Field Education Committee Meeting Minutes

Date: Tuesday, March 7, 2017 from 9:30-11:00 a.m.

Location: SAB 203

Purpose: Department committee to link curriculum/class instruction to field instruction.

Members Present: Prof.Peter Cote (faculty), Jenny Becker (field director), Dr. Laura Praglin (faculty), Dr. Jim McCullagh (faculty), McKenna Keck, (BASW Student, SSWA Representative), Allison Conrad (GA for Field Program, MSW Foundation student, Foundation Chair of MSWSA)

Agenda and Minutes Shared With: Dr. Juby (Department Head, BA Program Director), Dr. Onken (MSW Program Director), BA and MSW Presidents of SSWA, Posted online at

Items:
1. Alternative options to the Literature Review for Evidence Based Practice activity in BA field
Rationale: To provide students a broader range (i.e. menu) of evidence based practices assignment options if this an assignment during their field experience. This assignment aligns with CSWE requirement of having evidence based practices incorporated into BA field experience.
Current practice: 5 page Literature Review(BA program only)
Feedback:
Discussed other options in addition to the literature review that would still meet CSWE standards:
1) Evaluation of Intervention Outcomes
2) Exploratory/Explanatory Methodology
3) Descriptive Methodology
4) Single-Subject Research Design
5) Participatory Research Approach.
BA Representative (McKenna) was familiar with all of these assignments.
Dr. Praglin introduced recommendation of scaffolding the literature review assignment. She shared her annotated bibliography worksheet and reported that the results she received were positive. Suggested that annotated bibliography worksheet assignment may be sufficient enough as a stand-alone assignment to meet the CWSE standard.
Annotated bibliography consists of: 1) how this article contribute to this topic or relate to you field placement setting 2) what makes this article legitimate and this author an expert to write on this topic 3) explain the article in your own words so I know you read it 4) some validity and reliability questions
Jenny Becker consulted with Dr. Choi, Anne Marie Gruber (Rod Librian Consultant) and Dr. Cindy Juby regarding all evidence informed practice assignment suggestions. Student feedback is that they are forgetting how to do these assignments once they get into the field.
Dr. Praglin and Dr. McCullagh: Research is necessary in the field. Research allows citing to receive funding, run programs, do documentation and discharge planning, etc. If you can prove it is an intervention and best practice to do those interventions in practice, then field supervisors appreciate the research.
Prof Peter Cote: Get agency supervisors to be on board with the learning plan.
Dr. Jim McCullagh: Along with the lit review, he requires students to present the project to the class, which holds them responsible for understanding the articles.
Recommendations:
1. Student Social Work Association recommended a "cheat sheet" of learned content in Research and Practice courses prior to starting field.
2. Committee recommended having instructors remind students of evidence informed practices learned in courses will continue on into their other classes and their field placement.
3. Include a module in the field instructor training videos discussing evidence informed practices so the field instructors are aware that it is a required component for the student and they know how to guide the student in that assignment.
4. Continue to guide students to use Ann Marie Gruber's online resources found at (Evidence-Based Practice in SW and Citing Sources links) as she has great tools for breaking down research papers into multiple parts.
5. Create a list of past student's research/literature review topics from field placements so current students can reference that list when determining their own topic.
2. Addressing late assignments (LP, SOL, etc…) (requested by team member) - Tabled item from Fall 2016
Rationale: For consistency among liaisons
Revised standard language in BA Standard Syllabus
Students receive creditfor their field experience by completing all the required hours, attending field seminars, and completing all field assignments with acceptable quality as determined by the faculty liaison. Failure to complete field and seminar requirements may result in "no credit" for the course. In addition, if you become delinquent on any one assignment for more than 2 weeks, your agency instructor will be contacted and your internship hours will be placed on hold until all required assignments are turned in.
Revised standard language in MSW Foundation and MSW Specialization Standard Syllabus
Failure to complete the field and seminar requirements (including attendance at the seminars) may result in a failing grade for the course. In addition, if you become delinquent on any one assignment for more than 2 weeks, your agency instructor will be contacted and your internship hours will be placed on hold until all required assignments are turned in.
Feedback:
Still working on ensuring students understand the requirement of attending field seminars is part of their credit for the field placement.
Clarify what “credit” and “no credit” consists of and what might excuse an absence from seminar. Dr. Praglin has language for what approved absences are. If students miss a seminar, it is up to the discretion of the faculty liaison on what the make-up assignment will be. Usually consists of the normal documentation that was due that day plus an extra assignment. Recording the seminar and watching it could satisfy the extra assignment component. It is faculty discretion if they want to zoom, skype, etc. the student in so they do not have to drive to seminar.
Places to schedule seminars: ITTC, Union, Library. Sabin will not schedule the seminars in classrooms because it has to be a class that meets every week. If you require a computer for the Union rooms, you will be charge if you use one of theirs. Library will charge you if you schedule over 3 hours and may charge you for keys being turned in late.
Dr. Praglin: Recommends to suspend field hours at one week delinquent on field assignments, especially on the learning plan.
Recommendations:
1. Field liaison provide the option of taping field seminar sessions for students who are unable to attend seminar session.
2. Revised language above to be placed on standard field syllabus.
3. Revisit 11-15 hour field options for BA (requested by team member)
Rationale: Implications of students who register for 13, 14, and 15 credits - have to start early, have to extend past semester finals week, agencies unable to accommodate excess of hours
Current practice: Allow BA field student to register for 11-15 field credit hours.
Feedback:
Recommendations varied between 12 credit hours for BA field as some students need 12 credits for financial aid, scholarships, etc. to keeping it at 15 credits hours to provide students the option of more field hours instead of taking another 3 credit course.
Pros of keeping the maximum at 15:
-A lot of learning activities take place in the last 5-7 weeks and without those extra weeks, they could not get key experiences.
Implications of keeping the maximum at 15:
-Some agencies think 11 hours (440 hours) is too much.
-A lot of students who take 14 or 15 credits are ending up with an incomplete because they say they’re going to go 40 hours a week and they don’t.
-They request supplementing lost field hours with webinars and/or book reads. Need to keep this as a limit as this course is meant to be hands on field experience.
-Students also have part time jobs, families, get sick, etc.
-The responsibility lies within the student to get their hours done. If they don’t, they don’t graduate and will have to stay an extra semester, but that brings up the issue of students having to pay extra money, an extra student in a seminar class, etc. and all of that could be prevented if they were not allowed to register for that many credits.
Dr. McCullagh clarification through registrar's office: Students who want to take 15 hours in the summer must receive approval for an overload. If a faculty liaison grants approval then the liaison must take responsibility for whatever may occur, including giving an incomplete, if necessary.
Recommendations:
1. Ask the Advisory Committee if providing over 480 hours for BA students is a hardship, no matter the semester.
2. Summer semester is shorter than Fall and Spring semesters and should be cut off at 12 hours/480 hours.
3. Keep Fall and Spring semesters with a maximum of 15 with faculty liaison approval.
Memo items:
1. The proposed change in amount of field and seminar credits for MSW program will run through the curriculum cycle and if approved, be put into place Fall 2018. (Foundation 4 and 4, MSW Specialization 3 and 2 for each semester)
2. Planning to have 2 separate field committee meetings each fall, one to discuss field data and one to discuss field issues. This was a recommendation made by the committee at the Fall 2016 meeting.
2. Created a UNI Social Work Field Placement Discontinuation Request Form to document compelling reasons as to why a field placement is disrupted (see attachment). This form will be shared with students at orientation and included online under field forms.
Next meeting: Fall 2017