Contact the placement desk

01Two ways to reach us

The form. Best when you know your details and want a written reply you can come back to. It asks for your program, your state and your timing, which covers most of what we need to begin.

The chat. Best for a quick question, such as whether we work with your track or what the four-week paperwork rule means for your dates. If the answer needs a proper look at your situation, we will ask you to fill in the form as well, so nothing gets lost.

Either way, the same placement desk reads it. You do not need to pick the right channel; pick the one that suits the moment.

02What to put in your message

• Your SAU program: FNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP, PNP-PC, Nurse Educator, MSN/MBA, a post-master's certificate or the DNP.
• Whether you entered with a BSN or through RN-to-MSN.
• Your home state and the area you can reach on clinical days.
• Which practicum is next and the semester it starts.
• Whether you have completed the campus residency, NUR 602R.
• Any leads you already have or have tried, including names from SAU's volunteer list.
• Anything urgent: a preceptor who just withdrew, a refusal from faculty, or a deadline within weeks.

Your track, state and timing are all a search needs to begin, so keep your records with SAU's compliance process and send us the basics.

03What happens after you send it

1. We read your detailsA placement advisor checks your track, state and timing against what SAU publishes, including the preceptor types your track allows and whether your state is on SAU's authorized list.
2. You get a replyThe reply sets out what a fitting preceptor and site look like for you, what we would do, and any questions worth taking to SAU first.
3. You get a written quoteIf you want to go ahead, the quote and its terms reach you in writing, and nothing starts until you have read and accepted them.
4. The search startsOnce you agree, we begin, and you hear about every lead before anything is arranged.

04Questions to send to SAU instead

Some questions only SAU can answer. We would point you back to them anyway, so you may as well go there first.

• Whether a specific preceptor or site is approved, or why it was not: your clinical faculty.
• Your practicum start date, sequence or a change of plan: your advisor.
• The volunteer-provider list and, for FNP and PMHNP students, the clinical partner network: the program director.
• General support through placement: your Student Success Coach.
• Brightspace, MySAU or SAU email problems: SAU's help desk.

Who to ask at SAU has more on each role and what it handles.

05If you're a preceptor, or just have a question

If an SAU student has asked you to host them and you want to understand what that involves, pick the preceptor option in the program list on the form. Precepting Spring Arbor students covers what SAU asks of preceptors and what it publishes about faculty oversight.

If you are a student who simply wants to understand the process before deciding anything, that is fine too. How it works and the FAQ answer the common questions, and the chat is there for the rest.

Families and employers sometimes write on a student's behalf. We are glad to explain how things work, but the search itself needs the student's own details and agreement.

06Your information

We use what you send to answer you and, if you go ahead, to plan your placement. A preceptor or site sees only what it needs, and only after you ask us to proceed. You can ask for a copy of your information, or for corrections or deletion, at any time. Our privacy page explains the rest, including how long records are kept.