Dear Field Instructors and Field Agency Placement Coordinator:
On behalf of the BUSSW community, we would like to extend our most sincere gratitude for your continued commitment to our school and students, especially in these trying times for all. Your guidance and supervision of our students has been invaluable.
Considering the rapidly unfolding events of the past few days, including the recently imposed state of emergency in Massachusetts and other states, nationally, and the public health call to society to minimize public contact and gatherings, we have made the difficult decision that:
Effective March 16, 2020, students will no longer be required to attend their field placements. This will be effective until the end of the semester May 1, 2020.
As you know, the Field Education department has been working with student advisors and field instructors to support students and agencies during the current public health crisis. Initially, our hope was to prepare students and advisors to continue in the field, and/or to work remotely to allow students to fulfill their remaining field placement hours for the spring semester, while adhering to CSWE field education requirements. We created guidelines and options in the event that students were not able to complete their requirements in person. These guidelines included allowing students to complete some of their requirements remotely, and strategies for remote competency development that adheres to CSWE field education requirements.
We are aware that some students may choose to remain in their field placements through the end of the semester, if the field agency approves. Students who want to continue their placements are allowed and should inform their field advisors and field supervisors. Students who stay at their placement sites should follow agency guidelines concerning health and other precautions as recommended by their respective agencies, the BU website, BUSSW, and the CDC.
We are cognizant that this decision will have an impact on your agency and your clients. The safety of students and clients is paramount, and equally important is ensuring that we support the mission of your agency and that we not disrupt your environment, nor cause additional stress to your agency and the populations you serve. We want to support our agency community and continue to maintain a positive working relationship. The Field Team will reach out to you on Monday to schedule Zoom meetings to discuss ongoing next steps.
Our advisors will also be communicating with you on how to best support this process. We will ask our students to contact their field instructors and advisors to discuss the following:
- Inform the agency regarding the student’s decision to terminate or to continue their field internship, as originally scheduled. Those who wish to continue will need approval from the agency to do so.
- Those students who wish to stop attending field internship will work with you on a process for termination. We hope that the students will have an opportunity to terminate properly with clients and colleagues, and to complete appropriate agency paperwork. Additionally, we hope that you will be able to complete a Field Education Evaluation form which will be sent to you.
- There may be students who were expecting to continue their field internship in your agency beyond the spring semester. We hope that for these students, you will consider allowing them to return to your agency when this crisis subsides.
A decision about summer internships will be made towards the end of the spring semester, depending on how the situation continues to unfold in the state and the nation. We ask that students and field instructors contact the student’s advisors with any questions or suggestions.
Sincerely,
Denita Johnson
Assistant Dean, Field Education
Boston University School of Social Work