When students receive a “No Credit” (NCR)

If a student does not meet the minimum threshold to receive a credit in their mid-term and/or final evaluation, additional measures will be taken.

At the Mid-point Evaluation:

• the student and the Faculty-Field Liaison advise the Assistant Dean, Field Education;
• a meeting is called by the student and/or their Faculty-Field Liaison with their Field Instructor, to discuss and develop a plan for success to address the score by the end of the practicum; and
• interim check-ins are established for the Faculty-Field Liaison to monitor and support progress.

At the Final Evaluation:

• the student and Faculty-Field Liaison meet with the Assistant Dean, Field Education, to discuss the failed practicum and next steps in the program.

The FFL and Practicum Office will review the student’s practicum work and recommend to the FIFSW Grades Assessment Committee one of the following:

1. That the student repeats the practicum in the next academic year. Students usually have only one opportunity to repeat the practicum. If the student receives a No Credit (NCR) in the repeat of the practicum, he/she may be asked to withdraw from the program and their registration will be terminated.
2. That the student applies to repeat the practicum when specific necessary conditions or requirements, which will support the likelihood of satisfactory field performance, have been met. The student has four years to complete the practicum from the date of registration. In initiating a request for readmission to practicum, students must provide a minimum of three months’ notice to the Practicum Office and document their efforts to fulfill the required conditions which were assigned. The Practicum Office will review the application to determine readiness to proceed.

Review Criteria to determine a student’s readiness to repeat a practicum include:

• • nature, severity, frequency, and scope of the performance issues;
  • ability to understand conceptual material in the practicum and develop behavioral skills to demonstrate this understanding;
  • judgment of the student’s ability to hear and use constructive feedback;
  • availability and use of educational resources (and therapeutic resources if needed) by the student to prepare for readmission;
  • availability of appropriate practicum resources for a repeat; and
  • the student’s ability to successfully present themself in a practicum interview in order to secure a practicum match.

3. That the student’s registration be terminated.

In exceptional circumstances, the Faculty-Field Liaison and Practicum Office can recommend a “supplemental” to the Chair of the Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work Assessment Committee. A practicum supplemental is an extension with clearly negotiated learning objectives. The Practicum Office and Faculty-Field Liaison will request a review of the NCR by the Chair of the Assessment Committee to initiate this procedure.

Supplementals are granted only in situations where students have not met certain required competencies, but the Field Instructor and Faculty-Field liaison determine that the student may have the potential to meet these requirements within a specific extended time frame (maximum 8 weeks).