, or federal levels, in order to positively affect social work practice and delivery systems. 

Both concentrations ensure that graduates will have a curriculum that meets the New York State L.M.S.W. and L.C.S.W. course requirements. 

Progressive Learning - Online MSW-60 Credit Program (Foundation to Concentration)

The progressive learning internship format is a distinctive feature of our MSW Online program.  Students in the MSW Online program will complete their 700 hours of internship at one human service agency: beginning at the foundation level and transitioning into a concentration level experience either in advanced clinical practice (ACP) or advanced integrated practice (AIP).  The breakdown of hours in both levels of internship is fluid and dependent on the student’s progression in the internship, as well as the field instructor’s assessment of student’s readiness to transition into a more focused and skilled level of social work.  Students in progressive learning should spend roughly 200 foundation hours engaging in generalist social work practice at the micro, mezzo and macro levels, while the concentration internship should consist of roughly 500 hours.  The goal is for students to develop a deep understanding of the knowledge, values, skills and cognitive and affective processing within the context of social work field education with little to no placement disruptions. 

Requirements for Entering Foundation and Concentration Level Field Instruction 

BSSW Level

Students in the BSSW program are eligible to register for SWK 435-436: Field Practicum I/Field Seminar I, when the following conditions are met:

1. The student has been admitted to the School of Social Work as a candidate for the BSSW.

2. The student has passed all completed prerequisite social work practice courses (SWK 201: Social Work Skills Lab I, SWK 202: Social Work Skills Lab II, SWK 301: Foundations of Social Work Practice and SWK 328: Human Diversity).

3. The student is within 45 credit hours of completing the BSSW degree (having completed 75 credits)

4. Part-time students must have senior status and will complete the degree program within two semesters of completing the field experience.

5. The student has a 2.5 GPA in the required Social Work courses.

6. The student has electronically submitted a current resume and the on line BSSW "Application for Field Instruction Placement" that is available on the School of Social Work website under field instruction.

7. The student is not on academic probation (a social work student will not be permitted to register either for SWK 435-436 or SWK 445-446 while on academic probation).

Exceptions to this pattern require prior approval by the Director of Field Instruction and the Director of the Undergraduate Program.

Residential MSW-60 credit Foundation Level 

Full-time residential MSW program students are automatically eligible to begin field placement planning upon acceptance and matriculation into the MSW program. Readiness for field placement will be assessed during the placement planning process. 

Students entering the part-time MSW program will be eligible for field placement after they complete the first year of classes (or a minimum of 12 credit hours). Readiness for field placement will be assessed during the placement planning process. Academic probation status will be taken into consideration during this assessment. 

Residential MSW-60 credit program and Advanced Standing Concentration Level 

Full-time and Part-time Advanced Standing students are automatically eligible to begin field placement planning upon acceptance and matriculation into the MSW program. Readiness and timeline for field placement will be assessed during the placement planning process.

Full-time and part-time MSW 60 credit students entering concentration level field placement must have passed field instruction I & II and the co-requisites of SWK 601 and SWK 602. Readiness and timeline for concentration level field placement is also assessed at the time of concentration level placement planning. 

Online MSW 60-credit and Advanced Standing

All MSW online students are automatically eligible to begin field placement planning upon acceptance and matriculation into the MSW program. Readiness for field placement will be assessed during the placement planning process. Academic probation status will be taken into consideration during this assessment. 

Selection of Field Instruction Settings 

The School of Social Work has long standing relationships with many excellent human service agencies in the Central New York area and around the United States and continually  in new relationships with agencies across the country.  These settings offer a broad array of practice modalities and serve a variety of populations. In addition, the O.F.I. is continuously recruiting new field instruction settings. Below are the policies, criteria and procedures for selecting field settings.  We do not provide internships to students who are located outside of the United States.  

Policy:

Vetting of Field Instruction settings (also referred to as agencies) occurs at the Office of Field Instruction (O.F.I.) level while official University/Agency contracting occurs at the Falk College level. The O.F.I. is responsible for recruitment and assessment of new field settings, along with referral to Falk College for initiation of a contract. A field instruction site is not an approved setting until the Syracuse University-Agency agreement has been fully executed. Students cannot enter the internship site until a fully executed agreement is on file. 

Procedure:

The O.F.I. (one of the Field Office team) completes an assessment utilizing the below criteria to determine appropriateness of the setting for social work internships. For residential agencies, the field team member will provide information about the field setting to the Director of Field Education to discuss and determine appropriateness.  For online agencies outside of CNY,  the placement specialist will provide information about the field setting to the Assistant Director of MSW Online Field Education. After appropriateness of setting has been determined, the O.F.I. or the online management company associated with online placement planning is responsible for completing  initiating paperwork that is submitted to the Falk College Contracts to begin the contracting process. The contracting process can take an average of 3 months and is managed by the Falk College administrative team in partnership with SU Risk Management/Legal department. 

Criteria: 

Broadly speaking, the School looks for evidence of commitment to social work principles and values, this is done first by reviewing the mission, values and goals of the organization to ensure alignment with social work principles and values. The field office meets with the organization's leadership to discuss the obligations and requirements for the agency to become an internship partner agency. During this meeting, the field office assesses the agency's capacity to foster a climate conducive to student learning. In addition, new agencies complete the internship description form (residential) or the agency qualifications form (online). This form provides information about the kinds of internship tasks the student can engage in at the setting, who the proposed field instructor(s) are, and other demographic information which allows the O.F.I. to vet the agency appropriately.

All agency partners must be able to meet the obligations outlined in the Syracuse University Falk College Agency Agreement. Following is a list of more specific criteria for agency selection. Many of these same criteria are outlined in the Syracuse University Falk College Agency Agreement. 

• The agency must be located within the United States.

• The agency must be able to provide in person on site learning experiences that allow the student to practice and integrate the nine social work competencies. In the foundation year, the agency must have the capacity to engage the student in generalist practice. In the concentration year the agency must be able to provide students with the specific learning opportunities associated with the students concentration; 

• The agency must allow the students across all program options in its field education program demonstrate social work competencies through in-person contact with clients and constituencies; 

• The agency has evidenced that they seek to develop staff and improve programs through training, supervision and connection to the work of experts in their relevant fields; 

• The agency must have available qualified BSSW and/or MSW Field Instructors and can provide them the support necessary to function as field instructors, plan the student’s program, prepare for and hold supervisory conferences, attend field instruction orientations and trainings, and generally supervise the student’s progress. The agency is given the list of Field Instructor Responsibilities. 

• The agency has policies and procedures for the workplace, and for governing ethical practice

• The agency acknowledges the student as a learner whose assignment must be geared to learning needs rather than the scheduling demands and workload of the agency. Student assignments must be flexible enough to maximize learning, providing opportunities for foundation and/or concentration learning experiences. 

• The agency must allow the student access to case records and other appropriate material, and recognizes that the student may present de-identified client information for classroom discussions and assignments. 

• The agency allows the student to take part in staff meetings, in-service staff training, interagency conferences and such other educational opportunities as might arise. 

• The agency can provide adequate physical space for meeting with clients, report writing, as well as access to technology necessary for recordkeeping

A private practice group may become an approved site if the site can meet the above criteria.  If the for profit  private practice group is billing as a result of the work being done by the student,  the agency will provide an appropriately paid internship.  

Selection of Field Instructors 

Policy

The field education program requires that the Field Instructor of a BSSW intern:

• possess Bachelor of Science in Social Work (BSSW) or a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) degree from an accredited school of social work;

• have two years post-BSSW/MSW experience in an agency/institutional setting;

•  be licensed within the scope of practice as defined by the New York State licensure statute;

• have an expressed interest in and willingness to accept the field instructor’s role and responsibilities within the School’s field education framework. This includes a capacity to share professional knowledge and experience, facilitate development of student competencies and practice behaviors.

The Field education program requires that the Field Instructor of a graduate intern: 

• possess a Master’s in Social Work (MSW) degree from an accredited school of social work; 

• have two years post-MSW experience in an agency/institutional setting; 

• be licensed as required by the jurisdiction they are practicing in,  and consistent with the scope of practice they are engaged in; 

• be a licensed clinical social worker for advanced clinical practice internships; and 

• have an expressed interest in and willingness to accept the field instructor’s role and responsibilities within the Program’s field education framework. This includes a capacity to share professional knowledge and experience, facilitate development of student competencies and practice behaviors, review and approve timesheets, and complete internship evaluations. . 

Residential BSSW and MSW Program Procedure

Potential field instructor’s are often identified first by the field setting and referred to the O.F.I. for review and approval. The potential field instructor is sent an e-mail asking them to complete a field instructor application and provide a resume. Attached to the e-mail are several items to inform the field instructor of the responsibilities of being a field instructor, includes the MSW Field Manual, F.A.Q.’s for Field Instructors, and Placement Typology (see Appendix VI). The field application asks the potential field instructor their practice educational background, professional background, their active professional licenses and/or certifications they hold, any past field instruction experience and the reason for wanting to become a field instructor. In addition, the O.F.I. asks about any past disciplinary actions. Lastly, the O.F.I. asks the field instructor to agree to the below. Upon receipt of the field instructor application and resume, the O.F.I. team reviews the applications and determines if the potential field instructor meets the requirements. The Office Coordinator verifies there license via New York State Office of Professions website. 

Online MSW Traditional and Online Advanced Standing 

Potential field instructors are often identified first by the field setting and referred to the O.F.I. for review and approval.  The potential field instructor is sent an email asking them to provide a resume and licensure information, if applicable.  The potential field instructor will also be provided with information about the responsibilities of being a field instructor, including the MSW Field Manual and list below.

• Value the educational process for social work students 

• Ensure that the student is adequately oriented to the agency/program and work being done, this should include opportunities for the student to observe social work interactions with clients and then be observed when first interacting with clients.  

• Document supervision sessions, including subject matter, feedback and remedial recommendations discussed 

• Provide constructive and effective feedback on an ongoing basis, and as much as possible, base this feedback from direct observation of student in the workplace, during staff/group meetings, during client sessions, and supervision.

• Complete a Professional Development Plan in cooperation with the student 

• Expose students to diversity and offer an array of opportunities to enhance the educational experience 

• Assist students in developing practice skills that are grounded in a bio/psycho/social/spiritual/cultural/environmental context 

• Differentiate with students between student learning and employee expectations 

• Assist students in gaining a strengths-based perspective in practice 

• Provide students with a minimum of one hour of supervision per week throughout the internship,  with the understanding that there will need to be more frequent consultation, supervision and direct observations of student work during the orientation period. 

• Address performance issues with the student and field liaison if needed. 

• Participate in the student/program evaluation process and complete a formal evaluation at the end of each semester. 

• Attend Field Instructor Orientation, F.I. workshops, field visits and review information provided by the Field Office. 

• Adhere to the NASW Code of Ethics and professional values 

Task Supervisors/ Non-BSSW/Non-MSW Field Instructors 

Task Supervisors

In select instances where valuable learning experiences exist in a setting, a human service professional engaged in social work functions may serve as a task supervisor. Selections are made on an individual basis dependent upon the agency’s learning opportunities and the task supervisor’s ability and capacity to provide experiential learning. In instances where a task supervisor is designated to provide the primary day-to-day oversight, the agency is required to also designate someone to provide the required BSSW/MSW supervision, on a weekly basis. with a BSSW/ MSW.

Non-BSSW/MSW Supervisors

Individuals that do not fully meet the criteria set forth by the CSWE are not permitted to be field instructors. In cases where students have a task supervisor, each student also meets weekly with a fully qualified social work field supervisor at the community agency who reinforces the social work perspective.

The field program has grandfathered some non-MSW field instructors who were approved prior to the above policy implementation.  In these cases, when a student is placed with one of the grandfathered Non-MSW field instructors, the field liaison reinforces the social work perspective through additional conversations with both the student and field instructor, along with a purposeful focus in seminar and in field visits.

MSW Student as Task Supervisor 

In some cases, an MSW student who is also a staff person at an internship site may serve as a task supervisor to a Syracuse University BSSW social work intern. To ensure adequate supervision is provided to the intern, and to mitigate the potential for dual relationships or other risk issues, the procedure below is followed: 

• Only MSW students who are in the concentration portion of the program and are staff members at the field site may provide task supervision 

• The designated concentration level MSW student/staff member may provide task supervision to BSSW interns only. 

• The Office of Field Instruction (O.F.I.) will be responsible for reviewing and approving any such requests prior to the start of the internship 

• The O.F.I. will ensure that the BSSW intern is fully informed and will document the intern’s consent. The intern will agree to communicate timely with the assigned field liaison should any concerns or issues arise that could impact the intern’s learning. 

• In such a case, the O.F.I. will inform the agency-based field instructor and a decision will be made to assign the student to a different task supervisor or to relocate the student to a new field placement agency. 

Placement Planning

All social work internships are expected to be in person and on site at an approved agency. The School of Social Work engages in an individualized placement planning process with each residential and online student.  Students are required to complete specific field related documentation (dependent on which program they are in), submit a current resume and participate in a field placement planning related meetings with an assigned Internship Placement Coordinator (also know as Placement Specialists in the online program). The residential and online placement planning protocol and procedure are outlined below. 

Please Note: All correspondence from the field office will be via syr.edu e-mail, per University policy. 

Residential Placement Planning Protocol

• The School of Social Work uses a cooperative placement planning process to match a student with an appropriate field placement.

• Students may not contact potential field placement agencies without the approval of their Internship Placement Coordinator. 

• The Internship Placement Coordinator will make every effort to place a student in his/her population, setting and area of interest in Social Work. 

• Field placement sites are sometimes available within a student’s home community. However, some students may need to commute in order to have access to specific types of experiences (see search radius policy). 

• Field placement sites offering night and weekend hours are extremely limited. Your Internship Placement Coordinator will make every effort to accommodate your scheduling needs, however the O.F.I. cannot guarantee specific placement hours or an internship that can accommodate your work or personal schedules. (see Student Planning of Internship Hours policy)

• The field placement is not officially confirmed until formal notification has been sent from the field office to the student and agency. 

• Students considering a placement with their employer should refer to the Employment-based Placement Policy. 

•  

  • Note: It is the student’s responsibility to have a preliminary discussion with their employer to ascertain their willingness to work with the school and the student to create an employment-based placement opportunity before the student meets with their Internship Placement Coordinator. 

• Any student who has not been able to secure an approved placement by the end of the add/drop date will be required to drop field and all other required co-requisite courses. Placement planning will then be postponed to the following fall semester. (see Student Unsuccessful in Securing an Internship policy)

• Students who have not met with a placement planner before August 1st are not guaranteed that they will be allowed to enter the placement planning process. The O.F.I. will assess the feasibility of securing a placement and determine if it is possible to move forward. 

• The O.F.I. has the authority to stop the placement planning process at any point if the student is behaving unprofessionally or if they are unable to follow the placement planning protocol. 

• Any changes in the placement planning process should be communicated immediately. This includes communication from the O.F.I. to the student (i.e. program closure, loss of Field Instructor at the location, or change in address), or from the student to the O.F.I. (i.e. student’s placement interests change, student moves, or takes a leave of absence). 

Residential Placement Planning Procedure 

Residential BSSW, Residential MSW Newly Matriculated Full-Time, Part-Time Students Entering Field for the First Time, and All Advanced Standing Students: 

• Students will be contacted via e-mail by the O.F.I’s office manager to begin the placement planning process 

• Students are directed to complete the online field application and upload a recent resume in the Tevera Field Education Software

• If the student does not complete the field application and resume in a timely manner (2 weeks), the O.F.I. will send a reminder e-mail. If we still do not hear from the student after 2 weeks the O.F.I. will call the student. If we are unable to connect with the student after this, the O.F.I. will send an e-mail notifying the student that they will be taken off the list for placement planning and the O.F.I. will no longer attempt contact. 

• The Director of Field Instruction will assign the stude