Nova Southeastern University

Steps for Obtaining Field Experience

Teacher candidates must fully complete the Broward County Security Clearance process prior to requesting a field experience placement from the Broward County School District. (See Security Clearance link above for more information on obtaining Broward County security clearance).

Security Clearance Requirement: Teacher candidates seeking placement in Broward County must complete Broward County security clearance prior to requesting placement. You will be required to provide badge expiration date when signing on to placement request website.

Teacher candidates seeking placement in Broward County must complete a Broward County Request for Placement form online as soon as they register for classes at NSU.

Steps for requesting placement:

1. Click on ‘New Here? Sign-Up’
2. Fill in the required information (use your assigned NSU email account only)
3. Password is a minimum of 6 characters and MUST include a SPECIAL character (# ! @ ? …)
4. Important: school placements will be assigned to you based on the address that you register with on this site
5. Click submit
6. Check your NSU email account
7. Click on the link in the email that you received to confirm your account
8. Sign in with the username and password you created (be sure to SAVE or write down your information for later use)
9. Click on the “Course Registration” icon
10. Fill in the required information (Security expiration is your security clearance expiration date, which can be found on the front of your badge)
11. Click on the course you are seeking to complete field experience/practicum hours for – alphabetize courses by clicking COURSE tab at top of screen
12. Click submit
13. Repeat steps 11 & 12 to request placement for each course requiring hours - request placements for the ENTIRE 16-week semester.

Save the Broward Schools Placement Request Website to your computer or in your email account for future use. New placements must be requested for each semester. Requests should be submitted prior to the start date of the intended semester. https://webappe.browardschools.com/fieldexperience/Login.aspx

Once the field placement request has been approved, you will receive an email from the Broward County placement website. The teacher candidate should contact the assigned school within one week of obtaining placement. After the teacher candidate has made an initial visit to the assigned school, the location and details of the placement need to be officially reported to the Florida Department of Education by completing the Field Placement Reporting Form.

NOTE: Teacher candidates are required to complete a new Request for Placement form each semester. All undergraduate teacher candidates are required to obtain a different placement each semester.

The placement process is handled by university and county officials only. Intervention by teacher candidates violates the agreement between Nova Southeastern University and the public school system. Teacher candidates are not permitted to contact the School Board of Broward County regarding placements. If assistance or clarification is needed regarding field placements, teacher candidates should contact the Office of Placement Services at 800-986-3223 ext. 28561 (Internships) ext. 25364 (Field Experience)

• NSU e-mail account
• School District of Broward County Placement Request
• Field Placement Reporting Form 

Steps for Obtaining Field Placement
Teacher candidates completing their field experiences in Miami-Dade County secure placement on their own by following the steps below:

1. OBTAIN SECURITY CLEARANCE
   Security clearance is required of anyone doing Field Experience for any Education class. In order to obtain security clearance, please use the following link  above
2. REVIEW THE CLASS SYLLABUS
   Teacher candidates should review the course syllabus for each education course in which they are currently enrolled to determine the appropriate classroom setting for the field experience.
3. LOCATE A SCHOOL
   Once they have established the classroom setting required for the observation, teacher candidates should locate a school that has this setting available for completion of the field experience. To secure a placement, the teacher candidate should contact the curriculum coordinator or assistant principal of a school of interest and present the letter of introduction. The teacher candidate should express his/her interest in completing the field experience with a cooperating teacher who has clinical educator training. He/she must make sure to obtain the following information before leaving the school in order to go on to the next step:
   • Name of the school
   • Address of the school (including city, state and zip)
   • Phone number of the school
   • Name of the Cooperating Teacher
   • Grade level
   • Area of Specialization of the Cooperating Teacher
4. SUBMIT PLACEMENT REPORTING FORM Once the assistant principal (or curriculum coordinator) has agreed to allow the teacher candidate to complete the field experience at their school, the teacher candidate MUST fill out the Miami-Dade Placement Reporting Form.

Teacher candidates should secure placement at one school for the entire 16-week term, regardless of the number of different classes he/she will take. If this is not possible, the teacher candidate must repeat the placement process and submit a new Placement Form.

Teacher candidates should obtain a placement and fill out the Placement Reporting Form by the fifth week of class.

Steps for Obtaining Field Placement

• Jacksonville Request for Placement Form
• Nassau County Placement Request Form

Teacher candidates seeking placement in Jacksonville must complete a Jacksonville Request for Placement form as soon as they register for classes. Depending on the time of year, placement can take up to 4 weeks, your form should be faxed or emailed one month prior to class and no later than the first day.

The placement process is to be handled by university and county officials only. Intervention by teacher candidates violates the agreement between Nova Southeastern University and the public school system. Teacher candidates are not permitted to contact the school board regarding placements. If assistance or clarification is needed regarding field placements, teacher candidates should contact the Office of Placement Services at 800-986-3223 ext 28561 (Internships) or ext. 25364 (Field Experience).

Once the Request for Placement Form has been processed, the Office of Placement Services will contact the teacher candidate with the placement information. Teacher candidates should contact the assigned school within one week of obtaining placement.

Orange County

The majority of your field experience hours can be secured by requesting placement through the Orange County Public Schools Volunteer website. https://www.ocps.net/es/cr/resources/Pages/VolunteerOnlineApplication.aspx

Internships, Pre-Internships, and Practicums require advanced planning due to early application deadlines. These deadlines are a minimum of 4 months prior to placement. Please contact our office for exact dates and placement request procedures.

Osceola County

If your field experience includes any interaction with students, please fill out the Placement Request Form and email it to jmiller2@nova.edu  or fax it to: 954-262-3925.

If you only need to observe, no student contact, you may contact schools directly to arrange your visits AFTER you are cleared through OASIS:

http://www.osceola.k12.fl.us/depts/OASIS/OASIS.asp

Steps for Obtaining Field Placement

Request for Placement Form

Security Clearance: Teacher candidates seeking placement in Palm Beach County must complete the Palm Beach County security clearance process. Teacher candidates seeking placement in Palm Beach County must complete a Palm Beach County Request for Placement form as soon as they register for classes.

The only way to ensure timely placement is to complete and fax the Request for Placement form to the Office of Placement Services at least one month before the start of class. Also, include a clear copy of your current security clearance badge along with your placement request form. Your placement will NOT be processed without the security clearance copy. Fax both forms to (954) 262-3925.

The placement process is to be handled by university and county officials only. Intervention by teacher candidates violates the agreement between Nova Southeastern University and the public school system. Teacher candidates are not permitted to contact the School Board of Palm Beach County regarding placements. If assistance or clarification is needed regarding field placements, teacher candidates should contact the Office of Placement Services at 800-986-3223 ext 28561.

Once Palm Beach County has processed the Request for Placement, the Office of Placement Services will contact the teacher candidate with the placement information. Teacher candidates should contact the assigned school within one week of obtaining placement.

Steps for Obtaining Field Placement

• Tampa Placement Reporting Form

Teacher candidates completing their field experiences in Tampa will need to secure field placement on their own by following the steps below:

Teacher candidates should review the course syllabus for each education course in which they are currently enrolled to determine the appropriate classroom setting for the field experience. Once they have established the classroom setting required for the observation, teacher candidates should locate a school that has this setting available for completion of the field experience.

To secure a placement, the teacher candidate should contact the curriculum coordinator or assistant principal and present the letter of introduction, proof of security clearance, and the section of the syllabus (or syllabi) that describes the requirements for the field experience. The teacher candidate should express his/her interest in completing the field experience with a clinically trained teacher at that school.

Teacher candidates should secure placement at one school for the entire 16-week semester. If this is not possible, the teacher candidate must repeat the above listed process to the curriculum coordinator or assistant principal of another school.

Once the assistant principal (or curriculum coordinator) has agreed to allow the teacher candidate to complete the field experience at their school, he/she should complete the online placement reporting form (link provided above) to officially log the placement with NSU.

Teacher candidates should complete the online placement reporting form by the fifth week of class.

Steps for Obtaining Field Experience

• Las Vegas Placement Request Form 
• Las Vegas Placement Reporting Form

Teacher candidates seeking field experience placement for education courses should complete the Las Vegas Placement Request Form (provided above)at least ONE to TWO months prior to their course start date.

Teacher candidates should indicate their preferred grade level (primary or intermediate). The grade level requested must be different from the previous placement. Teacher candidates may even request a specific school that they wish to complete their hours in. When the form is complete it must be faxed to the Office of Placement Services at 954-262-3925.

The Office of Placement Services will then submit the placement request form to the Clark County School District. Once the county has placed the teacher candidate they will notify the Las Vegas Instructional Center of the final placement. All questions and concerns should be directed to the office of Placement at 800-986-3223 ext. 27900 or your assigned Enrollment Services Representative (ESR/Academic Advisor).

The teacher candidate should contact the assigned school/cooperating teacher within one week of obtaining the placement information.

*IMPORTANT NOTE- Undergraduate teacher candidates may NOT complete field experience hours at the same school for more than one semester, or at a school where they have children/family attending. The rule does not apply to Graduate Teacher candidates.

On the first visit to the assigned school, teacher candidates should complete the online, Las Vegas Placement Reporting Form (provided above). The above Reporting Form should be completed each time a teacher candidate completes field experience hours at a different school (each semester).

Teacher candidates are required to log all time spent in the classroom after each classroom visit using the Field Experiences Checklist (provided in the course syllabus). Teacher candidates should ask their cooperating teacher to sign the checklist and complete the Field Experiences Evaluation Form that corresponds to their appropriate course, at the end of each semester.

Field Experience for Online/Distance Education Students

Teacher candidates that do not live in Florida or Nevada that are seeking field experience placement should follow the following steps:

1. Contact the school district for the county that you wish to complete your field experience hours in.
2. Find out how the school district prefers to process placements for field experience students. Does the school district prefer to place students themselves or do they encourage students to find their own placement? If the school district prefers to assign placements to students then the Office of Placement Services will need to be given a contact name and phone number for that school district.
3. Next, you will need to inquire about security clearance (fingerprinting). Although, every school district may not require field experience students to complete the fingerprinting process, it is NSU’s policy that all field experience/internship students do so. Find out what the proper procedures are and obtain security clearance for the county in which you will complete your field experience hours in.
4. If a school district requires students to find their own placement then you may use the Letter of Introduction to aid you in explaining your intentions when contacting schools/assistant principals. A print out of your course syllabi will also be helpful in this process.
5. Once you have secured your placement (whether it was assigned by the school district or obtained by self placement) you will then need to report your placement to NSU. You may do so by using the online Field Placement Reporting Form. You will find this form on the first page of our Field Experience website.
6. If you should have any questions or problems in regards to obtaining a field placement in your area then please contact the Office of Placement Services at 1-800-986-3223 ext. 28561 or email us at robidoug@nova.edu . Having close and constant contact with the Office of Placement Services will ensure a smooth placement process for all students.

**NOTE- Undergraduate students will need to obtain a different field placement each semester. It is not permitted for undergraduate education students to complete field experience hours where they work, have previously completed field experience hours, or where they have children/family attending.

Teacher candidates who do not teach in a classroom setting, completing their field experiences in the Bahamas Islands, will need to secure placement on their own by following the steps below:

1. OBTAIN SECURITY CLEARANCE
Security clearance is required of anyone conducting a field experience for any education class.
In order to obtain security clearance, please use the following link: http://forms.bahamas.gov.bs/dp_form.asp?fid=299
Applicants who require fingerprint checks should apply in person at the Criminal Records Office, Thompson Boulevard, so that their fingerprints can be scanned on to the application, and certificate can be ready on the pick-up date. A passport, drivers licence or voters card must be submitted for identification before fingerprints are checked. Use the PDF icon from this link to print a form that you will fill out and take with you to the Criminal Records Office.

Fingerprinting results will be sent to the Bahamas Student Educational Center.

2. REVIEW THE CLASS SYLLABUS

Teacher candidates should review the course syllabus for each education course for which they are currently enrolled to determine the appropriate classroom setting for the field experience.

3. LOCATE A SCHOOL

Once they have established the classroom setting required for field experience assignments, teacher candidates should locate a school that has this setting available for completion of the field experience hours. To secure a placement, the teacher candidate should contact the curriculum coordinator, principal or vice principal of a school of interest and present the NSU letter of introduction. He/she must be sure to obtain the following information prior to leaving the school in order to go on to the next step:
Name of the school
Address of the school
Phone number of the school
Name of the Cooperating Teacher (if applicable)
Grade level
Area of Specialization of the Cooperating Teacher

4. SUBMIT PLACEMENT REPORTING FORM

Once the vice principal, principal, or curriculum coordinator has agreed to allow the teacher candidate to complete the field experience at the school, the teacher candidate MUST fill out the Field Placement Reporting Form.

If assistance or clarification is needed regarding field placements, students should contact the Office of Placement Services at 800-986-3223 ext. 28561 or their Academic Advisor.

Recap

• Security Clearance
• NSU e-mail account
• Letter of Introduction-assists students in securing a placement at a school
• Principal Approval Form-for those students who are already teachers
• Field Placement Reporting Form-report where your field experience is completed
• The NSU email address will be the primary channel of communication between the teacher candidate and the Office of Placement Services. Teacher candidates may obtain an NSU e-mail account online if one has not been provided already (see link above for more information).
• *Students who are currently teachers may complete their field experience hours in their own classroom provided that it is approved by the school principal. Please have the Principal Approval Form signed and returned to the Office of Placement Services for verification. Fax number- 954-262-3925 or email to robidoug@nova.edu.