USI's Alaska rule: the program picks your preceptor
For graduate students living in Alaska, the usual University of Southern Indiana arrangement flips. Everywhere else the student identifies the preceptor; in Alaska, the USI graduate nursing program selects every preceptor, and students may not choose their own. APRN students also need a preceptorship registration from Alaska's Board of Nursing, and filing it is up to you.
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What USI's Alaska policy says
The policy sits on the handbook's University Clinical Requirements page, under the heading Policy for Graduate Nursing Students Residing in Alaska. It makes four points:
- Preceptors are selected by the USI graduate nursing program and must hold at least a graduate degree with appropriate credentials
- Students may not select preceptors on their own
- APRN students apply for a preceptorship through the Alaska State Board of Nursing and pay the Board's registration fee
- Healthcare Systems Leadership and Nursing Education Leadership students do not need prior authorization from the Alaska Board for their practicum experiences
A closing line puts the Board application squarely on the student: students are responsible for initiating the preceptorship application process. Read the four points together and the split is clear. USI owns the choice of preceptor; you own the Board paperwork.
Why Alaska is different from every other state
USI's general rule makes the student responsible for identifying preceptors and clinical sites in their own community, with an exception for states that require the university to take responsibility for securing preceptors (the general rule). Alaska is the only state USI's pages name under that exception. If you live elsewhere and wonder whether your state belongs in the same group, ask the Nursing Clinical Coordinator rather than assume.
The Alaska Board adds its own layer. Alaska regulation 12 AAC 44.460 is the basis for registering students whose APRN program is based in another state but whose clinical practice happens in Alaska. That registration hinges on a preceptorship arrangement the Board has approved, so preceptor, facility, student and school all have to be settled before the Board acts.
The Board's form sets its own test for the preceptor, too. The person must be an APRN or a physician, with the license or privilege to practice both active and unencumbered; must work in a practice focus comparable to the student's; and must supervise, teach and evaluate the student in the clinical setting.
What the program's selection means for you
The Alaska rule takes the search off your list and replaces it with other tasks. You are not phoning practices around Anchorage or Fairbanks in search of a yes; the program chooses. You are still busy, though: your compliance record, your license and the Board application remain yours to manage.
The policy sets USI's floor for Alaska preceptors at a graduate degree with appropriate credentials. Nothing in it sets aside the general USI rules, so expect them to apply as well: an unencumbered license where the preceptor practices, specialty certification, at least a year as an advanced practice provider, and no relatives or partners. Track rules hold too, so a PMHNP student in Alaska is still precepted by a PMHNP or a licensed psychiatrist (USI's preceptor rules).
If you know an Alaska clinician who might be willing, ask the Nursing Clinical Coordinator whether the program would like the name. The decision stays with the program.
The Alaska Board preceptorship registration
According to the Board's FAQ, every student in an APRN program needs a preceptorship on file with the Board. The form for it, the APRN Preceptorship Registration (08-4253), wants:
- Proof that your RN license, whether Alaska issued it or another state did, is in good standing
- Proof of current enrollment in an APRN program
- A copy of the agreement that ties together school, facility, preceptor and student, which is how the Board approves the arrangement
- The Board's registration fee, which USI's policy says the student pays
A registration lapses when the preceptorship finishes, or at the 12-month mark if that arrives sooner, and the Board allows a single renewal. Ask the Nursing Clinical Coordinator which USI documents to attach as the agreement. The Preceptor Agreement in the Preceptor Packet and the site's Clinical Education Agreement are USI's written records of those relationships.
Timing the registration across three specialty courses
USI's NP specialty courses run Fall, Spring and Summer: NRSG 643, NRSG 645 and NRSG 647 for FNP, with the AGACNP and PMHNP courses on the same pattern. From the first week of Fall to the end of Summer is close to a full year, which is also the longest a Board registration lasts before renewal.
Two questions are worth putting to the Board and to USI early. The first is whether a change of preceptor between courses ends one preceptorship and calls for a new registration, since the registration lapses when the preceptorship ends. The second is when to renew, since only one renewal is allowed. Put the answers on your calendar beside USI's own dates: Form G 6 weeks before each rotation, clinical hours under way by week 3, and no hours on university holidays or between terms (USI's deadlines).
Licensing and enrollment for Alaska residents
USI's rule is that your RN license must be unencumbered and valid in each state where you complete clinical hours. Alaska has stayed outside the Nurse Licensure Compact, and the Board's compact page still describes the bills to join as pending. A multistate license issued in Indiana or Kentucky therefore gives no privilege to practice in Alaska, and hours there call for an Alaska RN license. The Board's own registration is satisfied by a license from any state, but USI's standard is the higher bar, so plan to meet it.
On enrollment, USI's Professional Licensure Disclosure lists Alaska as meeting requirements for its MSN NP tracks, post-master's certificates and DNP APRN programs, and Alaska appears on none of USI's enrollment-not-allowed lists (the licensure disclosure). On AANP's state practice map, Alaska gives NPs full practice authority.
How we support Alaska students
For Alaska residents, the program chooses the preceptor, and our work is built around that choice. Our placement desk takes on what still lands on you: the Board's preceptorship registration and its documents, the Alaska RN license question, the 12-month expiry and single renewal mapped against your Fall, Spring and Summer courses, and a CastleBranch (DISA) record that is clean before each term.
Planning a move into or out of Alaska, or weighing clinical time there from another state? We set out which rules follow you and which change before you commit. And for USI students everywhere else, the preceptor search itself is where we do our best work, from the first call to the approval email. Start with the contact form.
Questions USI students ask
Can I choose my own preceptor if I live in Alaska?
No. USI's policy for graduate nursing students residing in Alaska says all preceptors must be selected by the USI graduate nursing program and that students may not independently select preceptors. If you know a clinician who might be willing, you can ask the Nursing Clinical Coordinator whether the program wants the name, but the choice belongs to the program.
Do USI NEL and HSL students in Alaska need Alaska Board approval?
Not in advance. USI's policy says Healthcare Systems Leadership and Nursing Education Leadership students are not required to obtain prior authorization from the Alaska State Board of Nursing for practicum experiences. The sentence about the program selecting preceptors is not limited to APRN tracks, so ask the Nursing Clinical Coordinator how practicum supervisors are chosen for you.
How long does an Alaska APRN preceptorship registration last?
Up to a year. It ends at 12 months, or sooner if your preceptorship does, and one renewal is permitted. Because USI's three specialty courses run Fall, Spring and Summer, check with the Board early whether a change of preceptor between courses needs a new registration, and when your renewal should be filed.
Is Alaska the only state where USI selects the preceptor?
It is the only one USI names. The handbook's general rule makes students responsible for identifying preceptors, except in states requiring the university to secure them, and the Alaska policy is the only state policy published under that exception. If you think your state may have a similar requirement, confirm with the Nursing Clinical Coordinator before you start searching.
Do I need an Alaska RN license for USI clinicals in Alaska?
Plan on it. USI's handbook pairs every clinical hour with an unencumbered RN license from the state hosting it, and because Alaska sits outside the compact, a multistate license from somewhere else does not reach it. The Board's registration is content with a license from any state; USI's standard is the one that decides whether your Alaska hours can count.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against USI's own bulletin, program pages and Graduate Nursing Handbook. Your handbook, course faculty and the Nursing Clinical Coordinator have the final word.
- University of Southern Indiana Graduate Nursing Handbook: University Clinical Requirements and Clinical Evaluation (Alaska policy)
- University of Southern Indiana Professional Licensure Disclosure
- Alaska Board of Nursing: Frequently Asked Questions
- Alaska Board of Nursing: APRN Preceptorship Registration (form 08-4253)
- Alaska Board of Nursing: Nurse Licensure Compact
USI makes the search your job. We make it the easy part.
Tell us your USI track, your city and your next clinical semester. We find preceptors who fit the NRSG course and fill the Preceptor Packet and Clinical Education Agreement request with typed, complete details, well before USI's 6-week window.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family primary care for FNP, acute care teams for AGACNP, PMHNPs and psychiatrists for PMHNP
- Preceptor license, certification, years of practice and the site's agreement signer ready for the packet
- Fall, Spring and Summer planned together, close to home in a state USI enrolls
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