There will be several people involved in teaching field courses over the course of the time that students are in the program.

U-M SSW Field Faculty This person is the faculty instructor for all field courses in the School of Social Work Office of Field Education. This individual will act as the liaison between the school and the field site, and will be there to guide students throughout the field experience. They will monitor student learning, and be the ones that assign the grades for all field courses. The field faculty are dedicated to helping students develop the fundamental skills and competencies of the social work profession.

Field Instructors This person is typically, but not always, an employee at the field site. They will supervise student learning at the field site. The primary field instructor will be at least two years post MSW (and licensed as required by their position). They volunteer their time to provide students regular supervision and provide teaching and mentorship while students are in field education. They work with the student and the School of Social Work field faculty to establish learning goals, assignments and activities during each term that students are in field education.

U-M SSW field faculty and the field instructor will meet with students together at least one time each term to review the student’s learning progress. We call this a site visit. These site visits are a requirement of each field education course and may be conducted in-person, via Zoom or by phone.

The field instructor will also complete an end of term evaluation of the student’s learning and performance that will be submitted to the field faculty and will be one of the sources of information used to determine the student’s final grade in the field education course for that term.

Task Supervisor Some students may also be assigned a task supervisor who provides day-to-day oversight of their learning. Typically, the task supervisor is not a licensed social worker and may be someone from another professional discipline, but is very familiar with the work at the field site. This person will have regular contact both with the field instructor and the field faculty to help evaluate student learning and to think about learning goals and responsibilities.