Areas of Responsibility

To facilitate the working relationships between social agencies providing field instruction and the college, the respective areas of responsibility have been worked out in the following way:

A. Dana College Field Director
The faculty field coordinator is a full-time Dana College faculty member who is responsible for the following:

1. Making initial contacts with agencies and working out plans for field instruction possibilities.
2. Providing field agencies with information regarding the college social work program, including expectations for field instruction.
3. Working with the student to select the type of agency which would provide the student with appropriate learning opportunities.
4. Facilitating an appropriate match between agency and student.
5. Providing consultation regarding the field instruction process and integration of classroom and field learning.
6. Meeting with the student and field instructor or coordinating other faculty liaison at least twice during the semester to facilitate the field instruction process.
7. Visiting or teaching the concurrent seminar course, SWK 445 Integrative Seminar (concurrent with SWK 440 Practicum I) or SWK 490 Field Seminar (concurrent with SWK 441 Practicum II), which meets once each week.
8. Assigning the student's final grade after consultation with both student and field instructor.

B. The Agency
The field agency is responsible for the following:

1. Making the decision to accept or not accept the student for field instruction.
2. Providing a qualified MSW or BSW field instructor who is given adequate time to work with the student.
3. Providing necessary space and facilities for the student's learning experience (e.g., telephone access, interviewing space).
4. Allowing students access to appropriate organizational activities such as staff meetings, in-service training, and networking conferences with other agencies.
5. Providing the student with reimbursement of legitimate costs (such as mileage) incurred in the provision of agency service.

C. The Field Instructor
The agency field instructor is responsible for:

1. Orienting the student to the agency, including its goals, policies, and programs.
2. Working with the student to design a learning plan which fits the student's learning goals and selecting learning experiences which will facilitate the achievement of these goals.
3. Holding weekly supervisory conferences with the student to help the student integrate knowledge, skills, and values learned in the classroom with the field experiences.
4. Helping the student increase self-awareness as the student progresses toward a sense of professional identity and competence.

5. Engaging with the student in an on-going evaluation process; providing the faculty field director or faculty liaison with periodic information on the student's progress (during field director's or faculty liaison’s visits to agency or by telephone as needed); completing a written evaluation of the student's progress at the end of the field practicum.

D. The Student
The responsibilities of the student include:

1. Working with the field instructor to develop a learning plan and using the practicum experience to carry out that plan.
2 Respecting the agency's policies and procedures as would a staff member.
3. Performing assigned tasks in a professional manner.
4. Maintaining confidentiality regarding all information regarding clients.
5. Preparing for supervisory conferences and participating actively in these conferences as a major tool for learning.
6. Working to increase self-awareness in order to progress toward the goal of self-directed professional social work competence.
7. Preparing for and participating in weekly seminar sessions.
8. Engaging in the on-going and final evaluation of progress with the field instructor and the faculty field director.
9. Completion of all assignments required by the practicum director.

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