SER 291 : Field Experience and Seminar
Fieldwork allows students to gain direct and supervised experience in the field of Human Services. Students will identify with the purposes, values and ethics of the human services profession and increase knowledge, develop skills by participating in real-life practice. Students will integrate academic coursework with experiential practice in an agency setting. To foster this integration of empirical and practice-based knowledge, students participate in a weekly professional practice seminar. Through structured assignments, the seminar provides students with the opportunity to discuss and reflect upon their experiences, as well as relate these experiences to the theories associated with the delivery of human services. Students will learn how to apply the National Organization for Human Services – Ethical Standards to all aspects of professional practice. All fieldwork placements are arranged with and approved by the Faculty Supervisor prior to the start of the semester. A minimum of 10 contact hours per week (totaling 150 supervised agency hours) in an approved agency and 2 hours of seminar is required each week. Prerequisite: SER 290 or permission of the Department Chair Instructional Support Fee applies.
Gen Ed Competency met: Ethical Dimensions
Course Outcomes
Students who successfully complete this course will be able to:
1. Demonstrate ethical and professional behavior.
2. Integrate theoretical knowledge with practical agency experience.
3. Identify a network of social welfare agencies, human service resources and policy practices.
4. Identify the roles of human service providers and the clients who are served by them.
5. Engage with individuals, families, groups and communities in a culturally competent manner.
6. Explain intervention strategies used with clients.
7. Examine personal values, beliefs, prejudices, and experiences regarding the social welfare system and clients who are served by it.
8. Function as an entry-level human services professional in an agency setting and clarify long term career goals.