Frequently Asked Questions

Every Fanshawe Fitness and Health Promotion student is required to have current CPR, Standard First Aid and a Vulnerable Sector Police Check (VSC).  If your placement agency has additional pre-placement requirements please inform the course professor as soon as possible so arrangements can be made to ensure students are ready to proceed before the start of the winter semester.

Please note that all students ARE COVERED by insurance through the College for personal injury and liability for their actions while on a college course activity such as this field work placement. The College needs to know if the regular, paid staff at the agency is covered under WSIB or not because that influences which insurance system covers the students.

In the event that a student is injured while on placement please follow the documentation and emergency response procedures of your facility.  In addition you must report the incident to the course professor and/or program coordinator as soon as possible AND complete the necessary Fanshawe College Incident Reporting documentation as outlined in your Letter of Understanding.  The College requires an incident report and submission of additional documentation according to WSIB guidelines within 24 hours of the incident.

Unlike many cooperative placements, this placement is normally done on a volunteer basis – that is, the student usually receives no monetary compensation for the work.  This is to encourage agencies that have no formal job openings to provide opportunities for the student to acquire experience.  In some cases agencies may actually have a job opening and the student is suitable for the position.  In these cases the agency may hire the student to fill the position in the normal manner and the College will accept satisfactory completion of the job as equivalent to the placement experience assuming all course requirements are completed and the necessary paperwork is submitted.

The student will be completing their final year in our two year program at the commencement of their placement.  We believe they should be ready to take on the roles and responsibilities of a regular staff member with some guidance from you given that we are unable to provide training on all the fitness equipment and procedures in use in the field. This is the new information and training we would expect to be part of the Field Placement course.  Therefore, as would be appropriate with any new employee, the College expects the agency to provide a thorough orientation to the student covering the agency’s facilities, equipment and procedures.

As part of this placement experience, we would ask that the student be treated as a “probationary employee” would be, and as such, be subject to supervision by regular staff members until competence is demonstrated.  It would be best if one agency staff member is designated as primarily responsible for supervising the student and providing feedback, although it is recognized that direct supervision may be provided by various appropriate agency staff for each different job responsibility.  It is essential that the student receive feedback on personal performance early and regularly. 

The field placement may be terminated by the agency supervisor for unethical or unprofessional behaviour.  For serious cases of unsafe, unethical or unprofessional behaviour this may occur without warning.  For less serious cases of sub-standard behavior, the field placement may be terminated by the agency supervisor after warning the student. In these cases, the student and College must have been notified of the problem behaviors and the student must have been given the time and opportunity to improve.

The College program covers a wide variety of the typical tasks encountered in the field including: health and fitness assessment, personal training and motivation, fitness class leadership, individualized fitness program prescription, planning and organizing events, health promotion, quality assurance and risk management and sales/marketing.  Each student’s “expertise” in these tasks will vary according to personal interest and application.  In addition to the performance of any of these tasks during the placement, other duties specific to actual workplace settings, such as reception, tours and other normal tasks of regular staff may be included.

Experience has shown that the student usually becomes integrated into the agency functions quite readily and is able to perform regular staff duties quickly. Unlike most other college placements the College representative normally will NOT personally visit the student during the placement period.

It is the College’s view that the typical daily performance of the student is what needs to be evaluated.  While the college has the responsibility for assigning the final grade, the assessment of the agency supervisor will be the most significant factor in determining the student’s final grade in this course.  Please refer to the Placement Agreement and Feedback forms to select and evaluate job duties/learning competencies and employability skills.  In addition to this written feedback, regular verbal feedback is supported and encouraged.

​Students are expected to obtain 120 placement hours.  Placements run from January until the end of April.  Students will have the full day Monday as well as Wednesday afternoons off to increase their availability.  If in the best interest of the student (i.e. does not interfere with other class obligations) and the placement agency/supervisor, arrangements may be made to include additional hours on other days and/or evenings and weekends to help achieve the total hour requirements.

Under certain circumstances students will complete placements at two locations in order to share the hour responsibility (e.g. 60 hours at one location and 60 hours at another).  This must be in the best interest of all involved and approved by the course professor.