3.5 Field Enrollment Requirements and Exceptions

Concurrent Requirements for Placement into Field Education 

Students placed into field education are expected to be concurrently enrolled in the required generalist or specialized curriculum courses in the required sequence, unless they have a pre approved, modified academic plan. Concurrent enrollment in field integration seminars is required each semester a student is in field practicum. Students must be eligible for field placement to be eligible to enroll in concurrent field seminars. 

Students must be in good academic standing in the Social Welfare MSW Program to be eligible for field placement. Students with a grade point average that falls below a 3.0, who fail a required generalist or specialized curriculum course, or who accumulate two or more Incomplete (I) grades in any one semester, may not have field placement initiated, or may be suspended from field placement, until all academic standing concerns are resolved. If a student is suspended from field placement, we cannot guarantee that they will be able to return to that same placement. Students suspended from field placement may or may not be eligible for partial credit depending upon the circumstances.

Exceptions to Field Practicum Hours Requirements

Because it is in their best educational interest, all Social Welfare MSW students are expected to fully satisfy the field hours requirement specified by our program (400 hours for the first year placement and 720 for the second year placement).

In rare and unusual circumstances, the field program may consider student petitions for a reduction of requisite field hours, subject to the following conditions:

  1. The decision to allow consideration of petitions for a reduction in the field hours requirement is at the discretion of the Chair of Field Education.
  2. The ability to grant requests for exceptions to required field practicum hours is not guaranteed.
  3. In no circumstance may total field hours requirements be reduced to less than 325 hours for first-year students, or 575 hours for second-year students.

Under the terms of this policy, extenuating circumstances are generally limited to unanticipated operational conditions that are likely to have a significant impact on the student’s ability to complete the full number of required hours, such as:

  • Emergent and unexpected changes in field placement agency capacity related to declared public health emergencies.
  • Health conditions that require isolation, medical monitoring or treatment.
  • An unexpected change in student caregiving responsibilities for a child, elder, or dependent adult who no longer has access to daycare, school, or regular care as a result of emergency conditions.

Students facing extenuating circumstances that may qualify for an exception to field hours requirements should reach out to their assigned Field Consultant faculty as soon as reasonably possible to discuss the situation and the potential reduction in field hours. In that consultation, your Field Consultant will assist you in weighing the pros and cons of the request (e.g., in terms of student immediate needs, educational goals, impact on agency, stipend-related requirements, and future opportunity costs such as employability). If the decision is made to proceed, the Field Consultant will help facilitate submission of your petition. Formal requests must be made in writing by email to the Chair of Field Education, providing a rationale for the request and confirmation that any exceptions granted from field hours requirements will not result in the student completing less than 900 total hours of field practicum.

When a decision is made by the field program to accept petitions for a reduction in field hours, requests will be considered by the Chair of Field Education, in consultation with the Associate Dean for Academic Affairs and the student’s assigned Field Consultant, based on:

  1. The qualifying extenuating circumstances that justify the request.
  2. Existing, sufficient evidence that the student has or will have achieved competency in all specified practice competencies for field education by the end of placement.
  3. Evidence that the student has completed a sufficient and normative amount of projects, tasks and client assignments to enable competency ratings at the generalist level for first-year students, or the specialization level for second-year students. Competency ratings are based on the deliverable products and observable practice described in the student's approved Competency-Based Learning Agreement. Satisfactory participation in orientation, on-boarding, informational meetings, and training are necessary, but not sufficient for students to attain required competencies.
  4. Confirmation that the proposed reduction in field hours does not result in the student completing less than 900 total hours of field practicum in the Social Welfare MSW Program