The NPHub option at Graceland University, as the handbook describes it
NPHub is an optional, paid placement service that Graceland University partners with for FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP students in most states except Minnesota. Students who opt in have NPHub find and contract a preceptor and gather the site paperwork, while Graceland still reviews the match and gives final approval. Below is the handbook's own account, followed by how students weigh it.
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What Graceland says NPHub is
Page 46 of the 2026 Graduate Student Handbook says Graceland has partnered with NPHub to find preceptors for FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP students in most states except Minnesota. Once a student decides to use the service, NPHub finds and contracts with a preceptor on behalf of Graceland and the student. NPHub vets the preceptors, and the list it builds is offered only to Graceland students.
The School of Nursing web page calls NPHub “a technology company specializing in pairing MSN nursing students with experienced preceptors for their clinical practicum placements,” and says its platform considers the kind of practicum, your geographic preferences and your areas of interest. The cost is charged to the student's Graceland account, and the handbook notes that financial aid may be used to cover it.
Sources differ on scope. The 2026 handbook includes AGACNP, while Graceland's fees page and DNP page still list the optional placement line for FNP and PMHNP only, and the 2023 handbook said FNP and PMHNP students only. AGACNP students should confirm with the contract coordinators.
The option form and its dates
Every student answers yes or no. The handbook says that during your first year at Graceland you sign a form saying whether you will use NPHub, and that the form passes general location information to NPHub so it can prepare a search in your area. Answering no asks you to give a reason. Spring 2027 starters, the first group on the new process, are told they will hear on a different timeline.
| Term | Option form due (deadline table, p. 50) | Option form due (Attachment D) | Appendix A, B and Castle Branch due |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fall | April 1 | May 1 | June 15 |
| Spring | August 1 | August 1 | October 15 |
| Summer | January 1 | January 1 | February 15 |
Two small conflicts sit in the handbook. The Fall date differs between the deadline table and the sample form, and page 47 calls the form Attachment C when it actually appears as Attachment D. Work to the earlier Fall date unless the contract coordinators tell you otherwise.
The new process, starting with Spring 2027 students
Graceland describes a new NPHub process that begins with students who start in Spring 2027. In the handbook's order:
- Option formYou submit your yes or no. A yes places your location in a database used to find possible matches.
- Graceland reviews possible placementsGraceland's coordinators review what NPHub has placed in the database kept for Graceland students and set you up with a preceptor.
- You hear about the matchA coordinator contacts you once a preceptor is matched to you.
- You confirm fit and commitmentYou confirm that the preceptor meets the requirements of your specific practicum and that you want to use NPHub for that preceptor. The handbook stresses that this commitment matters.
- NPHub gathers the paperworkNPHub obtains the affiliation agreement, Appendix A and Appendix B from the site and preceptor and provides them to Graceland.
- Graceland reviews againGraceland checks that the preceptor matches your course and that every form is complete.
- Approval, then final clearanceGraceland accepts the paperwork and sends approval to NPHub. That approval covers the preceptor and site only; final approval to start waits on your Castle Branch packets, drug screen and background check.
- BillingThe charge is billed to your Graceland account, and you settle it through Student Financial Services before you can attend practicums.
The earlier process, for students already working with NPHub
The handbook keeps the previous steps for students who have already been in contact with NPHub. Under that process:
- NPHub contacts you to confirm whether you are using the service for a term and asks for a copy of your CV or resume.
- It looks for preceptors within 90 minutes or less of you, based on your city, state and ZIP code.
- It texts you at the number on file and sends booking emails to your Graceland school address, with a subject line beginning “How to Book Your…”.
- You reply within 10 days, or the preceptor may be released to other students.
- If you switch which practicum you are taking, you tell NPHub right away.
- The service requires a minimum of 120 hours.
What stays the same on either route
Opting in changes who searches and who files the site paperwork. It leaves Graceland's rules untouched. You will not submit Appendix A or Appendix B for an NPHub placement, but you must still complete every Castle Branch packet, including the medical documentation and the drug screen, plus your background check. The preceptor still has to meet your course's setting and credential rules, and the two-preceptor rule still applies across your three practicums.
The handbook is candid about limits, too. It says NPHub does its best to place every student who wants the service but that a placement may not be found, and that confirming you are using NPHub five or more months before the term gives you the greatest chance. If no match comes through, Graceland's general advice applies: tell the contract coordinators at least two weeks before the paperwork deadline.
How students weigh the option
Graceland presents NPHub as a choice, and students usually settle it on a handful of practical questions.
- Track and state: FNP, AGACNP and PMHNP are covered in most states, and Minnesota is excluded.
- Timing: the option form falls months before each paperwork deadline, and the handbook advises confirming five or more months before the term.
- Hours: the service needs at least 120 hours, and most current students' practicums run 225 or 300 hours under the 750-hour plan.
- Distance: the earlier process searched within 90 minutes of your city, state and ZIP code.
- Clinicians: whether you already know a practice or preceptor you want, or would rather take a match from a vetted list.
- Your account: the charge is billed to your Graceland account, and Student Financial Services can explain how your aid applies.
Our three-route comparison sets these beside your own search and a placement service.
Why students who want a search built around their city choose us
Some Graceland students want the search to start from their own map: the clinic near home, the practice they hope to join after graduation, the preceptor a colleague recommended, the weekdays that fit their shifts. That is exactly how we work. Your placement advisor builds the search around your address, your calendar and the clinicians you name, then screens each prospect against your Graceland course before anyone is asked.
We also step in where students most often need a hand: in Minnesota, with the second preceptor Graceland requires, and after a preceptor falls through close to a deadline. You submit Appendix A with every detail ready, your preceptor completes Appendix B with our guidance, and Graceland reviews and approves exactly as it does on any route. See how it works, or tell us about your next practicum with the form below.
Questions Graceland students ask
Do Graceland NP students have to use NPHub?
No. NPHub is optional. Every student answers yes or no on the option form, and the default route remains the shared search the handbook describes, in which you arrange the practicum with Graceland's assistance. Students who answer no find preceptors themselves with help from Graceland's coordinators, or with outside help such as ours.
Can I use NPHub if I live in Minnesota?
The 2026 handbook says NPHub serves Graceland students in most states except Minnesota, so Minnesota students plan their practicums through the shared search with Graceland's help. We place Graceland students in Minnesota, building the search around their own city, and the Minnesota page covers the state's details.
If I use NPHub, do I still fill out Appendix A and Appendix B?
No. The handbook says NPHub obtains the affiliation agreement, Appendix A and Appendix B from the site and preceptor and provides them to Graceland. You still complete every Castle Branch packet, the drug screen and the background check, and you still need Graceland's approval before any hours count.
Can I say no to NPHub now and change my mind later?
Ask before you submit. An earlier edition of the handbook warned that students who opted out might not be able to change their minds later, and the current form asks for a reason with a no. The contract coordinators at soncontracts@graceland.edu can tell you how the current process treats a change of plan.
Does financial aid cover the NPHub charge?
The handbook says the cost is charged to students and that they may use financial aid to cover it. How much of your aid applies depends on your own package, so ask Student Financial Services, and check Graceland's Tuition & Fees page for the current charge before you answer the option form.
What happens if NPHub does not find me a preceptor?
The handbook says NPHub will do its best but that a placement may not be found. If time is running short, tell the contract coordinators at least two weeks before the paperwork deadline, run your own search with Graceland's help, or ask us to start one. The stuck without a preceptor page lays out the options.
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
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