B.S.W. Program

Field Education

As a part of the professional social work curriculum, social work majors are required to complete a ten semester-hour course in field education. This course is taken during the fall semester of the senior year. Appropriate course prerequisites are expected to have been met, including SW 100, 200, 351, 401, 410, 411, 440, 441 and 442, with a grade of “C” or better. Admission to field education also requires an overall GPA of 2.25 and a GPA of 2.5 in social work courses and a “satisfactory” on the Social Work writing exam (see p.15). Students on probation and/or those with a grade of “I” in any social work course may not be admitted to field education.

The School of Social Work uses a variety of agencies for field education. Placements are made based on the student’s areas of interest and learning needs as deemed educationally sound by the school. The field practicum requires approximately 450 clock hours during the semester with the student in the agency four days each week and enrolled in a field related seminar (SW 443) and a research class (SW 420) that meet once a week. Students are responsible for their own transportation to their agency.

SW 490 is graded on a pass/fail basis. The grade is determined by the faculty member who serves as field liaison, in consultation with the agency field instructor. The specific expectations of the field education course are defined by the agency, the SW 490 course syllabus, and the evaluative criteria for SW 490.

Policies and Procedures for Assigning Students to Field Education Sites

The field practicum is an educational experience. Consequently, the placement of students is based upon the educational needs of the student. The school will consider personal factors related to the location of placements, but the primary concern is the placement of the student in a setting judged to have the best potential for promoting the student’s professional development.

The Field Education Coordinator develops a calendar indicating the hours and days in the agency that will fulfill the course requirements. Sick leave and annual leave are not scheduled into the calendar. The student must arrange to make up any lost hours should illness or an emergency occur during the placement period. Any departure from the calendar that affects the dates of the mid-term and final evaluations, or that involves consistent departure from the normal hours, requires approval from the field education coordinator. Students who depart from the normal calendar are required to submit a personal calendar before the beginning of the field placement to the Field Education Coordinator.  Credit for hours in field education will not be granted without an approved calendar.

1. Faculty advisors and the Field Education Coordinator will meet as a placement committee to assign each student to an appropriate agency. 
2. The Field Education Coordinator will send a letter to the agency with the field information form attached and will write the student instructing him/her to contact the agency for an interview appointment.  At the interview, both the student and agency instructor are encouraged to explore the placement fully before committing to the placement.
3. If the agency and the student both accept the placement, they sign and return the field agency acceptance form to the Field Education Coordinator.  If either (student or field instructor) objects to the placement, the Field Education Coordinator is notified by either the student or field instructor.  The Field Education Coordinator will go to the second committee recommendation, and the notification process proceeds as with the first recommendation.
4. A student dissatisfied with the placement decision may request a review of the decision by the Field Education Coordinator.  A student may not refuse two placement opportunities except under extreme circumstances agreed upon by both the Field Education Coordinator and the program chair.
5. The field education office will give a list of confirmed assignments to the students’ advisor, the program chair, the associate dean, and the dean, and post the list on the field education bulletin board.
6. Prior to the start of the placement, the field coordinator will provide the field manual, C.S.W.E. curriculum policy statement, syllabus, and evaluation forms to the field instructor, liaison, and student.
7. Any changes in any student’s placement that are made after the program committee approves the placements must be approved by the Field Education Coordinator.

Handling Learning Difficulties in Field Education Placement

At the earliest indication of dissatisfaction in the field practicum, the field instructor and student are to discuss the matter. The dissatisfaction may come from only the student, only the instructor, or both. If the dissatisfaction is not resolved in a timely fashion, the field liaison is consulted. If the liaison’s involvement still does not resolve the difficulties, the Field Education Coordinator is contacted. The Field Education Coordinator confers with all involved thus far (student, instructor, liaison) and, if needed, the student’s advisor. Following these discussions, a decision is made by the Field Education Coordinator focused on resolving the difficulty. A memo clarifying the decision is sent to all involved and other appropriate officials (i.e., program chair).

The student may use the voluntary (or student initiated) student review process, if the student would like a review of his/her academic situation at this point. The student may also elect to use the grievance process in the event the decision results in a failing grade.

Any others who have been involved in the process and who remain dissatisfied with the final resolution may confer with the dean to express any continued grievance.

Policy and Procedures for Field Education in the Student’s Employing Agency

Policy

Any B.S.W. student may request consideration be given to fulfilling the field education requirement in the student’s own job setting. Plans for this option are to be consistent with School of Social Work policies and with the Council on Social Work Education (C.S.W.E.) accreditation standards.

Acceptable reasons for requesting this option are:

1. The student cannot continue employment at that agency while in field placement at another agency and cannot meet basic financial obligations that semester without the income from that employment.
2. The student cannot obtain a leave from the agency for one semester and the loss of the position with the agency would result in an exceptional burden.

Procedures

The student initiates the request for a placement in his/her employing agency with the Field Education Coordinator. The student is also responsible for initiating the request within the employing agency. The student officially makes the request by submitting a completed form obtained from the Field Education Office.

The Field Education Coordinator considers the request using the following guidelines:

1. The field instructor cannot be the agency supervisor normally assigned to the applicant in his/her job.
2. The assignments must meet the requirements of the course syllabus and cannot be the student’s ordinary job responsibilities.
3. The released time for course work and field instruction must be clearly structured and defined.
4. The placement must be educationally focused, must meet the requirements of the School and C.S.W.E. standards, and can in no way diminish the educational quality of the field learning.

Extended Field Education Placements

A student in the B.S.W. program may request an extended period of time to complete field education requirements. The placement must be consistent with the standards of C.S.W.E., the School of Social Work, and The University of Alabama.

Extended field placements require the same total number of clock hours as any regular placement. A minimum of 16 hours per week in the field placement is required with at least 50 percent occurring during the normal working hours of most social service agencies (8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday).

Students may extend placement beyond the last day of class; however, students may not begin the placement before the first day of class of the semester of enrollment in field education.

Procedures

Students desiring an extended period of time to complete the field placement have to show reasonable cause for this departure. The request may be made directly to the Field Education Coordinator or the student may discuss the request with his/her faculty advisor, who in turn may make a recommendation to the Field Education Coordinator on behalf of the student.

If an extended placement is granted, the student must follow the same procedures of all other students going into field. In addition, the student in extended placement must submit a personal calendar of the hours and days in field placement. The calendar must be submitted and approved by the Field Education Coordinator before the beginning of the placement. No student will be granted clock hours in field education without prior approval of the calendar by the Field Education Coordinator.