As  you make plans to start and complete your Practicum in the Fall 2010 semester, there are some deadlines that you need to be aware of. It is always a good idea to contact your Faculty Advisor if… when you have questions or concerns. Here are the relevant deadlines for Spring 2010:

August 16, 2010 – Practicum Proposal Due to Practicum Advisor

In order to give sufficient time for proper evaluation and feedback of your Practicum Proposal, your Faculty Advisor needs to receive your full Proposal (see Practicum Assignments) at least a week before the semester begins, although it's best to start early. To see who your assigned Practicum Advisor is, please go to the Practicum Blog and select the links for Practicum Advisees. When a Practicum Advisor receives a Practicum Proposal, s/he may approve the Proposal as is, or send it back to the student for revisions with the assumption that the student will make the required changes and re-submit the Proposal promptly. Students must have approval of their Practicum Proposal before beginning their Practicum.

November 26, 2010 – Practicum Continuation Application Due

ACU Online has a policy for Practicum Continuation in situations where this is absolutely necessary.  This is for students who will need additional time to work on their practicum beyond the semester they enrolled, or for students who do not complete their clock hours by the end of the semester. This means that if you are currently enrolled for Practicum credit, you should complete your Final Product and Project Reflection by December 3 and all clock hours by December 11. If you do not believe this will be possible, contact your faculty advisor by November 26, 2010 to discuss applying for Practicum Continuation.  This process requires approval of the Practicum Adviser, the Program Director, and the Associate Provost for Distance Education.  If it is approved by all, you will be enrolled in a 0 credit Continuation course for a fee of 1/2 of 1 hour tuition.  This enrollment process will then need to continue each Session (not semester) until your practicum is complete.

December 3, 2010 – Practicum Product and Project Reflection Due

To allow time for your faculty advisor to grade the Final Product and the Project Reflection, you will need to turn in both of these assignments a week before the end of the semester. If your faculty advisor does not have enough time to fairly assess your work, your grades may not be submitted on time, which could cause you to be enrolled in a Practicum Continuation course (with the associated fee), or it could postpone your graduation plans.

Final Product

Each student is required to submit a final product that demonstrates the experiential learning that has taken place during the practicum experience. Because of the nature of this course, the final product may take various forms, and may include any number of elements. Some examples are: a research paper, a presentation, a training manual/guide, a curriculum, or some other significant event or project that demonstrates an improvement in the practicum student’s skills, abilities, and/or insights into the study and practice of conflict resolution.

Project Reflection

The project reflection gives the student the opportunity to combine the practicum experience with his or her personal and professional goals as a peacemaker. The project reflection is a 2-5 page paper that includes the following elements:

• A well-constructed Introduction and Conclusion.
• A summary of all of the practicum experiences and activities.
• A reflection of how these experiences have impacted the student as a peacemaker, and the effect it may have on the student’s personal and professional goals.
• A description of how these experiences can support and/or promote the field of conflict resolution.

* for full details on assignment requirements, see the Practicum Assignments page.

December 10, 2010 – Fall 2010 Practicum Ends

The Fall Semester for ACU Online ends on December 10th, 2010. What this means for Practicum Students is that they need to have all of their Practicum Hours (125 clock hours/3 credit hours) completed by December 10th.