How a missing preceptor pushes back a Graceland University graduation
Each term you sit out for lack of a preceptor moves a Graceland University graduation back about four months, because practicums run one per trimester and in a set order. An incomplete practicum has the same effect by holding the next practicum a term. A revised completion plan from Program Advising, and a preceptor search aimed at the next paperwork deadline, help keep the delay to a single term.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Graceland program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your course.
Why one lost term costs about four months
Graceland runs three 16-week trimesters a year and allows only one practicum per trimester. Every NP track has three practicums, so they take at least three terms, and the order is partly fixed: the FNP Family practicum always comes last, the PMHNP practicums cannot be reordered, and each AGACNP practicum is the prerequisite for the next.
That leaves no way to double up and catch back. When one practicum slips, everything behind it slips too. The handbook is plain: a student who sits out a term because no preceptor was found has graduation "postponed by approximately 4 months for every term they sit out." Commencement is held in December in Independence and in April in Lamoni, so one lost term can also change which ceremony you attend.
The ways a practicum slips
| What happens | Graceland's rule | Effect on your timeline |
|---|---|---|
| No preceptor or paperwork by June 15, October 15 or February 15 | The practicum may be delayed; the completion plan is rearranged, often with another course that term | Completion date moves out |
| You sit out a term with no practicum | About four months added per term sat out | Graduation moves by a term |
| Hours unfinished when the term ends | Incomplete with instructor approval; finish by the end of the next term or the grade becomes an F | Next practicum starts a term later |
| A gap of a year or more | Practicums in a track belong within a year of one another, and idle practicum support courses lapse after a year | Courses may need retaking |
| Withdrawing from Graceland and returning | Returning students move to the current catalog's 750 practicum hours | More hours to complete |
Incompletes and stop-outs get full treatment on incompletes and delays.
Incompletes: useful, with a cost
When hours go unfinished, an incomplete can rescue the course. The handbook allows one for practicum hours not finished within the 16-week trimester if the instructor approves. You put the request in writing no later than two weeks before the course's end date, and you need a passing grade when you ask.
The terms are strict. Outstanding work is due no later than the final day of the following term, graduate courses get no extension past that point, and an incomplete left unfinished becomes an F on its own. For practicums, the handbook adds the part that touches graduation: you cannot move on until the incomplete is cleared, so your next practicum begins one term later than planned. An incomplete saves the grade and the hours already logged, but it still costs a term.
The 12-month rule and expiring courses
Long gaps carry a second risk. Graceland wants the practicum courses in a track completed within a year of one another, and it retires program-specific practicum support courses after twelve months without activity, after which they have to be taken again. The handbook leaves the support-course category undefined, so ask your track coordinator how the rule reads for your own plan.
One lost term normally keeps you inside the window. Two or three in a row can stretch your practicums more than 12 months apart, and then a delay is no longer only about time; it can mean repeating coursework. That is why a new search should aim at the very next paperwork deadline, and why the window belongs in any talk with Program Advising once a second term looks shaky.
Stop-outs, withdrawals and the 750-hour catalog
How you pause matters. The graduate catalog permits a one-trimester stop-out, during which you remain a Graceland student rather than a withdrawn one. A full withdrawal is another matter: since August 2026, a student who returns after withdrawing re-enters under the newer catalog and its larger practicum totals, and from the start of Fall 2026 every new and returning student is on the 750-hour requirement.
That matters most to students who matriculated before August 1, 2023 and are still on 600 FNP hours or 540 AGACNP or PMHNP hours, since a formal withdrawal could add 150 or more hours to what you owe. Talk to Program Advising at programadvising@graceland.edu before changing your status, and see the 750-hour rule.
Keep the program clock in view as well. The MSN and the NP certificates carry a six-year time limit, with one one-year extension allowed for the MSN.
What to do the week you know
- Tell GracelandEmail the contract coordinators and your course lead faculty, ideally at least two weeks before the paperwork deadline.
- Get a revised completion planProgram Advising handles completion plans and course changes; ask for one that keeps your practicums inside a twelve-month span.
- Fill the termAsk whether another course can take the practicum's place, so the term still moves you forward.
- Keep compliance currentCastle Branch items such as the annual TB test and influenza vaccine have to stay current for every practicum term.
- Aim at the next deadlineTarget whichever of June 15, October 15 or February 15 comes next, with Appendix A and Appendix B ready to file.
- Secure two preceptorsLine up the preceptor for the delayed practicum and the one after it, so the same gap cannot open twice.
Getting back on schedule with us
Graceland students choose us when graduation is on the line because we work backward from the date you want. We look at the practicums you have left, the order Graceland requires, the 12-month window and the next paperwork deadline, then search for preceptors who fit each course and can start when you need them. The result is a plan for every remaining term, not just the next one.
Every candidate comes with the details both appendices need, and we plan the next practicum's preceptor alongside the delayed one, so one late term does not become two. If a preceptor falls through along the way, we are on call with a replacement. Tell us your graduation target, remaining practicums and city on the contact page; we build the preceptor plan around that date.
Questions Graceland students ask
Can I take two practicums in one Graceland trimester to catch up?
No. Graceland limits you to a single practicum each trimester, whatever your track, and each track's practicums follow a set order. The way to limit a delay is to keep the gap to a single term, with a revised completion plan from Program Advising and a preceptor lined up for the next paperwork deadline.
Can I take another course while I wait for a preceptor?
Often, yes. The handbook describes rearranging the completion plan so the student takes another course that term, which keeps you enrolled and moving, though it still extends the completion date. Program Advising at programadvising@graceland.edu builds the revised plan and knows which courses fit your sequence.
Does a stop-out change my practicum hours?
A single-trimester stop-out, which the graduate catalog allows, keeps you enrolled rather than withdrawn. A full withdrawal is riskier, because a student who comes back afterward is placed on the current catalog and its 750-hour total. If you are on 600 or 540 hours, confirm your status with Program Advising before you pause.
Can BSN-to-DNP students stop out with an MSN if graduation slips?
No. Graceland's catalog is clear that the BSN-to-DNP offers no exit with an MSN along the way. A late NP practicum therefore holds up the doctorate, which needs 750 practicum hours plus 500 DNP practice hours. Line up the remaining NP preceptors early.
Do course withdrawals count against me?
They can. Under the handbook, a second documented course withdrawal earns a warning letter from the School of Nursing's Graduate Programs Office, and a third withdrawal from a graduate nursing course past the 20% mark means dismissal. Before withdrawing from a practicum, ask the lead faculty whether an incomplete or a replacement preceptor is possible.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against Graceland's own catalog, program pages and Graduate Student Handbook. Your handbook, your track coordinator and the contract coordinators have the final word.
Graceland's practicums are arranged by you, with Graceland's help. We do the searching.
Tell us your Graceland track, your city and your next practicum. We find preceptors who fit the course, line up what Appendix A and Appendix B ask for, and aim everything at Graceland's paperwork deadline for your term.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for FNP, hospital and ICU clinicians for AGACNP, psychiatrists and PMHNPs for PMHNP
- Site address, contract contact and preceptor details ready before the June 15, October 15 or February 15 deadline
- Close to home in your approved state, with a second preceptor planned for Graceland's two-preceptor rule
Start your placement plan
Track, city and practicum start is all we need to begin.