Fieldwork Requirements and Procedures

The following fieldwork requirements and procedures are established by the School of Education (SOE) to ensure productive and safe learning experiences for students enrolled in SOE fieldwork placement programs and effective service for the schools and community agencies participating in those programs. An SOE student’s conduct in these programs demonstrates to the college the student’s ability to earn the college’s recommendation for national and state-wide professional licensure or certification.

Code of Conduct

In addition to following the standards outlined in the college’s Code of Conduct applicable to all students, an SOE student whose education includes any fieldwork component must:

  • meet any and all standards or competencies required in the student’s professional program of study or license/certification; and
  • comply with the rules and policies of the school or community agency in which the student is placed to conduct his or her fieldwork that do not conflict with college policy.

Fieldwork Placement

Each SOE program has established procedures for making those placements, which vary across programs. An SOE student enrolled within a program is responsible for learning and following the procedures applicable to his or her program. In addition, the student must ensure that he or she:

  • completes the required placement forms, applications, site selection processes, prerequisite course work, and/or contracts before the established due dates; and
  • meets the standards for continued acceptance at the placement site.

Moreover, a student who intends to participate in a fieldwork placement program must exhibit professional behavior throughout the fieldwork placement. Failure to behave in a professional manner may result in the denial of a fieldwork placement pursuant to the processes stated below.

Placement Security Clearance

A student applying for a fieldwork placement in a New York City public school or other clinical setting is required to obtain security clearance by the New York City Department of Education (DOE) or other authority prior to placement. This process usually includes fingerprinting. A student may also be asked by his or her fieldwork placement program to complete a self-reported, background check. The purpose of these checks, which are subject to the policies of the partnering organization, is to ensure public safety and avoid unacceptable risk to vulnerable populations. Each semester, the SOE will identify a deadline for obtaining security clearance in order to complete fieldwork during that semester and will communicate that deadline to all students via email. A student who refuses to submit fingerprints or is otherwise unable to obtain security clearance by the specified deadline each semester cannot be placed in the field during that semester and will be administratively withdrawn from the program.

Background checks for private institutions are typically conducted by the placement site. If a violation is discovered, authorized personnel at the placement organization will determine the suitability of a candidate for placement. The SOE field experience coordinator or SOE certification officer may also determine the suitability of a candidate for field placement based on discovered or self-reported information. Unless otherwise provided by law, factors considered in determining suitability may include, but are not limited to, the following:

  • In case of a criminal conviction, the relevance of the crime to the practical experience.
  • The nature of the work to be performed.
  • The passage of time since the conviction.
  • The age of the candidate at the time of the offense.
  • The seriousness and specific circumstances of the offense.
  • The number of offenses.
  • The existence of pending charges.
  • Any relevant evidence of rehabilitation.

A student may challenge a security clearance finding by appealing to the appropriate contact within the partnering organization as determined by that organization.

An SOE Student’s Inability to Qualify for a Placement

If an SOE student is unable to qualify for a fieldwork placement, based on the determination of a partnering organization, the student will be placed on academic probation for one semester and will be given no more than one opportunity at another placement. This would amount to a total of two placements including the initial unsuccessful fieldwork placement. The student must be available to placement organization staff in their assessment of his or her qualifications for placement. A student who is unable to qualify for placements with a partner fieldwork organization after two attempts at placement by the SOE will be deemed unable to continue in the SOE and will be terminated from the program.

Supervision of Fieldwork and Reporting of Problems

Each student completing fieldwork required by a Brooklyn College SOE program will be supervised by a team of educators representing both the partnering placement organization and the college. Team members include the:

  • on-site fieldwork placement supervisor, the primary supervisor/teacher of record for the field placement, practicum, or internship in whose classroom or office fieldwork is completed;
  • college supervisor, the faculty member from Brooklyn College who is responsible for observing and conducting evaluations of the student completing fieldwork; and
  • SOE field experience coordinator, the representative from the SOE Dean’s Office who coordinates all field placements made by the SOE.

Together, these three individuals compose the Supervisory Team, and all members of this team will continuously communicate about a student’s performance in field placements throughout a given semester.

Addressing Problems During the Fieldwork Placement

The Concerns of an SOE Student

If an SOE student in a fieldwork placement encounters problems related to the placement, he or she must:

  1. Inform all three members of the Supervisory Team (the on-site fieldwork placement supervisor, college supervisor, and SOE field experience coordinator) of the problem within 10 business days, not including any legal holidays.
  2. Work with the Supervisory Team on a plan to resolve the issue.
  3. Follow the plan under the direction of the Supervisory Team to resolve the problem.

If the student’s problem concerns the on-site fieldwork placement supervisor, he or she must:

  1. Inform the college supervisor of his or her respective fieldwork placement program and the SOE field experience coordinator of the problem within 10 business days, not including any legal holidays.
  2. Work with the college supervisor and the SOE field experience coordinator on a plan to resolve the issue.
  3. Follow the plan formulated with the college supervisor and the SOE field experience coordinator to resolve the problem.

The Concerns of a Fieldwork Placement Organization

If an on-site fieldwork placement supervisor or other placement faculty or staff member encounters a problem with an SOE student’s conduct in a fieldwork placement, and the partnering organization believes that the student may continue within the placement if the conduct is addressed, the fieldwork placement organization shall:

  1. Inform the college supervisor overseeing the student’s placement and the SOE field experience coordinator of the problem within 10 business days, not including any legal holidays.
  2. Work with the college supervisor and the SOE field experience coordinator on a plan to address the problem with the SOE student, to the extent possible.

The SOE student must follow the plan to the satisfaction of the placement organization.

If the plan does not satisfactorily address the fieldwork placement organization’s concerns about the SOE student’s conduct:

  1. The organization will contact the college supervisor and the SOE field experience coordinator of the problem within 10 business days, not including any legal holidays.
  2. The college supervisor and the SOE field experience coordinator will determine the appropriate method needed to satisfactorily address conclude the concern (e.g., by engaging with the placement site supervisor to formulate a mutually acceptable plan, to the extent possible).

If this process does not lead to a satisfactory conclusion and the organization does not permit the student to continue, the student will receive a failing grade in fieldwork and a failing grade in the course. In addition, the student will be placed on academic probation for one semester and will be given no more than one opportunity at another placement. This would amount to a total of two placements including the initial unsuccessful fieldwork placement.

Different Scenarios for Dismissal From the SOE and Applicable Procedures

Scenario 1: An SOE Student’s Arrest or Other Security Clearance–Related Issue

If an SOE student is arrested and/or charged with a crime during fieldwork placement, he or she must follow the procedures listed below, in addition to following the procedures listed in the college’s Student Code of Conduct regarding the requirements upon a student charged with a crime during his or her enrollment at the college:

  1. Report the arrest to all members of the Supervisory Team overseeing the student’s placement within 48 hours of the arrest, not including weekends and legal holidays.
  2. Notify the New York City DOE or other partnering placement organization within 48 hours of the arrest, not including weekends and legal holidays. If the student does not report the arrest to the Supervisory Team, the partnering placement organization will send a staff member to remove the student from the fieldwork placement. It is highly recommended that the student avoid such a situation. Under such a circumstance, college staff and faculty cannot determine the student’s eligibility to remain at the assigned site.

Only the New York City DOE or partnering placement organization can determine whether the student may return to the placement site in these cases. The reason for the arrest may determine the timeframe of when the student may return to the site. For example, a student charged with driving while intoxicated may be required to present court documentation to the partnering placement organization, and a determination from that organization may take two to four weeks. On the other hand, where a student is charged with assault, the partnering placement organization may require further investigation, which could take at least a year, before a student is cleared for a placement.

Scenario 2: The Student Jeopardizes the Safety and/or Well-being of a Minor, Client, or Patient

If an SOE student is dismissed by a fieldwork placement organization for having jeopardized the safety or well-being of a minor, the student will be removed from the course and receive a failing grade. The SOE cannot knowingly place a student who has compromised the safety or well-being of a minor, client, or patient in a clinical setting. If fieldwork placement is required for completion of a degree, license, or certificate, such a dismissal will result in the student’s termination from the program. If the student is terminated from the program, his or her action in course work and clinical experience within the program will cease immediately.

Scenario 3: Removal by a Fieldwork Placement Organization

An SOE student should be aware that as a member of the college community, he or she must follow the procedures listed in this document as well as the other policies referenced herein. There is no requirement, however, that a fieldwork placement organization follow these procedures. As such, if a fieldwork placement organization removes a student from a placement due to unprofessional or egregious conduct or unsatisfactory performance, the college cannot mandate that the placement organization take the student back.

Where a student has been removed from a placement by the participant organization and alleged conduct does not involve behavior in which the SOE student jeopardized the safety and/or well-being of a minor, the college supervisor and the SOE field experience coordinator will refer the matter to the department chair and SOE dean for appropriate action. In such a case, the department chair and dean will:

  1. Review the student’s alleged unprofessional or egregious conduct and determine whether re-placement within a second fieldwork placement organization would be appropriate given the conduct in question.
  2. Place the student (if re-placement is appropriate) on academic probation for one semester.
  3. Instruct the SOE field experience coordinator working in collaboration with the student’s program coordinator to make no more than one attempt to find that student another placement. This would amount to a total of two placements including the initial unsuccessful fieldwork placement. An SOE student must be available to placement organization staff in their assessment of his or her qualifications for the re-placement.

Failure to Meet the Terms of Academic Probation

A student who is on academic probation and who thereafter violates the Code of Conduct will be removed from the fieldwork placement program by the SOE Dean’s Office. If fieldwork placement is required for completion of a degree, license, or certificate, such a dismissal or removal will result in the student’s termination from the program. If the student is terminated from the program, his or her action in course work and clinical experience within the program will cease immediately.

The Appeals Process

A student who wishes to appeal an adverse decision under these procedures may appeal it to the SOE’s Clinical Standards Committee, which shall be composed of the SOE’s dean and one or more SOE department chairs. The committee shall issue a written decision. This decision shall serve as the final one by the SOE.

Brooklyn. All in.

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