Final Employer Evaluation, Field Log Completion, and Placement Reflection

Purpose of This Lesson

You have completed your placement hours. This final lesson brings together three tasks that close out the externship and translate your field experience into documented, portable evidence of competence: finishing the Externship Field Log, participating in the Final Employer Evaluation meeting, and writing your Externship Reflection. Each task has a defined standard you must meet before the externship is recorded as passed.

Closing Out the Externship Field Log

The Field Log is a legal and academic record. Before your final evaluation meeting, review every entry from the first day through the last. Each entry must contain the date, hours worked, a specific task description, an equipment ID or work-order number, the trade area (electrical, mechanical, fluid power, welding, preventive maintenance, etc.), the safety controls you applied, and your supervisor's initials. Vague entries such as "helped with machines" are not acceptable — write what you actually did, on what equipment, and how you controlled hazards.

Add up your hours. The program requires 324 documented placement hours. Tabulate the total on the summary sheet at the back of the log. If you find a gap — a day that was worked but not recorded — resolve it with your supervisor before the evaluation meeting. Your supervisor must initial any corrected or late entry; you may not backfill unsigned entries on your own. A log submitted with missing hours or unsigned entries results in an Incomplete grade until the deficiency is corrected.

The Final Employer Evaluation Meeting

The supervising technician scores you on the same 10-category standardized rubric used at midpoint. Categories typically cover areas such as work quality, safe work practices, use of tools and equipment, ability to follow procedures, communication, reliability, and initiative. Scores run from 1 (Unsatisfactory) to 5 (Exemplary), and you must average at least 3 (Satisfactory) across all 10 categories with no single category scored at 1.

Approach the meeting professionally. Listen to the supervisor's narrative comment without interrupting, ask one or two clarifying questions if a score surprises you, and thank the evaluator for the feedback. You will receive a copy of the signed form. The original goes to your program coordinator within five business days of your last placement day — do not sit on it. Late submission can delay your credential application.

If a category is rated Unsatisfactory, that is important information. It does not automatically fail you if all other scores bring the average to 3 or above, but you should address it directly in your Reflection as a professional development goal.

Writing the Externship Reflection

The Reflection is a three-to-five-page formal document written on the program template. It is not a journal or a thank-you note — it is structured evidence that you can connect hands-on experience to recognized credential frameworks. The template requires four sections.

Section A — NCCER Industrial Maintenance connections. Identify at least five NCCER Industrial Maintenance performance indicators from the reference list your program provided. For each one, write a specific example from your placement: what task you performed, on what equipment, and what the measurable outcome was. Generic statements do not meet the standard. Example of insufficient evidence: "I did electrical work." Example of sufficient evidence: "I replaced a failed overload relay on a three-phase motor starter, verified the new relay's trip class against the motor nameplate, and confirmed proper operation through a no-load test before returning the equipment to service, addressing the NCCER indicator related to troubleshooting motor control circuits."

Section B — MSSC CPT competency connections. Identify at least two MSSC CPT competency areas you practiced on site — for example, Manufacturing Processes and Production, Maintenance Awareness, or Safety. Describe how your daily work connected to each area. MSSC CPT emphasizes production-system thinking: how does maintenance downtime affect throughput, quality, and cost? Reflect on that, not just on the repair task itself.

Section C — Safety in practice. Describe one specific situation where a safety control or procedure you learned in class prevented or reduced a hazard on the job. Name the control (lockout/tagout, a specific PPE item, a confined-space entry protocol, proper lifting technique, etc.), describe the hazard it addressed, and explain what could have happened without it. This section demonstrates that classroom safety instruction transferred to real behavior — the most important outcome of any trade program.

Section D — Professional development goals. State two specific, realistic goals for your first year of employment. Goals should be measurable. "Get better at electrical" is not a goal. "Complete NCCER Industrial Electrical Level 2 within 12 months of hire" is a goal.

The program coordinator scores each section on a three-level scale: Meets Standard, Approaching, or Does Not Meet. You must reach Meets Standard on all four sections to pass this lesson.

Safety Reminder for the Closeout Phase

Even on your last day at the worksite, every safety rule applies. Lockout/tagout procedures are required every time — there is no shortcut because you are almost done. Wear the PPE required for each task. If a supervisor asks you to skip a safety step, politely decline and explain the requirement. Document any safety concern in your log. Leaving the externship with a safety incident on record harms both your evaluation and your professional reputation.

Timeline Summary

• Resolve all Field Log gaps before the evaluation meeting.
• Final Employer Evaluation form submitted to program coordinator within five business days of last placement day.
• Externship Reflection submitted by the date your program coordinator assigns — typically the same week.

Meeting all three deadlines closes the externship cleanly and keeps your credential applications on schedule.