The Director of Field extends a warm welcome to returning students and especially, to those of you who are beginning your journey towards your Master's degree. Beyond book learning, writing papers, and studying for exams, the field experience is special and unique. It is based upon building relationships with the agency and the field instructor which in turn, provides the student with real life experiences in which to learn and practice the skills of helping. The field instructor plays a vital role in the oversight and supervision of students in field. In addition, the field experiences provide the opportunity for students to examine one's own ethics and attitudes, to acquire professional skills, and to work with people from different walks of life, all of whom present unique learning challenges. In order to integrate the field experience with the educational process, students will attend a monthly seminar which will provide them with the opportunity to express their views and to learn from the experiences of other students. The Field Seminars are led by the Field Liaisons who not only visit students at the agency, they are responsible for assuring that students develop goals and objectives which follow CSWE Accreditation standards.

In the Fall, 2008, the Director will unveil a new and innovative software program which will centralize most of the Field Education requirements. Thanks to Dr. Morris, Chair of the Department of Social Work, we have obtained software from Alcea Software, Inc ., a database created specifically for BSW/MSW programs and is a tracking mechanism for students. Appropriately, it is named “Intern Placement Tracking or IPT” and will be utilized by students, field instructors, field liaisons, and faculty. The webmaster from Alcea Software, Inc. offers a password protected website to ensure the confidentiality of the students.

This is an exciting time as we move towards utilizing technology which streamlines the field education process. Given that we have an ever increasing enrollment, the online feature will result in saving time, energy, paper, and increase efficiency in evaluating field-based students. This move also is in line with CSUSB which has adopted a “Green Campus Program” which encourages each of us to become more mindful of our resources.

To view or print documents linked on this page , you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader loaded on your computer. If you do not, you may go to the Adobe Acrobat Web Site to download the application.

Patsy Andrada, MSW, LCSW
Director of Field Education
pandrada@csusb.edu