Spring Arbor students training in South Carolina

01Which SAU programs work in South Carolina

SAU uses one nursing list for every program, and as of September 24, 2026 South Carolina is on it. The four exceptions are Louisiana, Alabama, New York and Arizona.

Those codes come from the 2023-24 catalog. Numbering may have moved since, so compare them with your current course list.

02How South Carolina's rule applies to NP students

S.C. Code Regs. 91-6 says a nursing program headquartered in another state needs the South Carolina Board of Nursing's approval before it runs clinicals that prepare students for a first license. Such a program has to keep full approval at home, supervise on site with faculty licensed in South Carolina or a compact state, sign a clinical affiliation agreement, and follow South Carolina's precepting rules. After approval it has 15 days to report, in writing, any change in its compliance (R.91-6(C)).

SAU's graduate tracks take nurses who are already licensed toward NP certification, and R.91-6 never mentions APRN or RN-to-BSN programs. On its face, then, the rule does not reach your rotation. Because the regulation is silent rather than explicit, ask the program director to confirm SAU's position before your first South Carolina rotation.

03Restricted practice, and who can precept

AANP puts South Carolina among its restricted states. An NP there needs a practice agreement with a physician to carry out delegated acts, and supply limits apply to controlled substances, so the NP you approach will have a physician partner on paper. SAU lets physicians precept its NP students, so that partner is a fair second ask.

The large systems are Roper St. Francis Healthcare, Prisma Health, McLeod Health, MUSC Health and Lexington Health. People cluster around Columbia, Charleston and Greenville-Anderson-Greer, and a slice of the Charlotte metro lies on the South Carolina side. SAU's own leads come first: the program director's volunteer list, the Student Success Coach assigned to you, and any site already covered by an affiliation agreement.

04The tax credit your preceptor cannot claim

South Carolina offers unpaid physician, APRN and PA preceptors an income tax credit under S.C. Code § 12-6-3800, which 2024 Act No. 217 extended through tax year 2029. Only rotations for students of the state's own colleges and universities, public or private, count toward it, so precepting an SAU student does not qualify. Say so when you ask, so the question never surfaces halfway through the rotation.

05License, and why SAU students here choose us

South Carolina joined the nurse compact's multistate system when it went live, January 19, 2018. A multistate license, whether South Carolina issued it or your compact home state did, covers RN practice here and fits the 2023-24 catalog's license rule for the state where you train. More detail sits on our RN license page.

We search South Carolina practices for a preceptor who matches your track and ready the preceptor verification, clinical agreement and affiliation paperwork before SAU's four-week deadline. SAU's faculty decide whether a site is approved, and ours arrive with the paperwork finished. Contact us.