Professional Experience Intervention and Support Processes
Purpose
The Professional Experience Intervention and Support Procedures provides a framework to effectively manage and monitor the early identification, intervention and support of students during professional experience.
Scope
This applies to all students enrolled in a Faculty of Education coursework program which has professional experience requirements.
Procedure Statement
1. General principles
Professional experience provides students with an opportunity to develop the knowledge and skills required to become successful graduates in professional settings.
The Faculty of Education supports the early identification and support of students undertaking professional experience who are at risk of unsatisfactory performance.
Sometimes students have difficulties and/or challenges as they progress through professional experience placements. The support of the provider-based staff is generally sufficient to assist the student improve performance and meet placement requirements.
Where this is not the case, Monash University staff will work with provider-based staff to take appropriate and collaborative action.
Students displaying unsatisfactory progress requiring early intervention will be mentored through the following process of intervention and support.
2. Student progress during professional experience
Monitoring of performance and providing timely, constructive feedback and support is important for the development of knowledge and skills required to achieve satisfactory performance in professional experience. It is the responsibility of the student to engage with provider-based staff/ mentors and supervisors to:
- reflect on and outline successes and/or failures and identify underlying reasons;
- seek feedback, discussing areas of strength and areas that are not yet satisfactory; and
- seek suggestions and provide strategies for improvement document all feedback obtained.
Notification of Concern is implemented when:
- the provider or University staff member assess that the student has the capacity to improve their performance with further intervention and support; or
- the provider or University staff member believe that the student may be at risk of not meeting the placement requirements.
Inability to Proceed: to be implemented when:
- a serious breach of professional behaviour has occurred and the provider or University wishes to immediately cease placement; or
- the student has failed a placement.
3. Notification of Concern
If a provider or University staff member has concerns regarding the conduct, capabilities or lack of development of skills of a student during professional experience, and which has not been resolved through the usual mentoring process, then a Notification of Concern is to be implemented. The Notification of Concern process will involve collaboration between provider-based and Monash University staff.
There are three broad categories of concern:
- Knowledge and skill (e.g. lack of ability to understand material, inadequate planning)
- Communication (e.g. poor interpersonal skills, inability to communicate effectively with students or clients)
- Behavioural (e.g. failure to engage, lack of teamwork, inappropriate or unprofessional conduct)
As soon as the provider or University staff member has reported the concerns, the Professional Experience Office (PEO) will log the details of the report and will commence the Notification of Concern procedures.
Notifications of concern should be logged as soon as possible to ensure the processes of intervention and support can be followed. The Professional Practice Consultant (PPC) will respond to the concern, as appropriate and, if needed, document a Development Support Plan prior to the commencement of the next placement. In the case of a final placement to course complete, the PPC and PEO will discuss the need for a subsequent placement to be secured.
4. Inability to proceed
Where a placement is deemed unsatisfactory due to serious misconduct, the placement will be immediately ceased by the PPC until an outcome can be provided under the student discipline provisions in Part 7 of Monash University (Council) Regulations.
Where a placement is deemed unsatisfactory after Notification of Concern procedures have been followed, the PPC will decide on the allocation of either a Withheld or NGO grade. A NGO grade means that the student will not proceed to further placement prior to their response to the Notice of Referral and Hearing request during the end of year Academic Progress cycle. All documentation related to the placement (ie. Professional Experience Report and Development Support Plan) will form part of the evidence considered during Academic Progress proceedings.
The decision of the Academic Progress proceedings will determine if a student is permitted to return in a subsequent academic year in the existing course and undertake a further placement, or is excluded from the course and the University.
Supporting Policies
Monash University (Council) Regulations, Part 7
Monash University (Academic Board) Regulations, Part 4
Responsibility for implementation
Associate Dean (Education)
Director, Professional Experience
Manager, Professional Experience
Manager, Professional Practice
Content Enquiries
Manager, Professional Experience
Notification of Concern procedure
Notification of Concern will generally proceed as following:
- The Professional Experience Office (PEO) will be provided with a Notification of Concern.
- The PEO will log the Notification of Concern.
- The PEO will notify the Professional Practice Consultant (PPC)
- The PPC will email the student and the provider-based staff, discuss the issue and arrange meetings as required (with provider-based staff and the student).
- The areas of concern will be made clear to the student and provider at each meeting. There will be a discussion with the provider and student about strategies to address the identified area(s) of concern. This may be documented in a Development Support Plan and will be signed by the PPC and be provided to the student.
- The provider-based staff member will monitor the performance of the student according to the details recorded in a Development Support Plan for a period of time as set out in the Development Support Plan.
- If after the allowed period of time the student has demonstrated sufficient improvement, the student will complete the remainder of the placement as per the original requirements. The student will be awarded a final grade (PGO) based on the Development Support Plan, the Professional Experience Report and the assessment of the PPC.
- If after the allowed period of time the student has demonstrated sufficient improvement, the student will complete the remainder of the placement as per the original requirements. The student will be awarded a final grade (PGO) based on the Development Support Plan, the Professional Experience Report and the assessment of the PPC.
- If after the allowed period of time the student has not demonstrated sufficient improvement, the student will be awarded a final grade (WH or NGO) based on the Development Support Plan, the placement assessment form returned by the provider, and the assessment of the PPC.
- If the result is WH, the student may be permitted to undertake placement in the future and the result of that future placement will be applied to the previous one.
- If the result is NGO, the student will not proceed to further placement prior to their response to the Notice of Referral and Hearing request during the end of year Academic Progress cycle.