Our Contextual Education supervisors are our partners in the education of the next generation of religious leaders graduating from the School of Theology. They shepherd each student through their internship, meeting with them an hour each week of the semester to guide their tasks, help them navigate the policies and politics of the internship site, and theologically process all they are seeing, doing, and learning. Students often come to seminary unclear of their future professional plans; in these cases, the supervisor offers mentoring support for their student’s vocational journey, as well. In some cases, a supervisor may also help their student network in denominational or organizational circles that align with the student’s future professional plans. But most of all, they are the weekly point of contact that determines whether the student is meeting all the expectations of their internship. And if they are not, the supervisor can address this with the student directly or reach out to the Contextual Education Office for additional support.

As partners in their student’s education, each supervisor will also provide evaluative feedback at the beginning, middle, and end of the student’s internship. First, they will review and agree to their student’s learning goals and tasks as stated in the Learning Agreement paperwork. And supervisors will provide a mid-year and final evaluation of their student, which is very important because it confirms the student’s successful completion of their hours and the learning goals of the internship, as well as names areas of strength and continued growth that the student can attend to as they move forward professionally.

Finally, the Contextual Education Office offers an in-person Supervisor Orientation at the beginning of each semester to onboard all current-semester supervisors, as well as a “thank you” luncheon each May. These are the only times we ask that you try to come to campus, with free parking made available through our office RSVP. In addition to these gatherings, we invite all supervisors to meet twice per semester online for “Supervisor Check-in” gatherings. These 2-hour, 10am – 12noon Zoom meetings include a brief didactic workshop relevant to the task of supervision followed by time for the supervisors to update the group as to how their internships are going with their students. This is a good time to troubleshoot any issues or seek guidance from fellow supervisors and the ConEd staff should questions arise. A final “reminder” of upcoming deadlines typically ends our Zoom check-in gatherings.

So, in summary, supervisors are asked to do the following:

• Attend the Supervisor Orientation gathering at the start of each fall semester (if your student begins in the fall)
• Help your student develop their Learning Agreement & provide a signature of affirmation of that document’s learning goals.
• Meet with your student regularly for supervision and theological reflection (ideally 1 hour each week).
• Complete a mid-year evaluation (if a year-long internship) and a final evaluation for your student using the Supervisor Evaluation Form.
• Attend as many “Supervisor Check-in” Zoom gatherings as possible throughout the semester/school year.
• Attend the May “Thank You Luncheon,” if possible, so that we can fellowship together and properly appreciate you in-person!

The Contextual Education Office expects that all its site partners will contribute to their intern’s financial well-being in some way during the course of the internship. The best way to do this is to pay at least a minimum wage salary for the hours that your intern works at your site, which should be an average of 15 weekly hours throughout the semester. In these cases, the organization can pay the student directly, either as an employee or as an independent contractor. Those employment details are worked out between the student and the site itself.

If a partner site is unable to offer the student minimum wage for their work, an alternative is for the site to provide some financial scholarship support through the student’s BU account. In these cases, the organization writes a check to the Boston University School of Theology with their intern’s name in the memo line. This check should be sent to the Contextual Education Office (745 Commonwealth Avenue, Suite 107; Boston, MA 02215). When we receive the check it will be photocopied and sent to our Financial Aid Office, which will take it to Student Accounting Services to be placed in the student’s account for their use. We request that organizations try to provide between $1500 and $2500 per semester in scholarship support to students who they cannot fully employ. While this is not compensation for hours worked, it is certainly a welcome help to a student’s finances during their internship.

Regardless of whether or not your site is able to provide a scholarship for your student, please submit the following form so our office knows whether or not to expect a check from your site.

Scholarship Information Form

Students must have an on-site supervisor who helps them know how to manage their day-to-day on-site tasks and maneuver the organization’s people, policies, and procedures. Students must also have a theological supervisor with whom they share regular conversation and theological reflection papers for the sake of vocational discernment and spiritual formation. Often times, both of these supervisory roles can be fulfilled by one person who works at the organization and is theologically trained. If an on-site supervisor is not theologically trained (ex. does not hold a degree from an accredited ATS seminary or its equivalent) then the Contextual Education Office can provide the student with an off-site supervisor to serve as their theological supervisor.

In the case of two supervisors supporting one student (one on-site supervisor and one theological supervisor), each supervisor will meet with the student regularly, ideally one hour each week. Both supervisors will sign the student’s Learning Agreement paperwork and provide mid-term and/or final evaluations. And both supervisors will be invited to all the supervisor gatherings including Supervisor Orientation, online Zoom Supervisor Check-in gatherings, and the final Thank You Luncheon in May.

Right here:

Supervisor Evaluation Form.