Behind on clinical hours in a Sacred Heart course

Updated September 25, 2026 · Reviewed by the Sacred Heart Preceptor placement team

Falling behind on hours in a 16-week Sacred Heart University NP course is fixable while weeks remain. The hours must fit inside your course dates, be logged correctly in E*Value and be earned under a preceptor and site Sacred Heart has approved. Here is how to size the gap, how a second preceptor gets added and which options exist when time runs short.

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Numbered steps. Adding a second approved preceptor: 1 Look inside your current site first; 2 Confirm eligibility; 3 Get both approvals; 4 Submit a new CRF; 5 Wait for updated clearance. — Adding a second approved preceptor: 1 Look inside your current site first; 2 Confirm eligibility; 3 Get both approvals; 4 Submit a new CRF; 5 Wait for updated clearance.

Size the gap first

Start with simple division: hours still owed over weeks left. A 180-hour course such as NU 561, NU 621 or any of the PMHNP practicums averages a little over 11 hours a week across 16 weeks, and the 90-hour NU 606 and NU 607 average under 6. If the pace you now need is well beyond what your preceptor can offer, the gap will not close by itself.

Next, know your end date. The registrar places MSN/FNP on its Special Trimester calendar:

Special Trimester Programs calendar, 2026-27 (includes MSN/FNP)
Term	Classes begin	Last day to withdraw	Last day of classes
Fall 2026	Aug 31	Oct 26	Dec 12
Spring 2027	Jan 4	Mar 15	Apr 23
Late Spring 2027	Apr 26	Jun 21	Aug 6

No 2026-27 calendar page names the MSN PMHNP, and Sacred Heart's sources differ on course length (16 weeks in the catalog, a 15-week semester in the FAQ), so confirm your own dates in the course and with faculty. The course calendar page sets out the conflict.

Hours belong inside the semester

The hybrid FNP/DNP guide says it outright: clinical hours "cannot be completed before the semester start date" and must be finished by the semester end date. Online MSN and certificate students should confirm with course faculty or the student guide how their course treats hours outside its dates, and plan on the hours sitting inside the course rather than banking them early or trailing them late.

Completing the hours is part of passing. The online guide ties a passed practicum to a course grade of at least 80, meeting clinical competencies and finishing the required clinical hours, and failing the practicum fails the course. That is why a shortfall belongs in a conversation with faculty around the middle of the course, not in its final week.

Log every hour correctly in E*Value

Keep logs on time. Sacred Heart treats late required E*Value documents as a failure in clinical.
Hours count only when the preceptor and site are approved and your compliance is current; anything else is deleted.
Telehealth counts only as the catalog allows: in person, or occasionally by telehealth as the preceptor directs. FNP/DNP students may never count a Zoom class as clinical hours.
FNP and FNP certificate students keep case logs alongside their hour logs.

Each record is explained on the E*Value page.

The quiet mistake: letting logs lag while hours pile up. An hour logged late can cost you more than an hour never worked.

Adding a second approved preceptor

Adding a preceptor is usually the most direct way to add hours, and Sacred Heart handles it like any other preceptor change: each preceptor needs approval, and your clearance has to be updated before you see patients with the new one.

Look inside your current site firstAnother eligible clinician at the same practice keeps the existing affiliation agreement in play.
Confirm eligibilityCheck the candidate against your track's rules on the preceptor requirements page: license type, board certification and a year of relevant experience.
Get both approvalsYour advisor approves, the NP clinical coordinator reviews credentials, and a partnering health system, if there is one, goes first.
Submit a new CRFThe guide calls for a new Contract Request Form whenever the site or preceptor changes; the FNP form also asks for the site's primary and secondary populations.
Wait for updated clearanceBegin hours with the second preceptor only after the updated clearance letter arrives.

When the hours will not fit

Tell course faculty as soon as the numbers look wrong. Sacred Heart's rules offer a few routes, each with conditions:

An Incomplete: possible only after the withdrawal date, only while passing and only with Program Director approval, through an Incomplete Grade Agreement. The guide gives two deadlines for the unfinished work (six weeks after the course ends, or the sixth week of the next full semester), so confirm which applies.
NU 600 Continuous Enrollment: a zero-credit course that keeps MSN/FNP students enrolled when they need more time to finish required clinical hours.
A course withdrawal, by official form: the online guide allows up to two nursing-course withdrawals, and the Program Director may allow one more.

Each route affects the courses that follow; delayed graduation traces how, including the six-year limit.

How we help you catch up

Sacred Heart University students who fall behind choose us because we add capacity quickly and by the rules. Your placement advisor looks for a second eligible clinician at your current site or a nearby practice with a Sacred Heart agreement, matched to your course population and to the days your schedule allows.

We verify credentials, assemble the documents your academic advisor and the NP clinical coordinator review, and hand you what your new Contract Request Form needs. While we close this gap, we keep your next course's placement moving, so a slow term does not also cost you the next deadline. Share your hours left and weeks remaining in the form below, and read our process on how it works.

Questions Sacred Heart students ask

Can I finish clinical hours after the semester ends?

For the hybrid FNP/DNP, no: its guide requires hours to end with the semester. Online MSN students should check with course faculty. If time runs out, an Incomplete (with Program Director approval, while passing) or NU 600 Continuous Enrollment for MSN/FNP students may apply, but neither is automatic.

Can I start the next course's clinical hours early to get ahead?

The FNP/DNP guide rules out hours before the semester start date, and every placement needs its own approval and clearance before hours count. Online students should confirm with course faculty, but plan on each course's hours sitting inside that course's dates.

Do telehealth visits count toward my Sacred Heart hours?

Only within limits. The catalog treats NP clinical hours as in-person work, with telehealth occasionally allowed when the preceptor directs it, and the FNP/DNP guide rules out counting any Zoom class. Check with course faculty before leaning on telehealth to close a gap.

Can I have two preceptors in the same course?

Yes, when both are approved. Each goes through your academic advisor and the NP clinical coordinator, the change needs a new Contract Request Form, and you wait for updated clearance before working with the second one. Adding someone at the practice you already train in keeps the existing site agreement and tends to move fastest.

What is NU 600 Continuous Enrollment?

Think of it as a placeholder registration: zero credits, used by MSN/FNP students who need more calendar time to complete their clinical hours. Your academic advisor decides whether it fits your situation and how it changes your plan of study.

SystemE*ValueWhat Sacred Heart University students do in E*Value: clinical and case logs, the student-preceptor agreement, evaluations, DNP hours and the on-time rule.HoursClinical hours by programClinical hours for every Sacred Heart University nursing program, with guide, catalog and web figures side by side where they differ, and how hours get logged.ReplacementPreceptor dropped outYour preceptor quit mid-course at Sacred Heart University. Who to notify, the new CRF and clearance, the hours already in E*Value and the 16-week clock.TimelineDelayed graduationWhen a missing preceptor delays graduation at Sacred Heart University: the registration gate, course order, the six-year limit, withdrawals and the way back.CalendarCourse calendar 2026-27Sacred Heart University's 2026-27 graduate nursing calendars: Special Trimester and Semester-Level dates, 16-week NP courses vs 8-week modules, and start terms.HoursFNP clinical hours (540)Sacred Heart University's online FNP needs 540 clinical hours: 180 in NU 561, 90 in NU 606, 90 in NU 607 and 180 in NU 621, plus residency lab hours.

Last checked 2026-09-25

We check these pages against Sacred Heart's own catalog, program pages and 2026-27 student guides. Your student guide, your academic advisor and your course faculty have the final word.

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Preceptors matched to the course: primary care of adults, women and children for FNP, psychiatric care across the lifespan for PMHNP
Preceptor CV, license, board certification and the site's contract contact ready before your week-10 deadline
Close to home in any state where Sacred Heart's program meets licensure requirements, with New York's rule planned around

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