Purpose of Field Days

Field days are designed to complement the University curriculum delivered through CIS classes and give students the opportunity to meet students from other schools, interact with on-campus students and/or faculty, and explore the resources of the University’s Twin Cities campus. For some students, the field day is a revelation, showing them that the campus is not scary and difficult to navigate. For all students, the field days are external confirmation that the course they’re taking through CIS is a real University course. 

Activities at Field Days

Each discipline cohort has its own unique student field day, lasting from three-five hours. Faculty coordinators, working with their cohorts’ instructors and CIS staff, plan the field days. A good field day is an interactive field day! 

Participation Requirements

Most courses have a unique student field day, generally occurring once each semester and lasting from three to five hours. If an instructor and school choose to participate in field days, student attendance requirements are determined by the instructor. Instructors may also require students to complete assignments in preparation for attending. Student requirements with regard to preparation for or participation at field days should be noted on the syllabus. 

Participation in student field days is highly recommended, and it is required for the following courses:

• Animal Science field days provide students with an opportunity to complete lab activities that cannot be completed in the high school. 

• Exploring the Teaching Profession I and II:  A conference-style event featuring opportunities to learn about and discuss current issues and initiatives in teaching professions.

• Writing Studio field days provide access to University of Minnesota facilities, resources, and individuals that students would not normally be exposed to at their high school. Exposure to these resources is designed to provide students with a deeper understanding of the content knowledge required to be successful in the course. 

Planning Student Field Days

Help is available! The best resource for planning student field days is often CIS instructors themselves. You can devote some workshop time to a discussion of field day plans. 

You can also identify three instructors from the cohort to serve as a Course Advisory Committee. (CIS will pay committee members a small annual honorarium for helping you plan professional development activities and student field days.) Committee meetings can be held after a workshop or on an entirely different day or by email or phone. 

The CIS staff liaison working with your cohort is also a good source of ideas and advice. 

You can invite presenters from the University or community to deliver part of the field day program. 

Instructors at Student Field Days 

Faculty coordinators can ask instructors to play roles at the field day, if they wish. For example, at field days in which students break out into small discussion groups, instructors often facilitate or monitor the discussion. 

Some CIS cohorts use the lunch break as an instructor meeting time or simply as a time for instructors to talk with each other. 

Scheduling Field Days 

Please work with your instructors to identify dates for the entire academic year’s field days during the summer. 

If your field day requires multiple breakout rooms, the field day must be scheduled at times in which University classes are not in session – during the winter break or after finals in May. When classes are in session, it is impossible to secure a sufficient number of rooms to accommodate a field day with many breakout groups. 

Consult with your instructors and your CIS course liaison to determine if your proposed field day date will conflict with other CIS workshops and field days that involve the same instructors with whom you work. (Writing instructors often also teach the literature class; history instructors sometimes also teach political science or economics, etc.) 

Safety of Minors

The University has historically provided a safe environment for minors (persons under the age of 18) and is committed to continued vigilance. 

Chaperones

College in the Schools requires that CIS instructors or school chaperones to accompany groups of minors when they move between activities or explore the campus.

College in the Schools has created the document “CIS Student Field Day Guidance,” which outlines these expectations and can be shared with all field day chaperones from their schools.

Activities

Breakout groups and class visits

CIS instructors or school chaperones should supervise students when moving between buildings for breakout groups or station rotations. In the case that that is not possible, students must travel in groups. In order to maintain safety of movement, breakout sessions should be scheduled in the classroom building nearest to the main event space.

Campus tours and scavenger hunts

CIS instructors or school chaperones must accompany each group as they tour campus or participate in a scavenger hunt. When planning for a scavenger hunt, inform CIS instructors that they must bring a sufficient number of chaperones to supervise this type of activity.

Dining on campus

If a meal will be scheduled in the middle of a field day’s scheduled activities, then each school should make a lunch plan so that students are accompanied by CIS instructors or school chaperones to the eating area or restaurant. Individual CIS instructors may elect to have their groups stay on campus for lunch after the completion of their field day, but this activity will not be listed as part of the field day agenda.

Program Registration

University policy requires that all programs register their program or event on the Safety of Minors website. College in the Schools program staff complete one annual registration for all field days; organizers do not need to take this on.

Related Policies

• Safety of Minors

Costs

CIS covers the costs of event planning and programming, venues, and speakers for each discipline-specific Student Field Day.

Substitute Teachers & Chaperones

Schools are responsible for paying additional expenses related to instructor participation in student field days, including substitute teachers.  Schools are also responsible for providing chaperones (the recommended chaperone-to-student ratio is 1:12 for ages 15 and older).

Transportation

Schools are responsible for paying to transport students in CIS courses to the University to participate in student field day. This is not necessarily limited to school buses. Some CIS instructors have asked for voluntary contributions from their students to help pay for transportation; others have worked with teachers in adjoining school districts to share buses; some schools ask students to transport themselves.

Budget & Payments

The expenses related to hosting student field days are shared between the CIS program office and the cohort budget.

CIS's budget covers the cost of venue rental for field day activities. The costs of other expenses, such as guest speaker honoraria or thank you gifts, guest speaker travel, substitute University instructors for University instructors who must miss a class to participate in field day activities, recognition items for University student volunteers, and miscellaneous supplies, such as poster board or trophies, are debited from the cohort's budget.

Honoraria payments for speakers/presenters

Honoraria are often paid to speakers and presenters at CIS workshops and field days.

Faculty coordinators decide on the amount that a speaker should be paid. Check with your cohort liaison or the director if you are unsure about a payment.

When arranging for a speaker or presenter, a faculty coordinator or faculty coordinator assistant should:

1. Secure the speaker/presenter, and provide them with the date, time, and location of the event.

2. Determine the payment amount.

3. Request contact information from the speaker/presenter:

   • First and last name

   • Email address

   • Phone number

   • Mailing address (if non-U of M speaker) – Confirm this information every time, as addresses change

   • Whether they have worked as an independent contractor for the University within the past 10 years

4. Provide your event coordinator with all information in step 3, plus the honorarium amount.

Note: There are additional steps needed if paying or reimbursing a speaker from outside the University $600 or more during a calendar year. Speakers actively associated with the University do not require this process. Please have your speaker contact cis@umn.edu to begin the process.

Thank you gifts for U of M students who help at field days

If you arrange for U of M students to help out at field days in small ways, they can be given small gifts. These gifts will be charged to your cohort budget.

We will keep a supply of the following gifts on hand. You can let us know before your field day which gifts you want, and how many you need. You are more than welcome to view these gifts in person at the CIS office:

• UMN Water Bottles (choose stainless steel or plastic) - Value of $10-20 each  

• UMN Stationary Memo pads with Post-It flags and Post-It notes - Value of $10 each

• UMN Sprint backpack with drawstring closure - Value of $15 each

• UMN Flash/USB drive - Value of $15 each

• Earbud headphones with microphone & UMN logo - value of $20 each 

You may pay honoraria to speakers or stipends to students who provide you with a significant amount of assistance at field days, but please let students know that any amount they receive may affect their financial aid. We cannot offer gift cards.