UC didn't approve your preceptor or site: find the reason, then fix it

Updated September 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the Cincinnati Preceptor placement team

UC publishes its preceptor and site rules, so a refusal can usually be traced to one of them: the preceptor's credentials or license, a conflict of interest, a limit specific to your track, or a site that can't get an agreement in place. Get the exact reason from your Clinical Site Coordinator, then decide whether to repair the file, reshape the plan or replace the preceptor.

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Tell us what UC flagged

Your UC track, your state and the reason your coordinator gave. A placement advisor replies with what a qualifying preceptor looks like.

Numbered steps. Repair, reshape or replace: 1 Repair the file; 2 Reshape the plan; 3 Replace the preceptor. — Repair, reshape or replace: 1 Repair the file; 2 Reshape the plan; 3 Replace the preceptor.

Get the reason before you do anything else

Ask your Clinical Site Coordinator which rule the preceptor or site didn't meet, and whether anything could change the outcome. The answer sets your next move: a missing detail on the Preceptor Application is a quick repair, while a conflict of interest or a license in the wrong state means starting over.

Make sure it really is a refusal. UC signals approval by sending a welcome email and adding the preceptor to eMedley, and its FAQs put that about three to six weeks before the term for midwifery, or four to six for FNP. No email yet may simply mean the file is still in the queue. Your faculty advisor or program director also weighs in on whether a site suits the course.

Preceptor rules that most often sink a file

Degree. A master's degree or higher. Leadership tracks accept a BSN plus a relevant master's, such as an MBA or MHA.
Certification. ANCC, AANPCB, PNCB or AACN for NPs, NCC for WHNPs, AMCB for CNMs, or an MD or DO with relevant expertise.
Experience. A year or more working in the advanced practice role.
License. Active, without encumbrance, and issued by the state where your clinical happens. UC reviews licenses with past discipline case by case, and the handbook bars placement with a preceptor under a current restriction.
Relatives and reporting lines. No family members, including by marriage on the FNP track, and no one in your own department in a supervisory role.
Physician assistants. Accepted only in UC's 14 listed states, reviewed one at a time and for a limited share of hours. Ohio and Indiana aren't on the list.
The NP share. A fifth or more of NP-track hours under a certified NP whose population focus matches yours, and half of all midwifery hours with a CNM or CM.

Track rules that trip up approval

Track-specific reasons a UC file comes back, from UC's clinical requirements
Track	Rule that often causes the problem
FNP	No CNSs, LMs or CPMs; outpatient only; your employer is allowed, but not your department or your supervisor
FNP	Three preceptors across the program, none for all three semesters, each for at least 60 hours
AGPCNP	Never your employer; outpatient only; no inpatient, OR, hospice, weight-loss, addiction treatment or integrative-medicine settings
AGPCNP and AGACNP	At least 80 hours with each preceptor
PMHNP	Internship I needs a licensed psychotherapy provider; PMHNPs and psychiatrists qualify only from Internship II
Nurse-Midwifery	No LM or CPM preceptors; births in a hospital or attached birth center; a CV with every application
WHNP	NPs outside women's health only in `ANW8006`; a preceptor in your own department needs program director approval

Our pages on employer sites and PA preceptors go deeper into two of these rules.

When the problem is the site

Sometimes the preceptor is fine and the site is the obstacle. UC doesn't allow clinical hours anywhere without an Educational Affiliation Agreement in effect, so anything that blocks the agreement blocks the placement.

The agreement won't come together. Legal review of a site's own contract can run six months or more, and even UC's standard agreement needs six weeks at minimum.
The state is closed. UC places no graduate clinicals in Arizona, Louisiana, Massachusetts, New York, Oregon, Rhode Island or Tennessee, and no DNP clinicals in Washington. See state authorization.
The system is coordinated centrally. UC asks you to clear eight large systems, among them Cleveland Clinic, Nationwide Children's, Norton and Summa Health, with your CSC before approaching anyone there.
Paperwork outside the packet. California, North Dakota and Wyoming need extra state forms, and many sites run their own onboarding.

Repair, reshape or replace

Repair the fileIf the gap is paperwork, such as a missing license number, certification body or the site's administrative contact, fix it and resubmit to the address your CSC gives. Midwifery files also need the preceptor's CV.
Reshape the planSome refusals are about proportion rather than the person. A physician, or a PA in a listed state, may still fit part of your hours if a certified NP covers the required share. Ask your CSC before you rebuild around it.
Replace the preceptorIf the rule can't be met, move on quickly. Check the new name against your track's rules before you ask, and keep the packet deadline and the end-of-week-2 cutoff in view.

If time is short, our page on needing a preceptor fast sets out what to do first.

Files built to clear the first time

Most of our work happens before UC ever sees a name. Each preceptor and site we put forward has been checked against your track's rules and UC's general requirements: degree, certification body, year in role, license state, the NP share and any employer or reporting-line conflict. That screening keeps the avoidable reasons for a refusal out of your packet.

If a file does come back, we read the reason your CSC gives, look for a replacement near you who clears it, and help you assemble the new application details quickly. UC's reviewers give the final approval, and we make sure what they see meets their rules. Tell us what UC flagged.

Questions UC students ask

Can I appeal if UC doesn't approve my preceptor?

UC's published pages don't describe a formal appeal. Ask your Clinical Site Coordinator which rule wasn't met and whether more information, such as a CV or certification details, would change things. If the question is whether a site suits your course, your faculty advisor or program director is the person who weighs in.

Why would UC turn down a physician preceptor?

UC accepts MD and DO preceptors, but the specialty has to fit the track: primary care for FNP, OB/GYN for WHNP, and a psychiatrist only from PMHNP Internship II onward. On NP tracks at least 20% of your hours must still be with a certified NP, and the physician needs a license in your clinical state and no family or reporting tie to you.

Can a newly certified nurse practitioner precept me?

Not until they've spent at least one year in the advanced practice role. UC applies that minimum alongside the degree, certification and license rules. A newer NP at a practice you like may be able to host you later in your program, or point you to a more experienced colleague there.

Does my preceptor have to be licensed where my clinical is?

Yes. UC wants the preceptor's license active, unencumbered and held in the clinical site's state, which isn't always the state where you live. Near Cincinnati that matters: a clinician licensed only in Ohio can't precept you at a Kentucky site. Your own RN license has to be valid in that state too.

Is a CV required with the UC Preceptor Application?

For most tracks a CV is optional when the application is fully completed, but UC requires one from nurse-midwifery preceptors for accreditation. Including one can still help when the form leaves questions about a preceptor's graduate education or time in the role.

UC preceptor requirementsUC's preceptor rules: master's or higher, accepted certification, a year in the role, a clean license in the clinical state, and the 20% NP and 50% CNM rules.UC Preceptor ApplicationHow UC's Preceptor Application works: your student section first, what the preceptor fills in, when a CV is required, and which address the packet goes to.Clinicals at your employerCan you do UC clinicals at your employer? AGPCNP students can't, FNP students can outside their own department, and midwifery needs a signed workplace plan.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.UC affiliation agreementHow UC's Educational Affiliation Agreement works: UC's standard form or a site's own contract, the 6-week and 6-month timelines, who handles what, and fees.Need a preceptor fastUC's packet deadline or the week-2 cutoff is close and you have no preceptor. How to triage by time left, what takes longest and when to move terms.

Last checked 2026-09-24

We check these pages against UC's own sources. Your Clinical Site Coordinator, your course faculty and UC's current documents have the final word.

Hand us the search. Keep your packet deadline.

Tell us your UC track, where you live and which term your next practicum starts. We look for a preceptor and site that fit UC's rules for your track, and help you get the Preceptor Application and agreement details right.

Matched to your track's population, setting and hour rules
Checked against UC's preceptor requirements before your CSC sees it
Aimed at UC's packet deadline, not just the first day of term

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