FIHE MAJOR WORK PLACEMENT REGULATIONS
FONTYS INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL OF BUSINESS ECONOMICS
COURSES OF STUDY
International Business Economics
International Marketing
International Business and Management Studies
1. Fontys International University of Economics and the Major Work Placement 1
1.1. Introduction 1
1.2. Major Work Placement Aims 1
1.3. Major Work Placement Completion & Evaluation 2
1.4. Major Work Placement Company Criteria 2
2. Major Work Placement Participant Requirements 3
2.1. Students 3
2.2. Company 4
2.3. University 4
3. Additional Major Work Placement Requirements 6
3.1. Work Placement Duration 6
3.2. Work Placement Contract 6
3.3. Work Placement Confidentiality 6
3.4. Work Placement Report 6
3.5. Work Placement Evaluation & Accreditation 7
3.6. Work Placement Second Chance 7
4. Work Placement Deadlines 7
5. Relevant Work Placement Contacts 8
APPENDICES…………………………………………………………………………………………………..9
Version February 2010 II
1. Fontys International University of Economics and the Major Work Placement
1.1. Introduction
The 'Fontys Internationale Hogeschool Economie' or 'FIHE' (Fontys University of Applied Sciences) has opted for a multidimensional didactic concept: theory, practice, training and integrating didactic learning lines, which encourage a psychological interchange in learning and as such offer access for each of the learning styles of the students and teaching styles of the lecturers.
Psychological learning insights suggest that a mix of learning forms and teaching styles will bring about an optimum learning result. As a consequence, the FIHE has not opted for a single project-based or single problem-based didactic concept.
The interaction and harmonisation between the five learning lines is therefore crucial.
Coherence and harmonisation are guaranteed by employing course-dependent, characteristic professional situations and of course, also the internal professional coherence, within the competency matrix.
The FIHE learning environment is therefore structured on the basis of the following didactic model, which includes five synergetic learning lines:
· The practical learning line
· The theoretical learning line
· The skills learning line
· The integration learning line
· The study career management learning line
The practical learning line is harmonised fully with the other learning lines included in the didactic FIHE model.
Alongside a large number of brief company contacts included in the various learning arrangements, (such as conducting interviews at companies during the Propaedeutic Phase, practical assignments, creating ‘mini companies’, company excursions etc.), the recommended FIHE programme involves two explicit and intensive practical components:
· A Work Placement during the Main Phase, i.e. the ‘Major Work Placement’
· A Work Placement during the Graduation Phase, i.e. the “Graduation Project”.
The Work Placement included in the Main Phase of each of the three FIHE courses of study is viewed by the FIHE as a central learning foundation for both acquiring valuable practical experience and for building on that experience.
In primary terms, therefore, the FIHE maintains a list of criteria to ensure, in close consultation with the companies or organisations in question, that the required experiences, reflections and relevant applied academic orientation are acquired.
1.2. Major Work Placement Aims
During the Major Work Placement, it is intended that each student achieves the following aims:
· To obtain both work and learning experience in his/her chosen future professional field and to reflect on such experience on the basis of the achievement indicators associated with the chosen competencies included in the ‘Opleiding Competentie Matrix’ or ‘OCM’ (Course Competency Matrix).
· To outline and plan the approach to a business-related problem*, incorporating relevant OCM Level 2 theory.
· To focus on three specific OCM Level 2 competencies (relevant to and achievable in the situation!) and to reflect on these, primarily from the point of view of later professional orientation.
· IBMS students must write their Work Placement Report in English
* This must be a business-related problem (a clearly defined issue) from the professional world, that the student must approach methodically and responsibly, to provide a possible solution on the basis of and utilising theoretical views obtained from relevant reference literature.
1.3. Major Work Placement Completion & Evaluation
Upon completion of the Major Work Placement, the Main Phase Evaluation will take place. If, according to the judgement of the FIHE Assessment Centre, students satisfy the requirements of the OCM Level 2 performance indicators, these students will be awarded registration in the Study Advancement System, whereby they will have successfully completed the Main Phase of the relevant course. During the Main Phase of the course, via individual Testing Plans, each student will work on his/her selected competency accents from the OCM, in order to achieve the required Level 2 standard. In this Main Phase Evaluation, the Work Placement Report will be added to the student’s portfolio and a recommended grade will be determined.
1.4. Major Work Placement Company Criteria
A student will only be able to successfully complete the Major Work Placement, if the relevant Work Placement Company offers its cooperation as from the commencement of the Work Placement. For this reason, the FIHE requires that the Work Placement Company satisfies certain conditions, as follows:
· As the Work Placement Company must ensure that sufficient supervision is given to the student, the Work Placement Company is obliged to nominate one of its employees as an official Company Supervisor to the student.
· There must be sufficient communication between the student, the Company Supervisor and the University Supervisor.
· The student must be offered a beneficial learning environment, compliant with OCM Level 2 standards.
· The Work Placement Company must provide appropriate support to the student in focusing on the three relevant competencies.
· The Work Placement Company must assist the student in determining the concise business-related problem to be tackled during the Work Placement and the relevant approach to be taken.
· During the Work Placement, the Company Supervisor must regularly organise interim evaluation discussions with the student.
2. Major Work Placement Participant Requirements
In order to ensure that each Work Placement is successfully completed, the FIHE has determined a number of conditions that all Major Work Placement participants must satisfy.
2.1. Students
Each student is required to satisfy the following conditions:
a) As a minimum requirement, prior to commencing a Work Placement, each student must have completed the Propaedeutic Phase of the course and have been awarded the associated Diploma.
b) Each student must participate in the information meetings organised by the FIHE Work Placement/Graduation Coordinator.
c) It is the responsibility of each student to secure a place at a Work Placement Company, utilising the written information that will be provided and taking the abovementioned criteria into account. The activities of the selected Work Placement Company must be applicable to each student’s competency development.
d) Each student should discuss with the Study Career Manager, the competency accents on which he/she wishes to focus during the Work Placement, before completing his/her individual Main Phase Testing Plan (OCM). Of course, it is possible that these accents may change slightly during the course of the Work Placement. If so, relevant explanation must be provided in the Work Placement Report.
e) Each student must submit an Approval Form to the Work Placement Coordinator via the Work Placement website.
f) Each student is obliged to execute his/her Work Placement independently, to an appropriate standard, i.e. OCM Level 2.
g) Each student must submit Appendix 4: Work Placement Project Description to the University Supervisor as soon as possible, at the latest before the deadline (Appendix 1: Important Dates Work Placement).
h) The University Supervisor will provide the student with a definite GO/NO-GO by signing Appendix 4: Work Placement Project Description.
i) The Work Placement Project Description needs to be signed by the University Supervisor.
j) IBMS students have to perform their Major Work Placement in a different country than the Graduation Project.
k) Each student must submit a Work Placement Report to the University Supervisor during the final week of the Work Placement. The Work Placement Report must include details of the project result, the project process (that have been laid down in Appendix 4: Work Placement Project Description) and a copy of Appendix 7: Student Evaluation by Company Supervisor. In addition, during this final week, each student must send a digital version of the definitive Work Placement Report to the University Support Staff.
l) The topic of the report may not have been used during prior or upcoming reports (e.g. HLA, MLA, Graduation Report).
m) IBMS students have to write their Work Placement Report in English
n) Each student must stay abreast of the Work Placement Deadlines and should monitor any eventual changes and/or announcements regarding Major Work Placements via the FIHE intranet.
o) At the completion of the Work Placement, each student must complete the Appendix 8: Work Placement Evaluation by Student. This form must be submitted to the Quality Management.
2.2. Company
Each Work Placement Company is required to satisfy the following conditions:
· The Work Placement Company will provide the student with the opportunity to tackle a business-related problem, applying the relevant theory and will ensure that the student has adequate time during working hours to work on his/her associated Work Placement Report.
· The Work Placement Company will provide the student with the opportunity to focus on his/her three selected competency accents,
· The Work Placement Company will nominate one of its employees as a dedicated Company Supervisor to the student, who will ensure that the student is given adequate supervision.
· The Company Supervisor will usually arrange weekly progress discussions with the student, during which the Company Supervisor will provide the student with the necessary feedback.
· Upon completion of the Work Placement, the Company Supervisor will complete Appendix 7: Student Evaluation by Company Supervisor. The Company Supervisor will also further discuss the content of this form with the student and the University Supervisor.
2.3. University
The supervision provided by the University must satisfy the following conditions:
· The Work Placement Coordinator will provide the student with the necessary support in determining the business-related problem to be tackled by means of the Approval Form.
· The Study Career Manager will provide the student with assistance in selecting the relevant competency accents.
· The Work Placement Coordinator will assign a University Supervisor to the student if the student has filed an Approval Form. The assignment will take place within two weeks after the start of the semester.
· Within four weeks of commencement of the Work Placement, there should have been contact by telephone, mail or personally between University Supervisor, Company Supervisor and the student to thoroughly discuss the criteria, expectations and opportunities presented by the Work Placement with regard to the approach to the problem and the competency accents.
· The University Supervisor will provide the student with a definitive ‘GO’ (or ‘NO GO’) by signing Appendix 4: Work Placement Project Description and will send copies of this document to the student, the Company Supervisor and the Work Placement Coordinator. In cases of ‘NO GO’, the University Supervisor will also advise all relevant parties and the Work Placement will be discontinued.
· In exceptional cases, the Work Placement Coordinator has the authority to replace the University Supervisor with a colleague.
· The University Supervisor will be available to the student and the Company Supervisor for additional support, albeit remotely, through the provision of process supervision via telephone and/or e-mail.
· During the Work Placement, the University Supervisor will also provide feedback to the student with regard to the Work Placement Project.
· If the Work Placement location is within a radius of 150 km of Venlo, the University Supervisor will visit the Work Placement location, i.e. the Company Supervisor and the student, on one occasion. Should the Work Placement location not fall within this radius, the University Supervisor will not visit the Work Placement location, but will provide support via telephone and e-mail and if possible, via video-conferencing and/or via a personal meeting in Venlo if required.
· The University Supervisor will contact the Company Supervisor by telephone at least once at the beginning and at least once at the end of the Work Placement. Should any problems occur, it would be the student’s responsibility to initiate such contact.
· At the end of the Work Placement, the University Supervisor will assess the Work Placement Company, utilising the Appendix 11: Company Evaluation by University Supervisor.
3. Additional Major Work Placement Requirements
3.1. Work Placement Duration
The usual timeframe for the Work Placement would be the period from either September to January or from February to June.
The duration consist of a minimum of 3,5 months. It includes the following elements:
· Working at the Work Placement Company’s premises and working on the Work Placement Project.
· Writing the Work Placement Report, in accordance with both the Company and University standards and maintaining the associated portfolio.
3.2. Work Placement Contract
A contract is required to formalise the Work Placement. There are two possibilities for arranging this contract.
The FIHE Work Placement Company Contract (see intranet), entered into between the Work Placement Company, the Work Placement Coordinator (not University Supervisor) and the student, should be signed in triplicate and submitted to the University Support Staff no later than two weeks after the Work Placement has commenced. Once signed by the FIHE, two copies of the contract will be sent back to the student. The student must then provide the Work Placement Company with one copy of the duly signed contract.
If the Work Placement Company prefers to use its own Company Contract (bilateral contract), this contract should be signed in duplicate and a copy must be submitted to the University Support Staff no later than two weeks after the Work Placement has commenced. Such a Company Contract must also satisfy at least all of the same requirements included in a standard FIHE Work Placement Company Contract. These bilateral contracts can NOT be signed by FIHE-employees.
3.3. Work Placement Confidentiality
Confidentiality should be maintained concerning all information including reports and other documents. The regulations in connection with confidentiality are detailed in Appendix 3: Rules on Confidentiality of Work Placement Projects.