Office of Field Experiences
The Office of Field Experiences ensures candidates participate in a variety of field based opportunities in which they observe, assist, instruct, and/or conduct research in academic settings defined by their programs.
These experiences help to bridge the gap between theory and practice by presenting teacher candidates with firsthand matriculation in sites that have been carefully selected and monitored by the College of Education's faculty and staff, and our school partners.
Teacher Education (TE) Application
Before applying for Field Experience, students must first apply to Teacher Education by completing the following steps. Your advisor will provide a detailed version of this checklist when it is time for you to apply, but if you have not received it or have misplaced it, you can reach out to your advisor for it.
- Claim your preparation program
- Personal Affirmations
- Verification of Lawful Presence
- Submit Pre-Service Certificate Application
- Upload Undergraduate Transcripts to GaPSC
- Order your official undergraduate transcript(s) and have them sent electronically to GaPSC
Field Experience (FE) Application
After you are admitted to TE, you must apply for Field Experience for any course that requires a field experience placement even if you are employed. If you do not receive a link to the FE application from your advisor or course assignment, you may contact the OFE for it in February/April for Fall and August/September for Spring applications. Please note, you must apply every semester that you plan to take an FE required course. Courses requiring an FE application are listed below priority submission dates.
Priority Submission Dates:
- Fall Semester 2025: March 16, 2025
- Spring Semester 2026: October 19, 2025
Note: If you miss the priority submission, you will still be placed, but we will be more limited in where we are able to place you, and some preferences may not be met. The General Submission Application opens the day after the Priority Submission Application Closes.
Please email Office of Field Experience (ofe@westga.edu) to receive the link for the FE application which is required for course registration.
Courses that require a Field Experiences (FE) Application:
- ART: 4009, 4010, 4011, 4012, 4013
- CEPD: 6182, 6188
- ECED: 3282, 4283, 4284, 4286, 6266, 6291
- FORL: 4501, 4502, 4586
- MUSC: 3900, 4011, 4021, 4040, 4286, 4187, 4188 (some exceptions may apply speak to your advisor for details)
- PHED: 3670, 3671, 3675, 4686
- SEED: 4243, 4238L, 4243L, 4271L, 4286, 6260, 7288
- SLPA: 5792, 6794 (medical), 6796 (school)
- SPED: 3750, 3751, 3752, 3753, 3754, 4790, 4786, 6766, 6776, 6793
Application Processing
- We process applications in the order that they are received. This can take up to three business days from the time an application is submitted. If you are unable to register after five business days, please contact the OFE with a copy of your submission confirmation.
- Students may not contact schools to request their own traditional placements
- Employees are responsible for organizing their own observation hours unless employed with a special district.The required Field and Mentor document for job-embedded candidates provides a section for candidates to specify the observation hours they need to complete for the upcoming semester they are applying for. The OFE will request hours on the candidate's behalf exactly as they are required in section II of the Field and Mentor Document from the Special Districts (Gwinnett, Dekalb, Bibb, Fayette, and Cherokee)
- The implementation of deadlines ensures that we can swiftly request placements for our candidates. School districts require placement requests in bulk by program. District confirmations of placements can take up to several months. We cannot release placements until we receive them back from the districts. When we receive confirmations, we will release placements to students by county, not by cohort.
Application Key Words:
The OFE must place you in a Georgia K-12 school because you are not currently employed with a school district
Paraprofessional or Long-Term Sub (OFE Director’s permission required)
Provisional educator: holds a current provisional certificate with the Georgia Professional Standards Commission
Certificate assigned to teachers who have a bachelor's degree but have not finished their certification program- the school applies for this when they decide to hire you.
Certificate assigned to those who’ve passed the GACE Ethics Exam and completed the preservice application. This is required for every student in the field.
Districts that have a specific deadline for placement requests and/or a unique placement process.
Candidate provides detailed information regarding their employment and mentor.
Employment Type A positions must submit this letter from their district to the FE application. The letter attests that the district understands their employee is actively seeking certification in education through our program.
Traditional Placement
If you are a student seeking a traditional placement, then you will need the following to be placed in a classroom:
- Preservice certificate (not applicable for SLP or CEPD candidates)
- Student Liability Insurance
Employed Placement
Students who are employed can use their employment towards their certification in lieu of a traditional placement if certain conditions are met; please see Employed in Education section for additional information.
You can find all required documents under the Field Experience & Hardship Forms section.
Required Document Employment Type A and B:
- Field and Mentor Assignment Document
Required Documents Employment Type B:
- Provisional Certificate
- Field and Mentor Assignment Document
Application Processing
We process applications in the order that they are received. This can take up to three business days from the time an application is submitted. If you are unable to register after five business days, please contact the OFE with a copy of your submission confirmation.
Students may not contact schools to request their own traditional placements
Employees are responsible for organizing their own observation hours unless employed with a special district.
The implementation of deadlines ensures that we can swiftly request placements for our candidates. School districts require placement requests in bulk by program. District confirmations of placements can take up to several months. We cannot release placements until we receive them back from the districts. When we receive confirmations, we will release placements to students by county, not by cohort.
Certifications
There are only two certifications relevant to Field Experience: Preservice and Provisional
Preservice certificates are required for any student seeking a traditional placement and/or any student employed as a paraprofessional, or as a full-time educator in a SACS accredited private school. Login to your GaPSC account to access your certificate number and verify that you have a preservice certificate. If you do not see it or have a certificate hold, then please contact the UWG Certification Officer, Kathy Jones kjones@westga.edu.
Provisional certificates are required for any student employed as a full-time educator in a SACS accredited public school. Your Human Resources department will apply for this certificate for you after you pass the GACE content exam. Login to your GaPSC account to access your certificate number and verify that you have a preservice certificate. If you do not see it or have a certificate hold, then please contact the UWG Certification Officer, Kathy Jones kjones@westga.edu.
Requirements and Responsibilities
A student may use employment with a school district to satisfy their field experience requirement so long as the position meets the following parameters:
- Position is with a SACS accredited school
- Position is in a classroom aligned with the student’s program
- Assigned mentor must possess a certification in the same field in which the candidate is seeking certification or possess a leadership certification; they must also have a minimum of three years of professional teacher experience
- Candidates who are special education majors in the general or adapted curriculum concentrations must spend at least 50% of the school day in a placement that aligns with their program of study and/or in a placement where at least 50% of the students served are administered the state assessment that aligns with their program of study.
Students who use their employment as their field experience must complete the Field and Mentor Assignment document and select their employment type when filling out the FE Application.
Employees are responsible for scheduling their own observation hours within their district or outside of their district. Special districts may have unique requirements for student employees, so please refer to the Graduate Observation Hours section for details.
Employees will be exempt from campus meetings in the event a scheduled meeting conflicts with the student’s district schedule. The student is responsible for communicating their absence with their program in advance to receive a formal excuse from attendance.
Change in School Employment Status
Students may be released from their traditional placement (facilitated by the OFE) if they are offered a position during an active school year. In this case, the student must email the OFE at ofe@westga.edu as well as his or her advisor to notify the university of the change to approve the employment as a valid replacement for traditional student teaching placement.
Graduate Observation Hours
Requests and Requirements
The Master of Teaching programs require observation hours that students are responsible for requesting unless employed by a special district. Only students employed within a special district may request observation hours within that district. The OFE will not request observation hours within special districts for students not yet enrolled in a field experience course nor for students employed outside of a special district. Special districts are listed below:
- Bibb
- Cherokee
- Dekalb
- Fayette
- Gwinnett
- Polk
The COE encourages students to begin fulfilling observation hours once they begin the MAT program at UWG. It is common for students to have to take personal time off from work to complete these hours. The hours do not have to be completed in one setting, so if students are close enough to a feeder school serving those grade bands, they may be able to complete the hours over multiple days/weeks/months during their planning time. Please note that if you plan to obtain your observation hours in a special district, a separate form or request is required by the school system in that county. The OFE will provide any additional resource links after receiving your Field and Mentor document within your FE Application. Please refer to Scenario Example 1 for details.
Students employed in some special districts will note which observation hours they want to complete in the semester for which they are applying in the Field and Mentor Assignment Document. If you have completed all observations and are employed in a special district, you will leave that portion of the document blank and the OFE will not request observation hours on your behalf if the students submits their FE application before the priority submission date; otherwise, students will need to request their own hours outside of the special district (see Field and Mentor Assignment Document for details). Furthermore, the OFE will request your hours within your special district exactly as you request them in the Field and Mentor Application. If you state you want 40 hours of observation this semester, we will request 40 hours for you. It will be your responsibility to make any adjustments after the hours are secured if the hours requested on your behalf are not what you need. Remember, you should only request the hours you want to complete during the semester for which you are applying. See Scenario Example 2 for details.
Students may use this template to email principals for schools they are interested in completing hours in (so long as the request is not made to a special district- see list above):
Dear ________,
I am currently a student at the University of West Georgia in the _________ Program. This semester, I need to complete ____ hours of classroom observation in _____ grade-band in (specify the class type- subject, Special Ed specifications, etc.). I am interested in completing these hours in your school on (provide dates and hour specifications). Is there a teacher who would allow me to observe their class on those dates? Please let me know; I look forward to hearing back from you.
SPED M.A.T Program Requirements
You must document 40 total observation hours (10 in PreK-2, 10 in 3-5, 10 in a middle school, and 10 in high school). Please reach out to your advisor for the observation logs. If you are employed, you only need to schedule observation hours in the band outside of your employment. Your professor will provide details regarding log submission; this is not monitored nor collected by the OFE.
SEED M.A.T Program Requirements
You must document 20 total observation hours (10 in middle school and 10 in high school). Please reach out to your advisor for the observation logs. If you are employed, you only need to schedule observation hours in the band outside of your employment. Your professor will provide details regarding log submission; this is not monitored nor collected by the OFE.
ECED M.A.T Program Requirements
You must document 30 total observation hours (10 in PreK, 10 in 1st- 3rd, and 10 in 4th – 5th). Please reach out to your advisor for the observation logs. If you are employed, you only need to schedule observation hours in the band outside of your employment. Your professor will provide details regarding log submission; this is not monitored nor collected by the OFE.
Please refer to the FAQ & Scenarios section for additional information regarding observation hours and employment.
Student Liability Insurance
Traditionally placed students (those not employed in education) must have student liability insurance to complete field experience. We request this information when you complete the FE Application. Your proof of student liability insurance should show the effective and expiration date. The OFE will notate if your insurance is expiring during your field experience and will contact you during the month it is due to expire to request an updated copy. Students who do not have up-to-date proof of insurance by the end of February (Spring Semester) or by the end of September (Fall Semester) may be pulled from the field.
Several insurers provide student teaching liability insurance, so find a plan that works best for your needs. Students often use SPAGE. Additional information can be found here: https://www.pageinc.org/student-membership
Please do not upload car, health, or renters' insurance. The OFE will not keep applications on file with inaccurate, missing, or incomplete documents.
Program Policies
- Orientation PowerPoint
Field Experience and Hardship Forms
District Program Acknowledgment Letter
Field and Mentor Assignment Document
Hardship Form (A student should submit a hardship form in the event they need a medical, transportation, or personal exemption from the Office of Field Experience's placement standards such as the 50 mile or two county rules; see the handbook for details)
Link the Handbook (update coming soon)
Scenarios
Example 1: Student employed in a non-special district in need of observation hours
Example 2: Student employed in a special district in need of observation hours
Example 4: Student needs a qualified mentor for their employment as field experience