NSU's two-semester preceptor deadline: finding your own notice date
If you are an APRN student with a preceptor and site lined up, NSU's handbook wants the clinical coordinator told "two semesters prior to the start of each clinical course." Because NSU's fall, winter and summer semesters run back to back, the notice belongs at the start of the semester two before your clinical: winter for a fall course, summer for a winter course, fall for a summer course. Here is how to pin down your own date, course by course.
Find your notice dates
Tell us your start term, plan and track. Your placement advisor counts back to every notice point.
What "two semesters prior" asks of you
On printed page 123 of NSU's 2025-26 handbook, under the graduate APRN heading, students "are responsible to notify the clinical coordinator two semesters prior to the start of each clinical course if they have an identified preceptor and clinical site." Three parts of it carry the weight. The duty is yours, the notice goes to the clinical coordinator, and a separate clock runs for every clinical course.
The handbook does not pin the exact day. It could mean the first day of the semester two before the course, or any point inside that semester. The first-day reading is the safe one, since it leaves that whole semester for the coordinator to confirm your preceptor and for you to clear the site's requirements. Ask your clinical coordinator which reading they apply, and keep their answer.
From your clinical start term to your notice term
NSU splits its year into fall, winter and summer semesters, and MSN APRN students stay continuously enrolled through all of them, so counting back two semesters is simple arithmetic. Find the term your clinical course starts in, then read across the row.
| Clinical course starts in | One semester before | Notice due by the start of |
|---|---|---|
| Fall | Summer of the same year | Winter of the same year |
| Winter | Fall of the previous year | Summer of the previous year |
| Summer | Winter of the same year | Fall of the previous year |
| Fall 2027 | Summer 2027 | Winter 2027 |
| Winter 2028 | Fall 2027 | Summer 2027 |
| Summer 2028 | Winter 2028 | Fall 2027 |
NSU posts calendar dates only for undergraduates, and graduate programs set their own, so treat any day here as approximate. On the registrar's 2026-27 undergraduate calendar, fall 2026 opened August 17, winter 2027 opens January 4 and summer 2027 opens May 3. Read against that calendar, a clinical course beginning in summer 2027 already passed its notice point in August 2026, and a fall 2027 course reaches its notice point in early January 2027.
In calendar time, two NSU semesters come to roughly seven and a half to eight and a half months, depending on the term (our arithmetic from the undergraduate dates). Your course start dates come from your program; NSU semesters and start terms collects what the registrar publishes.
Where your first notice falls: full-time or flex
Your plan decides how soon the first notice arrives. On all three full-time MSN APRN plans, clinicals open in semester III, so that first notice is due as semester I begins, in your very first term. Flex plans buy time: FNP and AGACNP flex students reach their first clinical in semester V, with notice due by semester III, and PMHNP flex students start clinicals in semester VI, with notice due by semester IV.
BSN to DNP students meet their first clinical in semester IV, so their first notice lands at the start of semester II. From the first clinical onward, every plan has a clinical course in nearly every semester through the capstone, and each brings its own notice two semesters earlier. The full-time vs flex page lists the notice semester for every clinical in every plan.
Postgraduate certificate students should work from the semester-by-semester plan their program director gives them. NSU's sources disagree about certificate formats and admit terms, so get that plan in writing, then count back two semesters from each course that carries clinical hours.
One notice per clinical course, not one per program
The handbook says "each clinical course," so the notice repeats. A full-time FNP student has five clinical courses spread over four semesters: adult primary care I (NSG 5549, semester III) and II (NSG 5559, IV), pediatrics and women's health side by side (NSG 5589, NSG 5569, V), then the capstone (NSG 5599, VI). That makes five notices, due at the start of semesters I, II, III (two at once) and IV.
AGACNP (NSG 5629, NSG 5639, NSG 5659, NSG 5669) and PMHNP (NSG 5719, NSG 5729, NSG 5739, NSG 5799) each have four. Keeping the same preceptor for a later course still calls for that course's notice, because the coordinator judges each preceptor against a particular course. The 285-hour capstone notice comes due while you are still early in your clinicals, which is why the capstone page argues for starting that search first.
DNP project courses (NSG 7431 through NSG 7451) are a different case. The notice sentence speaks to APRN clinicals, and whether DNP students must source their own practicum site goes unpublished; see the DNP project practicum page.
What notifying the coordinator involves
NSU keeps the mechanics off its public pages. No form name, portal or term-by-term deadline for the notice appears on nova.edu, in the handbook or in either catalog. For detail, the handbook sends APRN students to the graduate clinical guide, which NSU does not publish, and that leaves your clinical coordinator as the source of answers; the graduate clinical guide page covers getting the guide itself.
Whatever the format, the notice has to give the coordinator enough to settle two things: is this preceptor qualified to supervise you under NSU's standards, and does this practice give the course the patients and setting it calls for? Expect to supply something like the list below, and confirm the exact items with your coordinator.
- the clinical course number and the semester it starts
- your preceptor's name, credential (APRN, MD or DO), license state and number, and specialty
- the site's name, address and type of practice, and the patients you would see there
- the days and hours each week the preceptor can offer across the whole semester
Send it from your SharkMail account, the channel NSU expects for anything university-related, and save the reply. A dated record settles any later question about whether your notice arrived in time.
Why earlier than two semesters works better
Two semesters is the latest point the handbook allows, and a preceptor's yes takes time to turn into a usable placement. The preceptor has to commit to weekly hours across a full semester, not only agree in principle. The site may set its own student rules, for instance fingerprinting for a level 2 check, drug testing or immunizations beyond NSU's list, and under the handbook a placement is canceled when any of them is unmet by the first day. A site new to NSU may also need an affiliation agreement, and NSU does not publish how long one takes.
Florida preceptors are sought after beyond NSU, too. Online programs based in other states train students under Florida-licensed preceptors, and in Florida's TEACH report for state fiscal year 2024-25, schools from outside the state or abroad accounted for about a quarter of trainees. Starting a semester or more before your notice point leaves room to replace a preceptor who says no without falling back on a placement you did not choose (the 150-mile rule).
Treat each notice point as a finish line, not a starting line: begin the search for that course at least a semester before it.
Why NSU students give us their notice dates first
Your placement advisor starts where this page does: your start term, your plan and the first day of each clinical course. We count back to every notice point, set a search start well ahead of each, and look near your home for preceptors whose practice matches the course and who can give steady weekly hours all semester.
Before each notice point you hold the preceptor's credentials, license details and site information, organized around the two questions the coordinator asks, with your CastleBranch items lined up against the site's list. If a preceptor pulls out, the replacement search starts that day. Approval rests with your clinical coordinator; we see to it that the notice they receive is early, complete and built to NSU's rules. Tell us your term and plan through the placement request form.
Questions NSU students ask
If my NSU clinical course starts in the fall, when is my preceptor notice due?
Count back two semesters: summer is one, winter is two. A clinical course that begins in fall 2027 needs its notice to the clinical coordinator by the start of winter 2027, which opens in early January on NSU's undergraduate calendar. Confirm the exact date with your coordinator, since graduate programs set their own term dates.
Do I have to notify NSU again if I keep the same preceptor?
Plan on it. The handbook applies the two-semester notice to each clinical course, and the coordinator confirms fit for a specific course. A preceptor who suits NSG 5549 may well suit NSG 5559, but the coordinator still needs to hear, in time, that you are proposing them for the later course.
What happens if I miss NSU's two-semester deadline?
The handbook does not describe a late notice. Its only stated outcome for a student with no preceptor requested is that the coordinator assigns a site, up to 150 miles from home, which cannot be negotiated once made. If you are close to or past your date, contact your coordinator at once, and see what to do this week.
Is there an NSU form for naming a preceptor?
None is public. NSU names no form, portal or deadline calendar for the notice on its website, in the handbook or in its catalogs. The handbook directs APRN students to the graduate clinical guide, a document NSU keeps off its website. Ask your clinical coordinator which form and channel to use, and ask in SharkMail so the answer is on record.
Does the two-semester rule apply to postgraduate certificate students?
The handbook states the rule for graduate students in its A.P.R.N. programs, and NSU publishes no separate certificate version. Certificate students should plan on the same count and confirm it with their program director, using the plan of study they receive at the start.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against NSU's own handbook, catalog and program pages. The graduate clinical guide, your course in Canvas, your clinical coordinator and your program director have the final word.
NSU lets you name your own preceptor. We make sure you have one, close to home and in time.
Tell us your NSU program, your home ZIP area and when your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors who fit the course and have everything ready for your clinical coordinator well before the two-semester notice.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP, acute care for AGACNP, psychiatric care for PMHNP, a practice site for DNP project hours
- Named early enough for NSU's two-semester notice, with license, credentials and site details ready for the coordinator
- Close to your home ZIP code, with clinic days we plan around your work schedule
Start your placement plan
Program, ZIP area and start term is all we need to begin.