Field Directors

Hello colleagues,

I hope you're doing well in these last few weeks of the semester!  We have recently started our online MSW program at Saint Louis University, and we are anticipating its future growth.  That said, I'm curious to know how you've approached identifying practicum sites. 

1.  How are you finding and vetting them?
2.  Do you utilize any sites that are 100% virtual?  If yes, are you comfortable sharing that information?

Take care and hold on until the semester break!
Wendy

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Wendy DuCasse
Saint Louis University
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Hi Wendy,

We have an MSW Online program here at Northern Arizona University! Regarding your questions -

Students are required to find an internship site in their community that meets the requirements for supervision and exposure to the nine CSWE Competencies. The student shares the contact information for the organization and we meet with them via Zoom to learn more about their organization and if they meet our requirements. Currently, this interview process has been successful but we are considering a more formal application-type process for organizations. 

We do not allow 100% virtual internships and only allow internships to have a partial virtual component if the organization provides some services virtually. Students are expected to be in the office for the majority of their internship.

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Claire Halligan
Assistant Director of Field Education
Northern Arizona University
Flagstaff AZ
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Hi Wendy, in our online program, we meet with students to give them an overview of what is expected of their internship sites and then encourage them to reach out in their own communities to identify a potential site. Occasionally students need more help with this but most are able to find an option. Once they have a site that seems like a good fit, they connect the site to our field office and we send them our site application and schedule a meeting with them to talk through our process and ensure it meets requirements. Then we get an affiliation agreement established. We have done virtual placements, but this has typically been more the result of an agency who is operating or able to operate virtually rather than having virtual sites that are open to any student. 

Best,

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Lindsey Rinehart
Field Education Director & Clinical Instructor
West Virginia University
Morgantown WV
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