Field Directors

Hello! I am sure this question has been asked before, but my search results did not come up with anything too recent. I am wondering if others could share the structure and responsibilities of their field education office for a program with both an MSW and BSW. I am the MSW Field Director of a brand-new program (I was a Field Director as a previous institution) and one thing I am noticing is how other programs may have a field placement office where those individuals do not teach courses and are not tenured faculty. I am interested in the pros/cons as I find it very helpful to be a tenure track faculty and teach BSW Field Seminar so I am closely tied to the curriculum and get to know the students very well. Then many of them end up continuing into the MSW program, making their placements easier to secure. It's always that balance of a teaching load, release time, and field placement! If you would so kind as to share: 

1. Size of program
2. Number of positions (1 MSW Field Director, 1 BSW Field Director or 1 Director for both? Field Coordinators? Assistants? etc.)
3. How many students one person is responsible for placing
4. Are they 10- or 12-month positions?
5. Tenured faculty positions? 
6. Do you have any administrative assistant only positions? 
7. Any pros/cons of your structure you would like to share

Thank you for your precious time!

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Heather Fronckowiak, LCSW
MSW Field Director/Assistant Professor

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Thank you for sharing, Cheryl. I wondered how your summer stipend is organized. Is it for a certain number of days or hours of work? Does it vary summer to summer or pretty standard. Thanks!

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Heather Fronckowiak
MSW Field Director/Assistant Professor
+1 (845) 594-3898
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Original Message:
Sent: Nov 21, 2024 11:15
From: Cheryl R. Cooper
Subject: Field Education Structure

I am concerned full time faculty, non-tenure track. My contract is for the academic year but I get an extension as a stipend for summers so I can continue to match students with practicum sites. I am the practicum director for the MSW program and there is a practicum director for the BSW program. Our program is small. I have about 15-20 students total to match with placement each year in the MSW program. I also teach some seminar classes. Full time teaching course load is 12 credits and I receive a 6 credit  release as director of practicum. If director of practicum were a staff position at my university I would have to work 12 months and be on campus 8 to 4 Monday through Friday. As faculty my time is flexible to meet the needs of the students. 

Professor Cheryl Cooper

Alvernia University 

Original Message:
Sent: 11/24/2024 10:20:00 PM
From: Heather Fronckowiak
Subject: RE: Field Education Structure

Thank you for sharing, Cheryl. I wondered how your summer stipend is organized. Is it for a certain number of days or hours of work? Does it vary summer to summer or pretty standard. Thanks!

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Heather Fronckowiak
MSW Field Director/Assistant Professor
+1 (845) 594-3898
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Hi Heather:

I think it can depend on the size of the program. When I started with this University, we had one program (BASW) and less than 60 students in field.  We now have two degrees (working on the 3rd) and I am director of both the BASW/MSW program.  We have approximately 1200 students in the MSW (about 400 students in field) and about 500-600 students in the BASW (approx 120 students in field). We are a large program.  This is my third year not teaching courses, as my duties as Director made it difficult to both administer the program and teach courses.  I am strictly an administrator of the program now.

Here are responses to your specific questions:

1. Size of program:  we are a large program
2. Number of positions (1 MSW Field Director, 1 BSW Field Director or 1 Director for both? Field Coordinators? Assistants? etc.) I work with 6 additional faculty who are designated as Assistant field directors (AFDs) (4 with the MSW program, 2 with the BSW program)
3. How many students one person is responsible for placing - we have rolling admissions,  so each AFD places 4 times yearly.  Each academic session is 8 weeks (e.g. Fall I&II, Spring I&II and Summer I&II.  We place Fall I for all students in both programs and Fall II for BSW and 1st year MSW.  Spring I for 2nd year and advanced standing and same as Fall I for Summer I - and BSW and 1st year MSW for Summer II.  The average assignment for each AFD is 20-30 students each academic term they place, so well over 80-120 students for each AFD each year.  Student census drives how many are assigned - Example, this summer AFD in the MSW program will place 40+ students because our census for Summer I is high.  That's 166 placements just for the Summer I eight week session.
4. Are they 10- or 12-month positions?  Each AFD is a 12 month full time faculty member
5. Tenured faculty positions? Our university doesn't do tenure. We all promote based on accomplishments (e.g. teaching, service, mentoring).
6. Do you have any administrative assistant only positions? Yes the Field Division has two administrative assistant (field practicum specialists) positions.
7. Any pros/cons of your structure you would like to share:  I appreciate the non-tenured position.  It hasn't prevented any of us from publishing or engaging in scholarly activities.  I've presented almost every year at a national convention, my colleagues have published or presented scholarly presentations regularly. But the pressure to engage in scholarly activities is not present, since tenure requirements isn't part of the pressure of our workload.  Scholarly activity/research is actually a pleasure and passion, rather than performative so we can obtain tenure.  I do miss having each summer off and now have to plan my time off - but having my time salaried rather than a stipend during the summer is much more financially lucrative and I pace my vacations out during the entire year now, rather than just in the summer.

I hope this is helpful to you.

Sibyl

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Sibyl R. Beaulieu, DSW, MSW, LMSW
Associate Professor
and Director of Field Education
SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES 
The Social Work Department @ UMass Global
T 951.413.2914 
sbeaulie@umassglobal.edu 
Pronouns:  She/Her/Hers
Preferred address by students: 
Dr. Beaulieu, Prof. Sibyl, Prof. Beaulieu
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 11/25/2024 7:01:00 PM
From: Sibyl Beaulieu
Subject: RE: Field Education Structure

Hi Heather:

I think it can depend on the size of the program. When I started with this University, we had one program (BASW) and less than 60 students in field.  We now have two degrees (working on the 3rd) and I am director of both the BASW/MSW program.  We have approximately 1200 students in the MSW (about 400 students in field) and about 500-600 students in the BASW (approx 120 students in field). We are a large program.  This is my third year not teaching courses, as my duties as Director made it difficult to both administer the program and teach courses.  I am strictly an administrator of the program now.

Here are responses to your specific questions:

1. Size of program:  we are a large program
2. Number of positions (1 MSW Field Director, 1 BSW Field Director or 1 Director for both? Field Coordinators? Assistants? etc.) I work with 6 additional faculty who are designated as Assistant field directors (AFDs) (4 with the MSW program, 2 with the BSW program)
3. How many students one person is responsible for placing - we have rolling admissions,  so each AFD places 4 times yearly.  Each academic session is 8 weeks (e.g. Fall I&II, Spring I&II and Summer I&II.  We place Fall I for all students in both programs and Fall II for BSW and 1st year MSW.  Spring I for 2nd year and advanced standing and same as Fall I for Summer I - and BSW and 1st year MSW for Summer II.  The average assignment for each AFD is 20-30 students each academic term they place, so well over 80-120 students for each AFD each year.  Student census drives how many are assigned - Example, this summer AFD in the MSW program will place 40+ students because our census for Summer I is high.  That's 166 placements just for the Summer I eight week session.
4. Are they 10- or 12-month positions?  Each AFD is a 12 month full time faculty member
5. Tenured faculty positions? Our university doesn't do tenure. We all promote based on accomplishments (e.g. teaching, service, mentoring).
6. Do you have any administrative assistant only positions? Yes the Field Division has two administrative assistant (field practicum specialists) positions.
7. Any pros/cons of your structure you would like to share:  I appreciate the non-tenured position.  It hasn't prevented any of us from publishing or engaging in scholarly activities.  I've presented almost every year at a national convention, my colleagues have published or presented scholarly presentations regularly. But the pressure to engage in scholarly activities is not present, since tenure requirements isn't part of the pressure of our workload.  Scholarly activity/research is actually a pleasure and passion, rather than performative so we can obtain tenure.  I do miss having each summer off and now have to plan my time off - but having my time salaried rather than a stipend during the summer is much more financially lucrative and I pace my vacations out during the entire year now, rather than just in the summer.

I hope this is helpful to you.

Sibyl

------------------------------
Sibyl R. Beaulieu, DSW, MSW, LMSW
Associate Professor
and Director of Field Education
SCHOOL OF ARTS & SCIENCES 
The Social Work Department @ UMass Global
T 951.413.2914 
sbeaulie@umassglobal.edu 
Pronouns:  She/Her/Hers
Preferred address by students: 
Dr. Beaulieu, Prof. Sibyl, Prof. Beaulieu
------------------------------