Field Placement Roles and Responsibilities

Field experience is an activity in which the HBHE student, the agency, and the faculty have a shared interest and responsibility. It has become evident over the years that all involved are more confident and comfortable with field experience if they share an understanding of the expectations and responsibilities entailed. This statement is an attempt to provide a basis for such understanding.

Responsibility of the Student
The primary purpose of the field experience is to help the student learn how to apply theory and principles to the realities of work situations and to develop skills essential to these tasks. The field experience is obtained either through a block placement for two to four months full time, or the hourly equivalent thereof carried out concurrently with course work. Students will join agencies as staff members and are expected to adhere to policies, procedures, and working hours that apply to professional and administrative staff members of the agency.

In addition, certain responsibilities expected of the student include the following:
1. Learning objectives for the experience shall be written and approved by both agency personnel and faculty before the student begins counting hours of service.
2. Learning as much as possible about the agency, its programs, and the community before going to the agency as well as while working at the agency.
3. Seeking the advice and assistance of the agency supervisor/preceptor when uncertain about assigned or selected tasks.
4. Conferring regularly with the agency supervisor/preceptor regarding process.
5. Performing tasks assigned or selected as efficiently and effectively as possible, and contributing to the programs and activities of the agency.
6. Adapting to any pattern of written reports used by the agency. This pattern should be discussed by the student and field supervisor during the first week of the field experience and the student's responsibility for reports agreed upon.
7. Participating in the evaluation of the field experience with the preceptor and faculty advisor. (See below, IV: Evaluation of Field Experience.)
Responsibility of the Agency Preceptor
Major responsibilities usually assumed by agency preceptors with respect to the field experience include:
1. Assisting in the development of, and providing approval of learning objectives to be achieved during the field experience.
2. Planning with the student the specific activities which he/she may participate in and be responsible for, and helping him/her to see additional opportunities for learning.
3. Orienting the student to the agency and the community, and providing direct guidance and supervision of the student while at the agency.
4. Orienting the agency staff to the field experience program, and assisting the agency staff in becoming acquainted with the student as quickly as possible.
5. Conferring periodically with the student regarding progress, and providing feedback to him/her to improve competencies.
6. Preparing an evaluation of student performance at the end of the field experience and possibly reviewing it with the student before their departure. (See below, IV: Evaluation of Field Experience.)
Responsibility of the HBHE Faculty
Faculty advisors normally assume several responsibilities for field experience for their advisees. These include:
1. Assisting in the exploration of learning needs and desired competencies which might be met through a field experience.
2. Assisting in development of, and providing approval of, a statement of learning objectives to be achieved during the field experience.
3. Assisting, either directly or in cooperation with other faculty members in the Department, in: a) locating agencies or programs with potential for a field experience appropriate to the student's learning needs and objectives; and, b) making initial contacts with these agencies or programs which students wish to explore.
4. Confirming arrangements with the field agency or program by letter to the person who is to provide supervision for the student field experience. Copies of this statement, Field Experience: Roles and Responsibilities, the student's learning objectives, and the Student Intern Evaluation form will be enclosed with this letter of confirmation.
5. Examining the field supervisor's evaluation of student performance.
6. Meeting with advisees during the first month following the completion of the internship, examining their written final report of the field experience, and assessing this in terms of the HBHE Department requirements and the student's learning objectives.
7. Certifying to the successful completion of field experience and a related requirements in order for students to obtain a reduction in credit hours required.
Evaluation of Field Experience
Written reports, poster presentations, and student/advisor meetings provide an essential basis for evaluation of field experiences and serve as a mechanism for feedback to agency preceptors and faculty about the experience.

Agency preceptors submit to the faculty advisor at the end of the internship a completed Student Intern Evaluation form. Supervisors are expected to meet with the student to discuss this evaluation.

Students are required to submit a final report to their faculty advisor analyzing their field placement experience. Topics covered include, but are not limited to, an overview of the agency; a brief description of projects/activities engaged in, problems encountered, and progress achieved; an integration of theory and practice; and an evaluation of the experience in terms of learning and career goals.

Students and faculty advisors meet to discuss and analyze the agency preceptors' evaluation of their performance, the student's final reports, and the overall field placement experience.

Students will participate in a mandatory Poster Session held for all first-and-second-year students early in the fall semester. Students will present a brief synopsis of their internship.

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