College Field Placements
More than one-quarter of college survey respondents (27.7%) indicated that they had or would be participating in field placements.
Administrative records were used to identify the program areas of respondents who had already completed a field placement or indicated that they would be completing a
placement before they graduated. Exactly half of college students (50%) who participated or would be participating in field placements were enrolled in health, social and
community services. About one-quarter were in business programs (26%) and 15 per cent were in applied arts. Only 9 per cent were in technology programs.
Figure 43
College Field Placements by Program
About one-quarter of college field placement students (25.5%) said they had not yet participated in a field placement but would be participating before they graduated. College students who had already participated in field placements were asked to indicate the timing of all completed and future placement(s) in relation to their program. As shown in the figure below, the majority of college students did a single field placement (56%), but another 29 per cent did two placements.
Figure 44
Completed College Field Placements
50.1 25.5 15.8 8.6 0 20 40 60
Health, social & community
services
Business Applied arts Technology
Percent of respondents (n=1221) 56.0 28.5 9.4 6.3 0 20 40 60
One Two Three Four or more
Percent of
respondents (n=937)
College field placements were typically completed during the second year of the program (61%). Similar proportions of college students did a placement during first year (25%) or at the end of first year (26%). About one-third of students (32%) completed a placement at the end of their second year.
Figure 45
Timing of College Field Placements
College WIL students were highly satisfied with their field placement experiences,
ascribing a mean satisfaction score of 4.15 (see Table H26 in Appendix H). Almost half of respondents were satisfied (48%) and another 37 per cent were very satisfied. Only 6 per cent of respondents expressed any degree of dissatisfaction.
Figure 46
College Field Placement Satisfaction
Analysis of mean satisfaction scores by the number of completed field placements, as well as the length of respondents’ most recent placement, showed no significant differences between college students in their overall satisfaction – regardless of the number and duration of their field placement experiences.
College field placements generally included the following characteristics (see Table H10 in Appendix H):
• Placements were typically about ten weeks in length and averaged about 25.5 hours of work each week.
15.3 9.6 31.8 60.6 26.2 25.0 0 20 40 60 80
After third year Third year At the end of second year Second year At the end of first year First year Percent of respondents (n=937) 1.3 4.8 8.8 48.0 37.1 0 20 40 60 Very dissatisfied
Dissatisfied Neither Satisfied Very satisfied
Percent of
respondents
• The majority of college field placements were in the community (41%) or health care sector (14%). However, one-quarter were in private businesses or industry (25%). About one in ten college students was placed on-campus (9%) and 7 per cent were placed in government offices. Three per cent of college students did their field experience in a simulated work setting.
• Only 14 per cent of college students received compensation for their field experience, usually in the form of a salary (11%). Another 3 per cent of students received an honorarium or stipend.
• Close to three-quarters of college students (73%) indicated that their employer or site supervisor was involved in the evaluation of their field placement, and two- thirds (65%) were evaluated by college faculty or staff. More than one-third of respondents (36%) were encouraged to evaluate their own experience and 5 per cent said they were not evaluated.
• The majority of college field placement students were assessed on the quality of their performance, with 45 per cent receiving grades of pass/fail or
satisfactory/unsatisfactory and another 30 per cent receiving letter or number grades. Completion of a field placement was the only requirement for 17 per cent of students and 8 per cent of students did not receive any academic recognition for their participation.
College Field Placement Motivations, Benefits and Challenges
Of the 638 respondents who only participated in college field placements, 85 per cent identified their placement as mandatory, but only one-quarter (27%) indicated that they could apply for professional accreditation following program completion.
Six of the eight motivations viewed as quite or very influential by these respondents were employment-related: gaining practical work experience, résumé enhancement, applying classroom theory/skills, experiencing a professional work environment, improving employability skills, and making job search contacts. The other top motivations were meeting mandatory requirements, and determining fit with career or industry (see Tables H11 to H13 in Appendix H).
College field placement students viewed their placement as a valuable experience and considered the main benefits to be improved understanding of career interests, new insights into career goals, and opportunities to apply classroom theories to the work environment.
The top challenges for college field placement students were all related to time and cost pressures (no payment, unexpected financial costs, additional time demands, and balancing the field placement with family commitments).
University Field Placements
Eight per cent of university survey respondents said they had, or would be, participating in field placements.
Administrative records were used to identify the program areas of respondents who had already completed a field placement or indicated that they would be completing a
placement before they graduated. The university programs most likely to include field placements were in the social sciences (43%). Similar proportions of university field placements were in health and social services (18%), STEM (18%) and arts and humanities (17%). Only 4 per cent of business students did field placements as part of their program.
Figure 47
University Field Placements by Program
About one in ten university students (9.9%) indicated that they had not yet participated in a field placement but would be participating before they graduated.
University students who had already completed one or more field placements were asked to indicate the timing of all completed and future placement(s) in relation to their program. As shown in the figure below, the majority of university students did only a single field placement (56%) and another 20 per cent did two placements.
Figure 48
Completed University Field Placements
Close to half of university respondents did a field placement during their final year of study (47%), and one-third did a field placement in their third year (34%). Only one in ten was exposed to the field during their first year, but 22 per cent did a field placement in the second year of their program.
43.2 18.2 17.5 16.9 4.3 0 20 40 60 Social science Health & social services
STEM Arts & humanities Business Percent of respondents (n=479) 58.9 20.2 9.3 8.0 3.5 0 20 40 60 80
One Two Three Four Five or
more
Percent of
respondents
(n=442)
Figure 49
Timing of University Field Placements
University students expressed high levels of satisfaction with their overall field placement experiences, ascribing a mean satisfaction score of 4.07 (see Table H26 in Appendix H). Almost half of respondents were satisfied (48%) and another 33 per cent were very satisfied. Only 7 per cent of respondents expressed any degree of dissatisfaction.
Figure 50
University Field Placement Satisfaction
Analysis of mean satisfaction scores by the number of completed field placements, as well as the length of respondents’ most recent placement, showed no significant differences between university students in their overall WIL satisfaction – regardless of the number and duration of their field placement experiences.
University field placements generally included the following characteristics (see Table H10 in Appendix H):
• Placements were typically about 12 weeks in length and averaged about 22 hours of work each week.
• One in five university students were placed on-campus for their field experience (19%). External placements were most likely to involve community or non-profit organizations (38%), followed by the private sector (17%), health care (11%) and government (10%). Five per cent of university students gained field experience in a simulated work environment.
17.1 47.4 27.1 33.5 15.1 21.6 7.7 11.1 0 20 40 60
After fourth year Fourth year At the end of third year Third year At the end of second year Second year At the end of first year First year Percent of respondents (n=442) 1.0 5.7 12.0 47.9 33.4 0 20 40 60 Very dissatisfied
Dissatisfied Neither Satisfied Very satisfied
Percent of
respondents
• About one-third of university students were compensated for their field placement, including 26 per cent who received a salary and 6 per cent who received an honorarium or stipend.
• Similar proportions of respondents indicated that university faculty or staff (50%) and employers or site supervisors (49%) were involved in the evaluation of their field placement. Only one-quarter (24%) did a self-evaluation and fully 20 per cent said they were not evaluated.
• Just more than half of university field placement students were assessed on the quality of their performance, with 32 per cent receiving letter or number grades and 22 per cent receiving grades of pass/fail. One in ten students were required only to complete a placement. More than one-third of university students (36%) did not receive any academic recognition for their field placement.
• Seven per cent of respondents completed French language field placements.
University Field Placement Motivations, Benefits and Challenges
Of the 213 respondents who only participated in university field placements, 35 per cent identified their placement as mandatory and 18 per cent indicated that they could apply for professional accreditation following program completion.
Only two motivations were viewed by these students as quite or very influential and both were employment-related: gaining practical work experience and résumé enhancement (see Tables H11 to H13 in Appendix H).
University field placement students viewed their placement as a valuable experience and considered the main benefits to be improved understanding of career interests.
The top challenges for university field placement students were time and cost pressures (no payment, additional time demands) and school-related (insufficient advance
preparation from the university, and not enough opportunities to integrate workplace learning back into the classroom).