State guide: New York

New York and Spring Arbor nursing: not authorized

Updated September 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the Spring Arbor Preceptor placement team

New York is one of four states where Spring Arbor University says its nursing programs lack state authorization, so SAU clinicals can't take place there. New York's education department layers a registration rule on top. Here is how the two fit together, and what to do before any move.

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Spring Arbor nursing clinicals in New York: not authorized for any SAU nursing program. RN license: not in the compact. NP practice: full. — New York on Spring Arbor's nursing state authorization list: not authorized; RN license not in the compact; NP practice full (AANP).

SAU programs and New York, line by line

This is not a new position. Every archived copy of SAU's state page from 2022 onward lists New York among the states without authorization for nursing, and today it sits beside Alabama, Arizona and Louisiana. Our state authorization page sets out the whole list.

SAU nursing programs and New York clinicals (SAU state authorization page, checked 2026-09-24)
SAU program group	Clinicals in New York?	Why
NP tracks: FNP, AGPCNP, PMHNP, PNP-PC	No	Not authorized; the 2026 disclosure says FNP, AGNP and PMHNP fall short of New York licensure rules
Nurse Educator and MSN/MBA	No	Not authorized
Post-master's certificates	No	Not authorized
DNP (Strategic Leadership)	No	Excluded on the DNP page as well
RN-to-BSN	No	Excluded on the RN-to-BSN page as well

New York's registration requirement

New York oversees nursing education through the State Education Department's Office of the Professions rather than a standalone nursing board. NYSED's stance is blunt: a nursing program based out of state or delivered online has to be registered or approved by NYSED before it can send students into clinical rotations anywhere in New York.

For NP students the bar is narrower still. NYSED requires registration of the NP program as such, and it warns that NP rotations done outside a registered program could be illegal. It also treats a clinical placement as a physical presence needing its approval, even for SARA member schools. Put that beside SAU's own list and the answer for SAU students is plain: no SAU clinicals in New York.

Licensure: read the disclosure before you apply

According to SAU's own licensure summary of March 9, 2026, the FNP, AGNP and PMHNP programs fall short of what New York requires for licensure, and SAU's 2021 detail said the same of the FNP and AGNP. If your long-term plan is NP practice in New York, those findings weigh more than any clinical question.

Two more New York facts shape the picture. New York has stayed out of the nurse compact entirely, so a multistate license issued elsewhere carries no RN practice rights there. And New York NPs gain full practice only after 3,600 hours; before that they practice under a written agreement and protocols with a physician who collaborates with them.

Moving to, from or within New York

Enrolled at SAU and relocating to New YorkTell your program director and advisor before the move is final. Clinical courses you still owe may not be completable from New York, and SAU's four-week paperwork lead time leaves little slack.
Living in New York and relocating outIf you are moving to an authorized state for real, ask SAU admissions when your new state starts to count, and get the answer in writing before you apply.
Staying in New YorkCheck NYSED's registration status for any NP program you consider. Registration, not a preceptor's goodwill, decides whether NP rotations can happen in the state.

How we help SAU students around New York

New York is off SAU's nursing list, so our searches for SAU courses run in the authorized states next door. If you are an SAU student living in an authorized neighbor such as New Jersey, Pennsylvania or Connecticut, we look for leads where you live and help you finish SAU's paperwork on time. For how licenses work across states, see RN license for clinicals.

FAQ

Questions Spring Arbor students ask

Can a New York nurse enroll in Spring Arbor's online MSN?

SAU lists New York as a state without authorization for its nursing programs, and that single list covers the MSN tracks, the certificates, the DNP and the RN-to-BSN. For NP tracks, SAU's 2026 disclosure adds that the FNP, AGNP and PMHNP don't meet New York licensure rules. Ask SAU admissions directly if you think your case differs.

Can I live in New York and do SAU clinicals in New Jersey?

Ask SAU before you plan anything. Its state page doesn't say whether the list follows your address or your clinical site, and faculty look at your license and location when they approve a rotation. Don't assume a New Jersey site opens an SAU program to a New York resident.

Does a compact license from another state let me practice in New York?

No. New York hasn't joined the Nurse Licensure Compact, so RNs practicing there need a New York license. That's a licensing matter, though, and it has no bearing on SAU's authorization, which is what keeps SAU clinicals out of New York.

Why would an NP rotation in New York be illegal?

NYSED says NP clinical rotations in the state belong inside an NP program it has registered. A student from an unregistered program doing NP rotations there may be practicing beyond what the law allows. That is why NYSED urges students to check a program's registration before enrolling.

I'm an SAU student with family in New York. Could I do a rotation while visiting?

No. A rotation in New York would run into both SAU's exclusion and NYSED's registration rule. Keep your clinical hours in the authorized state where you live, with the preceptor and site your SAU faculty approved. Hours logged anywhere else risk not counting toward the course.

Keep going

GuideBy stateWhere Spring Arbor University nursing students can do clinicals: not authorized in AL, AZ, LA and NY, Washington for residents only, and a guide for every state.StatesState authorizationSAU's nursing programs aren't authorized in AL, AZ, LA or NY; Washington is residents only; the DNP page adds Mississippi. What that means for clinicals.LicenseRN license for clinicalsSpring Arbor asks for an unrestricted RN license in your state of practice. What that means for your clinical state, compact licenses and moving mid-program.State guideNew JerseyNew Jersey is authorized for Spring Arbor nursing, but New York next door is not. Joint-protocol NPs, compact licensing and where SAU students look.State guidePennsylvaniaSpring Arbor online nursing students can do clinicals in Pennsylvania. 49 Pa. Code § 21.118, the 2025 compact, reduced NP practice and preceptor leads.State guideConnecticutConnecticut joined the nurse licensure compact in October 2025. What that and the state's rules mean for Spring Arbor NP, educator and DNP clinicals there.

Last checked 2026-09-24

We check these pages against Spring Arbor's own published sources. SAU's nursing faculty and current catalog have the final word.

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