Harvard Divinity School

Ministry Studies

General Policies of the Supervised Field Education Program

Introduction to Field Education at Harvard Divinity School

Theological field education is at the heart of our efforts to prepare leaders through a combination of traditional classroom studies and practical experiential learning. Our students serve in a diverse range of settings, including mosques, schools, Christian congregations, hospital and college chaplaincies, and many other places. Leaders in these types of settings need to know how to respond creatively to challenging circumstances. Field education not only prepares students to do the basic tasks of ministry, but it also enables students to develop leadership artistry and design when approaching ministry challenges. Field education teaches the skill of reflecting on ministry, so that students might become reflective practitioners.

Affirmation of Diversity and Inclusiveness

Harvard Divinity School places a high value on affirming diversity. We welcome students of many nationalities, races, ethnic origins, religious traditions, and sexual orientations. Our understanding of ministry and theological education requires that as a matter of policy this diversity be affirmed by those who host Harvard Divinity School students as a part of field education, and we ask that each student be treated with respect in every facet of education for ministry. Therefore, all sites and supervisors who choose to enter the Harvard Divinity School Field Education Program, by doing so, agree to this policy of affirmation of each student's ethnicity, nationality, race, religious tradition, and sexual orientation.

Supervised Field Education, Partnerships

There are two related educational purposes for the Field Education Program. The first fundamental rationale for field education is to develop, under supervision within ministry settings, experience and competencies in arts of ministry. The second purpose is to enable students to develop an understanding of, and the ability to lead, complex institutions.

Field education depends on a set of partnerships between the students, the Divinity School, field education supervisors, and the ministry settings to foster students' development in the arts of ministry and the cultivation of leadership strengths. In the set of learning relationships within field education, learning occurs through dialogue. The two-way flow of theological conversation integrates experiences in ministry and classroom education for ministry in such a way that each is informed by the other.

We expect courses (preaching, as an example) at the Divinity School to prepare students to begin practicing and honing certain skills within field education ministries. If courses are only taken in isolation, however, there exists, at best, a loose partnership in which the school's function is to give the student some understanding (theory) and the ministry setting's function is to provide an opportunity to use and practice (praxis). Often the result of this view is not partnership, but devaluation of each arena by the other: the academy views those in ministry as mere technicians; those in ministry say, "You don't learn what you need to know in seminary." Field education, in contrast, enables the kind of partnership where each participant values the contributions the others make. Each partner needs the others for the fullest learning to occur.

A few ways in which we hope the partnership will work:

• Supervisors encourage students not only to develop technical skills, but to reflect theologically on their practice and the experiences related to them.
• Supervisors embrace the integrative view of ministry and encourage students to bring the issues considered at the Divinity School to their conversations on ministry.
• The Divinity School values ministry experiences as integral to the theological enterprise, and thus encourages students to use them to test, challenge, and formulate analysis.

This list is not nearly exhaustive, but is meant to suggest the nature and extent of the partnerships we hope to create among settings, supervisors, the School, and our students. In service to those partnerships, we seek to inform supervisors and settings about ministry education here at Harvard Divinity School and of their integral part in it. We also seek to value our supervisors and settings as important contributors to the theological conversations in which the School and our students are engaged. Consequently, each field education site listed in this book is accredited and each supervisor is certified by the Divinity School.

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Supervised Field Education, Policies for Students

General

• Students in the MDiv program are required to complete a minimum of two units of supervised field education. Each unit requires 350-400 hours of field experience. It is important to note that included in these hours are the time for supervision, worship participation, travel to and from the site, and preparation (such as time taken to prepare to teach classes or preach sermons).
• At least one unit must be fulfilled as a regular concurrent unit, i.e., while a registered student in residence over one full academic year, 12 to 15 hours per week.
• Both units may be fulfilled concurrently with the academic year over a two-year period. However, one of the required units of field education credit may alternatively be earned in a summer intensive Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) program, other full-time summer placements, or in internship programs if arrangements are approved in advance by the director of field education.
• Most students complete more than the required minimum of two field education placements, and students are encouraged to do so.

Students pursuing theological education in the Boston area have an additional resource beyond their own schools. Each school within the Boston Theological institute (BTI) welcomes students from other schools to engage in field education at one of their sites, when the site is not filled by one of their own students. This means that HDS students are free to explore field education sites affiliated with other schools if a student is unable to find a suitable field education placement in one of our accredited sites. This calls for the student to follow the BTI policies (stated at the end of this book) and to coordinate fully with the sponsoring school. 
Additionally, HDS students must be approved to seek such placements by first contacting the director of field education.

There is one other way for students to find a placement suitable for their vocational and educational interests. If neither an HDS nor a BTI accredited site proves fitting, the student may seek out and propose a student-initiated placement. In such a placement, the student works together with the director of field education to identify an appropriate setting, and to find an approved supervisor. The guidelines and application procedures found in the later section titled "Student-Initiated Placements" must be observed to obtain approval for any student-initiated placement.

All approved field education placements must meet standards of competent supervision, including having supervisors available for regular consultation, and meet the requirements and deadlines for learning agreements and evaluations.

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Arts of Ministry Competencies

During the course of study for their degree, MDiv students are required to demonstrate proficiency in at least three of the six arts of ministry through a combination of coursework and field education.

The School provides coursework (including courses in other departments and Schools of Harvard University) and field placements leading to competence in these arts of ministry: Preaching and Worship; Pastoral Care and Counseling; Religious Education and Spiritual Development; Administration and Program Development; Public Leadership, Community Organizing and Planning; and Denominational Polity. In each of the three arts selected, satisfactory completion of one half course focusing directly on the area of competence, combined with evidence of basic competence attested to in the field education evaluation, will normally serve to satisfy the degree requirement.

The arts of ministry in which competence can be demonstrated are as follows:

Preaching and Worship

The ability to prepare and deliver effective sermons, and to plan and lead various forms of worship. One can choose to separate preaching and worship, selecting one or the other as the focus of basic competence, or one can combine the two, as might those students from denominations and traditions in which they are seen as closely integrated. Those who select preaching or worship as a separate area of competence must choose two other areas from within the remaining five (that is, a student may not choose preaching, worship, and one other as the three areas).

Pastoral Care and Counseling

The ability to provide counsel with attention to the spiritual dimensions, faith issues, and social contexts of people's lives.

Religious Education and Spiritual Development

The ability to recognize the importance of nurturing religious faith and knowledge in all aspects of ministry, and to design and lead learning programs for the development of personal and community faith and life.

Administration and Program Development

The ability to take responsibility in directing a variety of aspects of institutional ministry (policy, planning, staff, plant, financial concerns, etc.), and to develop and implement programs related to the stated goals of an institution or community of faith.

Public Leadership, Community Organizing and Planning

The ability to relate a significant social policy issue (at local, community, national, or international levels) to one's ministry, to provide leadership in planning and analysis in the public sphere regarding that issue, and to engage the resources of a community of faith in addressing that issue. Work in this area focuses on and allows examination of contemporary social systems, institutions, and problems, strengthening the minister's ability to connect religious symbols and meaning with the dynamics of contemporary public life.

Denominational Polity

The ability to appropriate and interpret critically the history, theology, and polity of a denominational tradition, to relate these to significant contemporary issues raised within or outside the denominational church, and to participate in shaping the changing experience of a denominational religious community.

In each of the three arts selected, satisfactory completion of one half course focusing directly on the area of competence, combined with evidence of basic competence attested to in the field education evaluation, will normally serve to fulfill the degree requirement. Courses ordinarily used to meet the arts of ministry requirement are so noted in the course description.

In order to receive arts of ministry credit in a course, students must formally register for the art on their study cards at the beginning of the semester and then complete the arts of ministry components of the course to the satisfaction of the instructor. In order to receive arts of ministry credit for a course for which the particular art of ministry is not noted in the course description, the student and the faculty member must, in addition, complete the art of ministry Special Faculty Agreement form and return it to the Registrar's Office. In order to receive arts of ministry credit for a cross-registered course in the BTI or another Harvard School (except in the case where the art of ministry is evident, e.g., a course titled "Pastoral Care and Counseling"), the student must submit a one-page statement to the Office of Ministry Studies that describes the ways in which the student understands him- or herself to have met the arts of ministry requirements in the course. A single half course may not serve to fulfill more than one art of ministry.

A single field education placement may serve to fulfill one or more arts of ministry. In order to receive arts of ministry credit in any field education placement, the student must formally declare that art on the field education learning agreement at the beginning of the placement and complete that art of ministry component of the experience to the satisfaction of the field education supervisor, who will indicate successful completion of the art on the final evaluation form. 

In order to meet arts of ministry requirements and develop satisfactory vocational preparation, students should work closely with their academic advisers and the Office of Ministry Studies faculty to coordinate their field education placements and their courses.

Field education enables integrative work around the student's chosen arts of ministry. This integrative work occurs when students take coursework and also work in ministry settings to gain mastery of crucial arts of ministry.

To fulfill the requisites for each art of ministry, students must:

• Register for and complete an academic course for that art of ministry (see the academic catalogue and the student handbook for courses which may ordinarily count for arts of ministry and for registration and course requirements related thereto);

and

• Demonstrate related practice and competency in that art of ministry in at least one field experience; e.g., a course in Pastoral Care and Counseling and a field experience that includes practice in pastoral care. One course may count for only one art of ministry, i.e., a student will need to register for and take at least three courses for arts of ministry. The Office of Ministry Studies faculty is available for consultation on the selection of arts of ministry courses, appropriate field education placements, and the process of integration. It is not required that students be concurrently enrolled in a course focusing on an art of ministry and developing that art in a field education placement. Thus, the coursework may precede or follow upon the student's engagement in the art of ministry in field education.
• Students are responsible for the completion of arts of ministry and other program requirements. The registrar maintains records for students' completion of degree requirements. In addition to review of these records with advisers, students are urged to meet with the Office of Ministry Studies faculty members to discuss their plans for completion of arts of ministry and field education requirements and their related vocational plans.

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Student Files

The file of each student is open only to that student and the Office of Ministry Studies, as it contains confidential records and evaluations of field education experiences. In order for evaluations to be sent to denominational officials or any other person, the Office of Ministry Studies must receive a written request from the student to release the evaluation to a specific person and address. 

Field Education Procedures

Harvard Divinity School's Field Education Program values a fundamental principle of adult learning: that the best learning is student-directed. Therefore, we allow students to choose their own placements. Since students select their own placements, students shall not hold Harvard University responsible for physical or other injuries incurred in the course of field education placements. In evaluating and selecting field education sites, students are encouraged to consult with Office of Ministry Studies faculty. Students are also encouraged to make use of this handbook and the website, conversations with other students, conversations at the field education site fair, and follow-up interviews with field education supervisors. In addition, students entering their first concurrent field education placement must attend the scheduled field education training sessions held early in the fall.

All field education documents must be handed in to the Office of Ministry Studies (Andover 108) in order to receive credit toward graduation. It is the student's responsibility to make certain that all materials are filed in a timely and thorough way. Students should make certain to receive approval for field education through the Office of Ministry Studies before making a commitment to any site, and also should make certain to file all the required forms before completing the unit of field education.

Site Fair and Placement Interviews

Every September, the Office of Ministry Studies hosts a site fair for field education settings. At this fair students may take the opportunity to meet supervisors who represent accredited sites.

From these meetings or other initial contacts, students should arrange on-site interviews with supervisors at the sites which interest them.

Placement Contract

Once a student and a supervisor agree to do a field education unit together, the student is responsible for notifying the Office of Ministry Studies by filing a field education placement contract. This form can be found outside the Office of Ministry Studies, or online, on the Field Education website. If a student does not readily find an acceptable placement, she or he should contact the Office of Ministry Studies immediately for consultation and the suggestion of possible sites. 

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Learning Agreement

The first supervisory sessions should be scheduled as soon as possible in order to begin the negotiation of the learning agreement. The student and the supervisor must negotiate and complete the learning agreement using the forms provided. The learning agreement establishes and delimits goals, objectives, tasks, resources, and the supervision process. Serious consideration of this document sets up the learning relationship that is so crucial in field education. In the ministry vocations, professionals need to bring special attention to the negotiation of expectations and commitments to attain clarity, accountability, and appropriate limits. Often, it is necessary to refer back to the learning agreement in order to clarify what specifically was meant and what was implied in the original conversations.

Students are reminded that reading and exam periods are not automatically times away from field education. Part of the purpose of concurrent field education units is to require students to use careful negotiation and planning to manage several competing demands on their time.

Learning agreements must be completed and returned to the Office of Ministry Studies, Andover 108, within three weeks of beginning a placement and no later than the published deadline. This form can be found outside the Office of Ministry Studies, or online, on the Field Education website. It is crucial that students and supervisors discuss together and in advance when and for how much time students might be away from the placement setting.

Orientation to Field Education

Field education training will be held on Wednesday, September 12, 2007, 4-6 pm, in the Sperry Room, Andover Hall. This training is mandatory for new students and returning students in their first concurrent placement and will address arts of ministry, learning agreements, evaluations, supervision, and strategies for a fruitful field education experience.

Stipend Training

Students whose field education placement will be funded through OMS are required to attend a training session on September 25, 2007, from 5:30 to 6:30 pm in the Sperry Room, Andover Hall. Information provided at this meeting is necessary for proper enrollment in and navigation of the stipend system.

Theological Reflection Course

MDiv students who are in their first concurrent placement are required to register for and complete either the biweekly course (HDS 2933) or the module course (HDS 2944), "Meaning Making: Thinking Theologically About Ministry Experience." Participation in one of these courses is encouraged, but not required, of non-MDiv students who are in field education. 

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Mid-Year Evaluation and Renegotiation

In late December and January students and supervisors are expected to prepare a joint evaluation and make whatever negotiated mid-stream adjustments are required to the initial learning agreement. This form can be found outside the Office of Ministry Studies, or online, on the Field Education website. Students and supervisors must meet together to discuss their evaluations before submitting them to the Office of Ministry Studies. Completed evaluations are due in the Office of Ministry Studies on or before the published deadline. See the section below regarding deadlines. Members of the ministry studies faculty will read all these evaluations.

Final Evaluation

In April and May the student and supervisor work together to prepare a final joint evaluation of the student's work during the year. Evaluation is an ongoing process, but the written evaluation is intended to identify and crystallize the strengths and weaknesses of the year-long learning experience. This form can be found outside the Office of Ministry Studies, or online, on the Field Education website. Just as was true for the mid-year evaluation, so also at the end of the year, students and supervisors must share their evaluations with each other before submitting them to the Office of Ministry Studies. Completed evaluations are due on or before the published deadlines. See the following section regarding deadlines.

Deadlines

Students are expected to function within field education in as professional a fashion as the other professionals in their placement. An example of the professionalism we expect is students will treat deadlines with respect. Designated deadlines are set each year by the Office of Ministry Studies and published in the online field education calendar, in the Field Education Handbook, and in the student announcements on the HDS intranet.

Students and supervisors must take responsibility for meeting all program deadlines. If one or the other has made arrangements to be away during the time just prior to a deadline, it is their mutual responsibility to schedule time for preparing the work early. When, due to unforeseeable circumstances, a deadline cannot be met, the student must file a request for extension. This form can be found outside the Office of Ministry Studies, or online, on the Field Education website. If an extension is granted, the negotiated due date must then be met.

Failure to work with and relate to the structure of the Field Education Program, including meeting all stated deadlines, may result in the loss of field education credit and/or funding for the student, and in loss of accreditation and certification for the site and the supervisor. 

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Grievance and Due Process

Wherever people work closely together, there is likely to be some conflict, and this is true in field education, where the power dynamics in the supervisory process are varied and complex. From time to time, however, there may be profound disagreements or differences between and among persons participating in the process of field education.

Occasionally, formal processes and charges may be appropriate. Examples are: differences about an evaluation, interpersonal conflict around an issue of/in ministry, concerns about personal integrity, and sexual abuse or harassment.

The Office of Ministry Studies is committed to upholding standards of professional conduct in field education placements. Supervisors are subject to Harvard Divinity School staff policies. Those policies are available in the Office of Ministry Studies or the Office of Academic Administration, and they may be posted on the Office of Ministry Studies website. Students, by virtue of their enrollment, are subject to Divinity School grievance policies and procedures, which are found in the HDS Handbook for Students. Please note that these policies apply to students fully, both on and off campus.

As a matter of professional practice, most grievances should be addressed directly among the parties involved. Should this be impossible or fail to resolve the grievance, the associate and assistant deans for ministry studies or the assistant dean for academic administration should be contacted for advice or to file a formal grievance according to Harvard Divinity School policies.

Grievances Involving Complaints of Sexual Harassment or Sexual Abuse

If a student is charged with, involved in, or alleged to be involved in sexual abuse or harassment against persons or in situations associated with the field education placement, the supervisor must inform the associate and assistant deans for ministry studies or assistant dean for academic administration immediately. The School reserves the right to place the student on leave from the placement immediately. Similarly, the School reserves the right to suspend the supervisory relationship pending the outcome of an investigation into charges of sexual harassment or sexual abuse.

If a student or other parties charge that a student is or has been the victim of sexually harassing or abusive behavior perpetrated by anyone associated with the field education site, one of the above-mentioned deans must be informed. Again, the School reserves the right to immediately place the student on leave from the placement.

Because of the power inherent in the supervisory role, sexual or romantic relationships between supervisors and students are strictly prohibited and are considered to be cases of sexual abuse on the part of the supervisor, whether or not there is the appearance of consent. All instances of sexual or romantic relationships between a supervisor and a student will be treated as sexual abuse on the part of the supervisor, and grievance procedures will be carried out on that basis.

If the alleged perpetrator is someone other than the supervisor and is not officially connected to Harvard University, the site will follow its own procedures for addressing the incident. The School retains full authority to determine whether the site and/or supervisor may remain accredited and certified.

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Early Termination

From time to time it is necessary for a field education experience to be terminated prior to the time given in the learning agreement. In order for this to be as intentional and non-blaming as possible, the Office of Ministry Studies has devised the following process. It is normally required that all HDS certified supervisors and students complete this process before embarking on another unit of field education.

Instructions: Both supervisor and student should respond to the following three questions separately and send the completed reflection to the Office of Ministry Studies. Then we ask both to meet with a faculty member from OMS to share and discuss the responses, to facilitate learning from the process of premature termination.

1. Please write a narrative paragraph indicating your perspective on the supervisory relationship, including events, structures, or issues that you believe have contributed to the ending of that relationship.
2. Based on the above paragraph, please reflect on your own feelings and behaviors and describe what your contributions, both positive and negative, have been to the relationship.
3. Based on #2, please reflect on what you would do differently, indicating what you have learned from the experience about your own style of ministry.

Termination of Affiliation of Site or Supervisor

The Office of Ministry Studies holds full authority to terminate a site or supervisor, at will. While such termination is rare, it is important for the Office of Ministry Studies, sites, and supervisors each to take every initiative possible to maintain healthy relationships between sites, students, and HDS. 

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Additional Field Education Policies and Procedures

Student-Initiated Placements

The purpose of student-initiated placements is to allow students with special educational goals not readily met in our current accredited sites to seek out and propose their own placements. Student-initiated placements must meet the criteria for learning and for supervision for all field education placements as outlined in the preceding pages, except that the site has not previously been accredited and/or the supervisor may or may not have been certified.

A student interested in proposing a student-initiated placement should meet with a member of the OMS staff to discuss the proposal. If the placement appears to meet the criteria for field education placements, then a written application must be submitted to OMS. Students should begin the student-initiation process early enough that the fully completed application can be filed by the due date for contracts.

In student-initiated placements the setting must provide the student's stipend, either the full stipend or the employer's portion of college work-study funding.

The application for the placement is reviewed by OMS for action. If the placement is approved, the standard field education procedures are followed, including the filing of a placement contract, learning agreement, and evaluations. The student-initiated placement application does not replace the placement contract or learning agreement.

Because the Office of Ministry Studies works more closely with its permanently accredited sites and certified supervisors to form a partnership in education for ministry, only rarely may a student fulfill both required units of field education by student-initiated placements, and this requires special approval by OMS.

Summer Field Education Units

A student may seek out and earn a unit of field education credit for a summer placement. A summer unit, like the concurrent unit, comprises 350-400 hours of supervised ministry experience, including travel, preparation, and supervision, and it meets the stated criteria for field education placements. The student normally works full-time (30-40 hours per week) for a period of 10 weeks or more. Learning agreements for summer placements are due within two weeks of the student's beginning the placement, and final evaluations are due by the beginning of classes in the fall semester. Please note the section above regarding deadlines. For summer units, mid-year evaluations are not required.

If the planned summer placement is not at an HDS accredited site with an HDS certified supervisor, then student-initiated placement procedures and application are required, unless the site participates in a field education program at another school in the Boston Theological Institute. 

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Internships for Field Education Credit

Occasionally students choose to spend a full academic year, at full-time, in a field education internship. One example would be when a student goes to serve as a full-time college chaplain, away from HDS. Ordinarily, a student may earn only one unit of field education in such a full-time internship. If the planned internship is not at an HDS accredited site with an HDS certified supervisor, an application for a student-initiated placement is required. An internship shall cover at minimum one academic term at 30 hours per week. If the internship is also completing a denominational requirement, the student should confer with the Office of Ministry Studies, the appropriate denominational counselor, and judicatory personnel to be certain it meets all requisites.

A placement contract, learning agreement, mid-year evaluation, and final evaluation must be submitted to the Office of Ministry Studies in accordance with a mutually agreed upon schedule. Where possible, that schedule should conform to the normal field education calendar.

Students planning internships should consult with the registrar regarding their enrollment.

International Placements

A student may seek out an international placement, usually for the summer. International placements follow the same policies and procedures of other placements, except that they are not eligible for work-study funding. Since work-study funding is not available for international placements, OMS urges students contemplating international placements to explore other funding possibilities on their own. The Office of Ministry Studies will provide a limited number of stipends for students in summer international placements who have been unable to secure other funding. Each spring, OMS will receive applications from interested students and, from the applications, grant available stipends. The application deadline will be posted at the beginning of the spring semester.

Clinical Pastoral Education for Field Education Credit

Units of Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) approved by the Association for Clinical Pastoral Education (ACPE) may also earn field education credit. Students may normally earn CPE credit through intensive (either summer or academic year) or extensive (extended quarter, concurrent with some or all of an academic year) units. Generally, the Divinity School recognizes one unit of CPE as one unit of field education and does not require a student-initiated application.

To earn this credit, the student must submit a placement contract to the Office of Ministry Studies before the unit begins and, after it concludes, copies of the student's and the supervisor's final evaluation. For summer or internship year units, these evaluations must be submitted by the beginning of classes in the fall semester. For academic year units, they must be submitted by the published due date for final evaluations.

Students wishing to apply for CPE summer units in the Boston area are advised to begin the process no later than the November before. A number of summer and extended quarter options are available in the Boston area. See the ACPE Directory in the Office of Ministry Studies, or www.acpe.edu, for possible placements.

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Stipends and Funding

The financial aid office at Harvard Divinity School assumes that students will hold a job to contribute toward their expenses. If a student is involved in field education, she or he should not also work another job. Therefore, and because we believe all persons performing professional ministry should receive compensation, we expect student's stipends to meet this earning expectation. Stipends are generally paid directly to students.

Some settings may be eligible to use funds from the college work-study program to help provide the stipend. Under this arrangement, the setting generally pays 25 percent of the total required, and the federal government pays the remaining portion. Normally, the site pays the employer's portion to the Divinity School, which acts as the official employer. This allows the site to avoid the paperwork associated with the college work-study program. Details of a field education site's participation in this program should be worked out with the Office of Ministry Studies. Where the site cannot pay the entire employer's percentage for a student, the Office of Ministry Studies may, in a limited number of cases, provide some, or all, of the employer's portion. However, the Office of Ministry Studies will underwrite no more than one employer's contribution per student per fiscal year period. That is, if a student does two field education placements, one in the summer and then one in the following academic year, the student may receive Office of Ministry Studies subsidy for only one of the placements.

All student-initiated placement sites are required to pay either the full stipend or the full college work-study employer's co-pay portion of the stipend.

The associate director of financial aid determines a student's eligibility for the college work-study program. In order for field education sites to be eligible to have the stipend covered through the work-study program, the agencies for which students work must be nonprofit organizations, and the work they perform must not be for sectarian or political purposes. The work must be for the benefit of the citizenry and for all citizens regardless of their religious beliefs or practices, their race, color, sex, or place of birth. To the extent that their field placement work directly improves the condition of any religious institution or institutions (i.e., working for a Council of Churches even though doing nothing specifically "religious"; obviously, teaching church school or participation in any meditation or liturgical practice), the students may not receive federal funds for that work. To the extent that a student's work benefits the community (i.e., responsibility for a hot meal program in a church basement; a youth center in the church provided for all youth in the neighborhood; a church-operated counseling referral program open to anyone; a church-operated homeless shelter), it may receive federal funds from the college work-study program. In some cases, a portion of this work may be eligible for college work-study funding and a part not. On the field education placement contract the student should accurately estimate the number of eligible hours. The Office of Ministry Studies will set the student pay rate (within the limits allowed) accordingly. Students and supervisors are legally responsible to sign college work-study sheets which contain only those hours eligible for work-study.

Where travel constitutes a significant expense to the student, the expense should be reimbursed by the site at the rate the IRS currently allows for professional mileage.
All stipends paid to students are subject to taxation and follow the same laws of reporting as any taxable income.

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Stipends for International Students

Since international students ordinarily can receive neither pay for off-campus work nor work-study funds, the Office of Ministry Studies will fund a limited number of international student stipends, with the following limitations:

• The student's financial need, as determined by the financial aid office, must be such that if the student were a U.S. citizen, she or he would be eligible for work-study funds.
• Where possible, the site will reimburse OMS for all or a portion of the student's stipend.
• OMS will fund no more than one stipend per international student per fiscal year.

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Policies for Sites and Supervisors

Site Accreditation

According to the Boston Theological Institute's (BTI) policy, field education sites are accredited by and directly relate to only one of the BTI schools. This does not prevent students from other BTI schools, or interns from schools outside the area, from serving the site. (Procedures are found under the BTI Policy.) However, it does mean that sites and supervisors are responsible for relating to the school with which they are affiliated, for maintaining the required contact, for meeting its criteria for field education, for adhering to its policies, and for following its timetables.

Sites which are accredited by Harvard Divinity School are listed in this handbook. In general, a site which wishes to become an accredited Harvard Divinity School field education site seeks to be partners with the Divinity School in education for ministry. Specifically, it requires that the site be able and willing to provide 12 to 15 hours per week (including travel, preparation, participation in worship, supervision, and tasks) of supervised ministry experiences to the student.

The opportunities for ministry education should be direct and concrete, and they should address the general goals of field education as well as the goals of individual students. They should involve the student in challenging and collegial interpersonal relationships. They should empower the student to function in roles of ministry appropriate to the site and the student's experience, goals, objectives, and available time.

The site must normally provide a competent, appropriately trained and certified supervisor. A satisfactory supervisory candidate is a person on site, whose own work is fully integrated with the structure of the institution through which ministry is provided, who has been in the current position for at least one year, and who can devote the time to supervision of the student.

Supervision includes at least one regularly scheduled hour per week of one-to-one reflective supervision. This meeting should not be combined with a regular staff meeting. In supervision, the student is to reflect theologically with the supervisor on a variety of topics, e.g., critical incidents in the setting, his or her developing role as a person in ministry, the tasks of ministry, and the dynamics of interpersonal relationships. Within the setting and the supervisory process, critical reflection around the issues of inclusiveness and social justice, such as gender, ethnicity, class, culture, age, and sexual orientation, is to be encouraged.

As part of their financial aid package students are expected to earn a stipend during the academic year. Even if they earn this amount, there is an ever-widening gap between students' financial resources and their required expenditures. Consequently, and because we believe all persons performing professional ministry should receive compensation, we expect sites to provide a stipend for a unit of field education. In some cases the use of federal work-study funds may lower the site's contribution. Even so, we recognize that in some cases such amounts may not be possible, and the Office of Ministry Studies will attempt to work through stipend issues with prospective sites during the application process. 

If a parish, institution or agency is interested in becoming an accredited HDS field education site, it must complete the following process:

• The site, through its decision-making structure, decides to apply for accreditation.
• We suggest that the site select a small committee to complete the application and one person (usually the proposed supervisor) to serve as the site contact.
• The application is submitted to the Office of Ministry Studies (usually by June 15 for listing the following fall).
• The Office of Ministry Studies reviews the application to determine the appropriateness of the site for field education and our students at the present time.
• The application may be approved, approved with conditions, disapproved or returned for additional material.
• If approved, arrangements are confirmed for supervision on site and for the certification of the supervisor (see section below).
• The approved site is listed in both the online and the printed version of the Field Education Handbook.
• To retain accreditation the site must maintain regular contact with the Office of Ministry Studies. This contact includes, but is not limited to: attendance at the site fair in the fall to meet prospective field education students; timely response to requests for updated site descriptions each year; the maintenance of proper supervisory certification; and the timely submission of learning agreements and evaluations.
• A site may retain accreditation and yet be unavailable to students (for reasons of its own or because it has no one who has been on site for a year eligible to supervise) for up to two years. After that time, the site may be removed from the listing. If a site is removed from the listing, it must go through the application process to be reaccredited.

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Supervisor Certification, Maintenance of Certification, and Benefits

Certification

The Office of Ministry Studies certifies those persons who supervise Harvard Divinity School students in accredited field education settings. A supervisor must be at the site for one year before becoming eligible to be certified or to supervise students there. There are several ways to be certified:

1. Certification through completion of a supervisory course. The prospective supervisor may become certified by completing the field education training session and the basic course in supervision offered here at the Divinity School or another like it offered at one of the BTI schools. If the proposed supervisor elects to take the course at one of other BTI schools, she or he will still be required to attend the field education training session referred to in 3.c. below. The supervisory course is meant to be taken when the supervisor is supervising his or her first student. Thus, it is not required that the supervisor complete the course prior to supervising a student. In fact, it is the strong recommendation of the program that a supervisor postpone the course until the site has a student to supervise. Once a supervisor has completed the field education training session in the fall, the supervisor will be considered in good standing. The supervisor should take the supervisory course the first year she or he has a field education student to supervise.
2. Recertification of previous HDS supervisors. If the prospective supervisor has previously been certified to supervise HDS students, that status may be reactivated by the director of field education. The supervisor may be required to attend the field education training session of the supervisory course, referred to below, for recertification.
3. Certification on the basis of previous training and/or experience. To qualify in this category: 
   1. The prospective supervisor must have completed a course in the supervision of theology students from one of the BTI schools and/or have been certified as a supervisor by one of the BTI schools within the last five years;
      or
   2. The prospective supervisor must, in the opinion of OMS, have other appropriate training and/or experience to be certified to supervise theology students;
      and
   3. The prospective supervisor must attend the field education training session for students and new supervisors usually scheduled the afternoon of the site fair for the purpose of orientation to the HDS curriculum and the particular philosophy, policies, and procedures of field education at HDS. 

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Maintenance of Certification

To remain in good standing, the supervisor must attend at least one of the in-service offerings each year. There are several from which to choose and supervisors should regularly check the Field Education website for up-to-date information on eligible offerings.

Supervisor Benefits

The Office of Ministry Studies recognizes that it requires substantial effort and responsibility from its supervisors. We believe these are necessary for the intended partnership in ministry education to occur, and for our students to receive the supervised training that ministry demands. In acknowledgment of and appreciation for the important work our supervisors do, they receive a package of benefits which includes:

1. Appointment to the University and receipt of a Harvard I.D. card which entitles them to:
   • Use of the Faculty Club
   • Use of the Harvard University Libraries
   • Use of the Harvard facilities that are available on a fee-for-service basis.
   • Listing in the online Harvard University Directory.
2. The opportunity, without payment of tuition, to take one half course for credit each semester at the Divinity School or at one of the other schools of Harvard University (with the exception of the Extension School). In the event the supervisor does not take advantage of this privilege while officially a supervisor, she or he may register, at the Divinity School only, for up to two half courses the academic year immediately following the last term served as a supervisor. Supervisors who pursue a ThM degree at Harvard Divinity School may count toward that degree up to four of the courses taken using the field education supervisor benefit (subject to degree requirements). 

No matter where else a course is taken (other Harvard Schools), registration is through the Registrar's Office of Harvard Divinity School. The director of field education is a supervisor's academic adviser and must sign the study card. The Registrar's Office will maintain records of courses taken by supervisors and will issue records upon request. 

Supervisors may retain certification while unavailable to supervise students (for reasons of their own or because they have not currently been in an accredited setting for at least one year) for up to two years, so long as they continue to meet the requirements for good standing. After two years of unavailability to supervise students, supervisors will be removed from standing and will be required to go through the application process to be recertified. 

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