The Spring Arbor clinical placement process, from first search to first shift

01Who does what in an SAU placement

You find the preceptor and the site; SAU's program faculty decide whether they are acceptable. SAU's live FAQ puts it plainly: "You will choose your own preceptor in your home state." The 2023-24 Graduate Catalog says the same thing in course language, describing a practicum arranged with a local preceptor and approved by program faculty.

SAU does help. It has published a volunteer-provider list held by the program director, a document checklist, a Student Success Coach who supports you during clinical placement and, on the FNP and PMHNP pages since 2026, a clinical partner network. None of these amounts to SAU placing you, and no current SAU page says it will.

The campus BSN and the ABSN run differently. For those, SAU's own team places students at approved facilities near Spring Arbor, Michigan. Everything on this page concerns the online graduate tracks, with a note on the online RN-to-BSN.

02The path, in the order it happens

No single SAU page lays out the full sequence. This order is pieced together from the 2023-24 catalog, SAU's clinicals FAQ blog post and its preceptor tips post.

1. Start looking earlySAU's own tip is to begin in the first few months of the program. SAU pages from 2022 and earlier put the start of NP clinicals in year two, so an early start buys you a long runway. The clinical timeline maps the semesters.
2. Pass the prerequisite coursesThe 2023-24 catalog made you pass NUR 612, NUR 618, NUR 602 and the campus residency NUR 602R before starting any NUR 680 or NUR 780 practicum or NUR 660. Numbering may have moved since, so compare against the courses Brightspace shows you, or ask your advisor.
3. Find and propose a preceptor and siteWork the director's volunteer list, classmates and graduates, your own contacts and your employer. Ask early whether the site already holds an affiliation agreement with SAU.
4. Send the paperwork at least four weeks aheadThe 2023-24 catalog names clinical agreement, affiliation and preceptor verification forms, due no later than four weeks before the clinical course. Your compliance records need to be current by then as well.
5. Wait for faculty approvalProgram faculty approve the preceptor and site for every rotation. Once that is done, faculty brief your preceptor on how the rotation should unfold and what it has to cover.
6. Confirm the first daySAU's blog suggests emailing your preceptor beforehand to confirm the location, start time and dress, and finishing any assigned reading before you arrive.

03How the path differs by track

The steps above fit every track that uses an outside preceptor. What changes is the clinical course, who may precept, and whether SAU's newer support wording covers you. Course numbers are from the 2023-24 Graduate Catalog unless the row says current; your advisor can tell you what they are called now.

Each track's preceptor rules have their own page: who can precept an SAU student.

04Where the process usually slows down

Most delays sit between a preceptor saying yes and faculty signing off. SAU's catalog warns that falling short of compliance and agency requirements "may result in program delay or academic withdrawal," so an expired CPR card or a missing TB result can hold up a rotation that is ready in every other way.

Common sticking points

• Forms sent late: the four-week floor leaves little slack if one signature is missing. See clinical paperwork.
• A site with no agreement: a new affiliation agreement adds a step that neither you nor SAU fully controls.
• A credential mismatch: a clinician who suits one track may not suit yours.
• A preceptor who withdraws: each rotation needs its own approval, so a replacement restarts that part of the clock.

Students on a public forum in 2019 also described preceptor paperwork waiting in the nursing office long enough that a preceptor moved on. That is one report, not SAU policy, but it is a fair reason to submit well before the deadline. The approval page explains what faculty review.

05What SAU gives you along the way

SAU's published help is worth using first, since it comes from the people who will approve your site. The dates and caveats for each item are on finding your own preceptor; in brief, SAU has offered:

• Names of nearby clinicians who once offered to take SAU students, held by the SAU Online program director (per a 2015 post still online).
• Preceptors and sites SAU had already cleared, which its 2023-24 MSN page offered to distance students.
• A check on whether clinics near you are already under contract with SAU.
• Help from staff and faculty, including a checklist of the documents due before clinicals.
• Your Student Success Coach, whose remit SAU says includes clinical placement.

Some of these come from older posts, so ask your program director or Student Success Coach which are still active for your cohort. Old volunteer names can still be good leads; just confirm each one is still willing before you build a term around it.

06Why SAU students add our placement desk

Our placement desk adds reach to SAU's help. A placement advisor looks for a clinician and a site that fit your SAU track and sit within reach of home, helps you pull together what faculty will review, and keeps the four-week date in view with you. If a preceptor pulls out partway through, we go back to searching. If SAU's list or a classmate's lead comes through first, take it; starting on time matters more than who found the site.

Approval stays with SAU. Program faculty rule on every preceptor and site; our work is making sure the preceptor, the site and the paperwork in front of them already fit SAU's rules. To see our side in order, read how it works, or send your track and term through the form below.