Practicum Education Review

Overview: Following the process below, the school provides a minimum of 2 opportunities for students to match with an agency. Students are not permitted to find their own agency matches nor to reach out directly to agencies to negotiate a practicum. Similarly, agencies cannot request a specific student. Students can recommend that a specific agency be considered as a placement, but the School is not obligated to place the student at that agency.

If a student does not match after the two attempts, either because the agency or the student declined, the School will determine whether further attempts to match are appropriate. Students may be asked to delay their practicum for one year and may also be referred for Administrative Review to determine the path forward, including what barriers or obstacles must be addressed before another placement can be attempted.

1. Step 1: Complete the Placement Planning Form and create and update a résumé. Submit both within one week of accepting admission.
2. Step 2: Attend group meetings with an Assistant Director to review the placement process.
3. Step 3: One agency is chosen for the student to submit a résumé to. The student is contacted by the agency for an interview.
4. Step 4: After the interview, the agency will inform either the student, the school, or both of the decision to accept or deny. If the student has concerns about the agency, they must talk with their assigned Assistant Director before rejecting an offer.
5. Step 5: Students who do not match the first time will be offered another agency to match with and will repeat steps 3 and 4. If a student does not match with either one, either because the agency or student declined, the student may be asked to delay their practicum for one year and may also be referred for Administrative Review to determine the path forward, including what barriers or obstacles must be addressed before another placement can be attempted.

Overview: Following the process below, the school identifies 2 opportunities for students to match with an agency. While a student may indicate an agency they are interested in, the student cannot reach out directly to agencies to negotiate a practicum. The agency will only be considered if it already has an Affiliation Agreement with the School or if one can be created in a timely fashion. If a student does not match with either of the chosen agencies, either because the agency or student declined, the student may be referred for Administrative Review to determine the path forward, including what barriers or obstacles must be addressed before another placement can be attempted.

1. Step 1: In January of their first year, students complete the Placement Planning Form and create and update a résumé.
2. Step 2: Students meet individually with an Assistant Director of the Practicum Department who, based on the students’ interests and advanced Social Work practice method (i.e., Clinical, Community Organizing, or Organizational Management and Leadership), then sends the students one agency for consideration.
3. Step 3: One agency is chosen for the student to submit a résumé to. The student is contacted by the agency identified by the Practicum Department for an interview.
4. Step 4: After the interview, the agency will inform either the student, the school, or both of the decision to accept or deny. If the student has concerns about the agency, they must talk with their assigned Assistant Director before rejecting an offer.
5. Step 5: Students who do not match the first time will be offered another agency to match with and will repeat steps 3 and 4. If a student does not match with either agency, either because the agency or student declined, the student may be asked to delay practicum for one year and may also be referred for Administrative Review to determine the path forward, including what barriers or obstacles must be addressed before another placement can be attempted.

Students in the OYR program are permitted to use their current social service employer to fulfill the practicum requirements. (Link to description/requirements of the OYR program). Students complete 900 hours total over 1 academic year (2 semesters); that is 14 hours a week of new learning, and 14 hours a week of employment hours. New learning must be spent on work other than the student’s usual job tasks and under a different supervisor. (OYR Program Requirements)

Changes in Employment
When students change employment, they cannot remain in internship at their previous employment. In order to use their new employment to fulfill practicum requirements, a new practicum placement packet must be approved. An employee with an Master of Social Work degree must be available to provide supervision. Students will not accumulate any practicum hours until the new employment is approved. Consequently, students’ progress in the program may be delayed.

OYR students who want to continue in the OYR program without an employment-based internship can choose to engage in a non-employment-based internship for 28 hours per week, for total of 900 hours. Practicum Department will assist the student in obtaining a new internship (students do not find their own placements) but students are not guaranteed a placement. Consequently, students’ progress in the program may be delayed.
Students who leave their employment mid internship, either voluntarily or involuntarily, and do not choose the above options, must withdraw from the practicum. Students must contact Student Services for a re-grid of registration, and to withdraw to avoid a grade of No Credit in the practicum.

Agencies are not required but are requested to provide reasonable accommodations for a student with a disability. However, it is within the agency’s authority, not the School’s, to determine what accommodations, if any, they will provide under this standard. Consequently, placement of the student may be delayed while the School seeks to secure an accessible placement, which may also delay the student’s progress through the program.

For further information please review the Accessibility page for information.

Overview: Practicum activities will vary based on the agency’s mission, client needs, and services offered, but basic expectations include direct contact with individuals, families, groups, or communities; individual or group supervision; and participation in staff meetings, case conferences, and service trainings or seminars.

At the agency, students are assigned a Practicum Instructor who must have a Master of Social Work degree and be certified by the School. The Practicum Instructor oversees the student’s learning and activities and is expected to meet individually with the student for a minimum of one hour (and preferably one and a half hours) for direct supervision per week. Students may also be assigned a task supervisor for carrying out certain administrative tasks or specific assignments. The task supervisor must be onsite, and while not required to be a social worker, must work in a related discipline and hold a professional degree.

At the School, students are assigned a Practicum Advisor, typically a part-time instructor, who meets with students in practicum seminar groups once a month and individually once a semester, conducts site visits, and generally acts as a liaison between the practicum site and the School, including troubleshooting when needed. Practicum seminar courses are mandatory. Failure to attend may result in a grade of No Credit.

Attendance: Students observe the agency hours and calendar. Holidays observed by the agency but not the School are not counted as practicum hours. Lunch hours and commuting time are also not counted as practicum hours.

Students must inform the agency of any absences or lateness. If absences for illness, religious observance, or personal emergencies exceed three days per semester; students must make up those hours during the semester. Students should not plan to take vacation time or have extended absences at any time during the semester.

Students may request release time from the agency for participating in School committees, which are generally held once a month.

Administrative Practicum Changes
Students are expected to remain in their practicum for the full academic year. However, in certain situations, a student, the practicum instructor, or the advisor may request a change in practicum if it no longer serves the educational needs of the student. Examples include the following:

• The Practicum Instructor is leaving the agency, and an appropriate replacement is not available.
• The original educational plan is no longer feasible (e.g., the student has insufficient practice assignments).
• The Practicum Instructor is unable to provide appropriate supervision.

A change of placement under these circumstances can be made only after attempts to remedy the problem have failed and after consultation with the Practicum Advisor, Assistant Director, and Director of Practicum Education. A new practicum placement will be identified as soon as possible, but the change is not guaranteed in same semester and may require the student to extend the time spent in practicum. It may also extend the time until graduation and possibly increase the amount of tuition.

Performance Evaluations and Grading
Students are expected to consistently demonstrate Social Work Core Competencies and Practice Behaviors in their chosen method as they move through the program. Students are also expected to comply with the Social Work Code of Ethics and to display professional comportment at all times.

Students’ current and future assignments and learning goals and objectives at their practicum are contained in an Education Plan, which is completed by the student’s Practicum Instructor by the fifth week of the semester and is reviewed with the student. Assignments and learning goals and objectives, especially in the advanced year, will vary based on the student’s method and concentration. All Practice Methods require Process Recordings, in which students provide detailed and reflective written accounts of their professional interactions and interventions.

Midway through the semester, the Practicum Instructor will meet with the student for an evaluation of the student’s progress, their learning relationship with the Practicum Instructor, and a plan for improvement if necessary. If there are serious concerns about performance, including a failure to meet basic competencies, the School (in conjunction with the agency) will implement a written Performance Improvement and Practicum Plan (PIP). (see section below).

At the end of each semester, the Practicum Instructor, with the student’s participation, completes a comprehensive evaluation of the student. While completing it, the Practicum Instructor is expected to engage in dialogue with the student; the student also completes a self-evaluation section.

The Practicum Advisor then reviews the evaluation and uses it, along with several other factors, to determine the student’s grade. The Practicum Instructor may recommend a grade to the Practicum Advisor, but it is the Practicum Advisor who assigns the final grade.

To receive a passing grade, students must demonstrate the necessary competencies, complete the required number of hours, and participate in the Practicum Seminar. Grades are either Credit or No Credit. Practicum Advisors can give the grade of Honors for work determined to be above the grade of A and demonstrating consistently extraordinary achievement. Students may request a letter grade but must do so before the end of the second week of class.

Incomplete and No Credit Grades
At the discretion of the Practicum Advisor, a grade of Incomplete can be assigned, but only if at least 50% of all required work (as measured by the number of hours and practicum assignments completed) has been completed and there is a written plan describing the work and/or attendance requirements that must be completed, including a date for completion. (Click here for the Incomplete Contract form) Any practicum hours completed will not be counted towards graduation requirements until and unless all required work is completed. An Incomplete that is not completed before the next semester will prevent the student from taking certain courses, extending the time until graduation and possibly increasing the amount of tuition.

A No Credit will require the student to retake the practicum, extending the time until graduation and increasing the amount of tuition. Students who receive a grade of No Credit, including those students who are asked to leave their placement before the end of the semester, cannot transfer or count any practicum hours they may have completed toward graduation requirements.

Students who resign from or are asked to leave two practicums during their passage through the program—or who fail any two distinct sections of the practicum—may be dismissed from the program through the Administrative Review Committee process.

Students can appeal a practicum grade (see section on Grade Appeals).

Performance Improvement Plan (PIP)
A formal written agreement between the student, the agency (if the agency agrees), and the School, the PIP describes areas of concern and includes a plan for improving performance. The Practicum Instructor, Advisor, and student meet periodically during the duration of the PIP to assess progress.

If the student does not meet the PIP requirements within the specified time, they may be removed from the practicum. With or without a PIP, students may also be removed if their performance is unsatisfactory (including an inability to meet core or advanced social work competencies) and/or if there are any other behaviors or actions that the agency has determined are incompatible with professional expectations and comportment. A Practicum Consultation meeting will then be arranged with the student and two Assistant Directors of Practicum Education to determine whether the student will be assigned another practicum placement or will be referred for Administrative Review. (See section on Administrative Review).

If it is decided that a new practicum placement is warranted, one will be identified as soon as possible. However, in order to comply with concurrency requirements, replacement may not occur until the following academic year, and the student may be required to repeat the required concurrent Methods course.