UC clinicals in North Dakota: the facility form and more
North Dakota is open to UC clinicals, with a state form of its own: a Facility Availability Verification, signed by the clinical facility and sent to constateauth@uc.edu at least a week before the semester. UC will also consider a physician assistant as a preceptor here, case by case, and Essentia Health is a system to clear with your CSC first.
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1 weekbefore the semester: the latest the signed facility form should reach UC
Programs UC allows in North Dakota
North Dakota falls inside UC's authorization; only the tri-state residency tracks are unavailable.
| UC program | In North Dakota |
|---|---|
| Online MSN tracks and the MSN NNP | Allowed |
| FNP and PMHNP certificates | Allowed |
| BSN-to-DNP and post-MSN DNP (not AGACNP) | Allowed |
| AGACNP; AGPCNP and PNP-AC certificates | Not available outside Ohio, Kentucky and Indiana |
| RN-to-BSN | Allowed |
The Facility Availability Verification, step by step
- Secure the preceptor and siteThe Preceptor Application still goes in on UC's packet schedule. The North Dakota form is an addition, never a packet attachment.
- Have the facility signThe verification is completed and signed on the facility's behalf. Find out early which office there handles it, since your preceptor may not be the one who signs.
- Email it to UC's state mailboxReturn the signed form to constateauth@uc.edu at least one week before the semester begins.
- File your copyKeep the signed form and UC's reply with your clinical records.
The other two state forms are explained on UC's CA, ND and WY forms page.
Why the Board cares about facility space
North Dakota's Board runs a recognition process for distance programs with students in its facilities, and its definition takes in APRN programs as well as LPN and RN ones. Recognition has to be requested 60 days ahead of any planned student activity. Then, every semester before students start, the program files student names and licenses, facilities, courses, preceptor and faculty details with résumés and licenses, affiliation agreements, and each facility's verification of clinical space. The student exemption in NDCC 43-12.1-04(12) hinges on written notice to the Board and on site availability.
UC's pages don't describe its own Board filing. The piece UC asks of you is the facility's signed verification, which lines up with the Board's per-facility item.
Preceptors, PAs and Essentia
AANP rates North Dakota full practice. For UC, a North Dakota preceptor needs a master's degree at minimum, current certification, one year or more in the advanced practice role and an unencumbered North Dakota license. North Dakota also counts among the 14 states on UC's PA list: a PA can precept part of your term after an individual review, with a cap on hours, and none of those hours count toward the fifth of NP-track time owed to an NP. See PA preceptors at UC.
Essentia Health, which runs Essentia Health-Fargo, belongs to the handful of systems UC wants your CSC to hear about before you approach anyone. Other large names are Sanford Health, with medical centers in Fargo and Bismarck, Grand Forks' Altru Health System, Minot's Trinity Health and Bismarck's CHI St. Alexius Health. None is a confirmed UC site.
Licensing, and the Minnesota side of Fargo
North Dakota joined the compact on January 19, 2018; a license from North Dakota, or a multistate license from whichever compact state is your home, covers UC sites here. The state enacted the APRN Compact in 2021 as well. Five states have now done so, and the compact needs seven before it operates. Our research found no North Dakota preceptor incentive.
The Fargo and Grand Forks metros extend into Minnesota, which isn't in the compact. North Dakota isn't on UC's supplemental background-check list, but Minnesota is.
In North Dakota we look for a preceptor and site suited to your track, and we help keep the facility form moving alongside your packet. Final approval of each preceptor and site sits with UC. Reach us through contact.
Any clinic in the Minnesota part of the Fargo or Grand Forks area counts as a Minnesota site: no compact coverage for your RN license, and UC's supplemental Minnesota background check applies.
Questions UC students ask
Who signs North Dakota's Facility Availability Verification?
The clinical facility signs it, confirming the site is available for your clinical. The signed form then goes to constateauth@uc.edu at least a week before the semester starts. Keep it separate from your Preceptor Application, which follows UC's normal packet deadlines, and ask UC whether a second North Dakota facility needs a second form.
Can a physician assistant precept me in North Dakota?
Potentially. North Dakota is on UC's PA list, so your CSC can review a PA preceptor there, though approval isn't automatic and the hours are limited. For nurse-midwifery students the ceiling is 20 PA hours, in ANW8006 only, with the program director's approval. Whatever your track, the hours it reserves for an NP (or, in midwifery, a CNM or CM) can't go to a PA.
Does North Dakota need a supplemental background check for UC?
North Dakota isn't on the handbook's list of states requiring a supplemental state check. Minnesota is, which matters if your site sits on the Minnesota side of the Fargo or Grand Forks area. Sites may still run checks of their own during onboarding, and UC's standard CastleBranch check applies everywhere.
Can I approach Essentia Health in Fargo on my own?
Contact your CSC first. UC's Clinical Planning page names Essentia among the systems where students must check with their CSC before pursuing a preceptor. Sanford, Altru, Trinity Health and CHI St. Alexius aren't on that list, so UC's usual process applies there, along with the facility form for any North Dakota site.
Related pages
By stateWhere UC nursing students can do clinicals, state by state: the seven excluded states, residency-only tracks, PA preceptor states and extra UC forms.CA, ND and WY state formsCalifornia, North Dakota and Wyoming need extra state forms for UC clinicals, sent to constateauth@uc.edu at least a week before the semester. What each is.Physician assistant preceptorsUC lets physician assistants precept NP students only in listed states, case by case and for limited hours. The state list, the midwifery cap, what to check.MinnesotaMinnesota is open to UC clinicals, but it's outside the nurse compact, Allina and Essentia need your CSC first, and UC adds a supplemental background check.South DakotaSouth Dakota is open to UC clinicals and its Board doesn't approve outside programs. UC adds a supplemental state background check and takes no PA preceptors.
Last checked 2026-09-24
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