First, many thanks to Emmie Homonoff, Editor of the Field Educator, for inviting me to share information regarding the CSWE Council on Field Education (COFE) through this important electronic venue! My goal is to help inform readers of Field Council and related CSWE activities.
The Council is made up of a wonderful and diverse group of dedicated field directors representing all regions of the US. Members are appointed to a three-year term with potential for one reappointment for six years maximum service. The process of nomination to CSWE Councils and Commissions will move online this year with the call going out to the membership soon. Please consider nominating yourself or a colleague to the Field Council or another commission or council of interest. Good people are always needed.
A primary focus for COFE this year will continue to be EPAS 2015. Between November 1 and December 31, 2013 feedback was collected from the COFE membership on suggested changes to Draft #1. These suggestions were compiled and forwarded to the COEP (Commission on Educational Policy) and COA (Commission on Accreditation) for their consideration. In a nutshell, the newly revised explicit curriculum (competencies and practice behaviors) is supported with some relatively minor word change suggestions. Within the implicit curriculum and resource allocation section in particular, the COFE membership has requested additional language that requires the reporting of field education program resources of time, personnel and technology as well as a field faculty/staff to student ratio. Ideally this will be included in both the educational policy and accreditation standard sections of the document. I represented COFE at meetings in January where our collective suggestions were well received. The next version is currently being drafted and will be available to the membership soon for another round of feedback to be solicited through April 30, 2014. Please have a look at Draft #2 and offer your feedback directly on the CSWE website. We want and need to hear from you!
The Council has begun work on programming for the CSWE-APM to be held in Tampa, FL on October 23-26, 2014. Specifically, I understand that a high number of proposals were submitted for the field education track and that a many of you have also volunteered as proposal reviewers. The field track presentations hold promise for an exciting APM, 2014. Additionally, the Field Council Connect Session will be held again on Saturday, October 25th from 8-9:30 in a similar format as the last several years but with timely additions and updates. Finally, a Field Summit is scheduled for October 23rd, the day before the conference begins. Please mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details.
A subgroup of the Field Council has been charged with a long-overdue survey of field directors to be administered in Fall 2014. Themes have been identified and construction of the questions is in progress. The survey will be distributed electronically so please watch for it in early Fall.
A roster of the Field Council membership is available on the CSWE website in the event that you have questions or wish to share your thoughts and ideas. Another avenue for communication is the Field Director’s listserv in which most of us participate on a regular basis: [email protected]. I wish you a great end to the semester and look forward to seeing you in Tampa!