Affiliation agreements: the slowest step in a Sacred Heart placement

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

Before you can train at a site, Sacred Heart University needs a signed affiliation agreement with it. For a site new to Sacred Heart, the MSN and RN-BSN guides say approval "can take up to nine (9) months"; the DNP guides say 6 to 8. Here is why the wait runs that long, how existing agreements shorten it, and how to plan so the contract is never what costs you a term.

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900+clinical affiliation agreements Sacred Heart's College of Nursing reports

6-8months for a new contract, per the two DNP student guides

What an affiliation agreement does

An affiliation agreement is the contract between Sacred Heart and a clinical site that allows its students to train there. It sits apart from preceptor approval: a preceptor can be fully approved while the site's agreement is still pending, and you wait until it is confirmed. The Clinical Contract & Compliance Coordinator runs this step, starting from your Contract Request Form.

Sacred Heart's clinical affiliations page reports more than 900 agreements, spread across acute care hospitals, primary care clinics, home care agencies, community-based facilities, parish nursing, school health, care management organizations, specialty medical offices and educational settings. If your site is already among them, the coordinator confirms it. If not, a new agreement begins. Where this step falls in the full sequence is shown on the placement process page.

Why a new site can take nine months

Sacred Heart gives two figures. The MSN and RN-BSN student guides allow up to nine months for a new clinical site agreement, while the FNP/DNP and post-master's DNP guides say new contracts may take 6 to 8 months. Plan to the longer figure unless your advisor gives you a shorter one for your site.

Much of the time passes on the site's side of the table. A contract of this kind typically moves through the site's own administrative or legal review, and larger health systems layer their own student-placement steps on top, something the MSN guide recognizes when it has partnering health systems approve first. Every round of questions over terms adds time, and none of it can start until your form is in.

How the agreement meets your deadline

Because the form waits for approvals, the longest step lands at the end of the chain. For online NP students the form follows the NP clinical coordinator's approval email, so an FNP student who settles on a brand-new site right at the week-10 deadline may have only weeks, not months, before the next course starts.

RN-BSN students feel the timing most directly: their guide sets the search nine months before the first clinical practice course, matching the agreement's upper limit. DNP students are told to begin early, during NU 821 in the FNP/DNP guide and during NU 823 in the post-master's guide, with the form due before the end of NU 823. Hybrid students should also note that their NU 552 observation site needs an active agreement already on file.

The risky pairing is a brand-new site chosen close to your deadline. Pick a site with an agreement on file, or start the new one months ahead.

Planning around the wait

None of these steps is complicated, but together they keep the agreement off your critical path:

Ask the site early whether it has hosted Sacred Heart nursing students; an agreement on file removes most of the wait.
For a new site, get the contract contact now, even before approvals finish, so the form is ready the moment you can submit.
Keep a second option at a site Sacred Heart already works with, in case the new agreement runs long.
Keep your Health Account current while you wait, since the agreement is only one of three conditions for clearance.
Watch your SHU email: the contract coordinator contacts students only when a problem arises.
Treat any change of site as a fresh start: a new approval, a new form and possibly a new agreement.

When a contract stalls

Some sites decline to sign, and some agreements stall over terms. The guides say the coordinator reaches out if there is a problem solidifying the agreement; at that point, work with the coordinator and your academic advisor on whether to wait or move to another site. Moving means a new approval and a new Contract Request Form. Your preceptor may be able to help too, by nudging the site's administrator or confirming who holds signing authority.

Either way, no hours can be logged at the site before clearance, and hours logged at an unapproved site are deleted from E*Value. The Cleared for Clinical page explains that final gate. The practical lesson is simple: the sooner a stall is spotted, the more options remain inside your course dates.

How we start the agreement early

We treat the agreement as the slowest step from day one. When we source a preceptor, we also confirm the site's contracting contact, whether the practice belongs to a larger health system, and whether Sacred Heart students have trained there before. You receive that information with the match, so your form is ready the day approval lands and the coordinator can begin at once.

When time is tight, your placement advisor gives extra weight to sites with an existing Sacred Heart agreement and keeps a backup in view, so a stalled contract becomes a switch rather than a lost semester. Sacred Heart signs every agreement; we make sure it starts early and starts complete. Share your course and start term in the form below.

Questions Sacred Heart students ask

Does Sacred Heart already have an agreement with my hospital?

Possibly. Sacred Heart's clinical affiliations page gives a total and the kinds of settings covered rather than a site-by-site list. Ask the site whether it has hosted Sacred Heart nursing students, and ask your academic advisor. The Clinical Contract & Compliance Coordinator confirms the answer once your Contract Request Form arrives.

Can I start clinical hours while the agreement is pending?

No. Final clearance requires a confirmed affiliation agreement along with full compliance and an approved preceptor, and the RN-BSN guide says no student may start a rotation without an agreement in place. Hours logged before clearance are deleted from E*Value, so a pending agreement means waiting.

Why do the DNP guides say 6 to 8 months instead of nine?

The two DNP guides carry their own estimate for new contracts, while the MSN and RN-BSN guides give up to nine months. Sacred Heart does not explain the difference. Treat nine months as the safe planning figure unless your DNP advisor gives you a shorter one for your particular site.

Is the affiliation agreement the same as the student-preceptor agreement?

No. The affiliation agreement is a contract between Sacred Heart and the site. The student-preceptor agreement and preceptor letters of agreement live in E*Value and cover the working relationship for a course. You complete the E*Value documents; the Clinical Contract & Compliance Coordinator handles the site contract.

If I work at the site, does it still need an agreement?

Yes. Employment does not replace the contract; the Contract Request Form simply asks whether you work there. If Sacred Heart has no agreement with your employer, one has to be put in place. Many employers already host students, so ask your education or human resources department whether a school agreement process exists.

FormContract Request Form (CRF)The Sacred Heart University Contract Request Form: the six program versions, the fields it asks for, when to submit it and what happens after you send it.ClearanceCleared for Clinical emailWhat Sacred Heart University's Cleared for Clinical email requires, what happens to hours logged without it, and why a new site or preceptor needs new clearance.DeadlineWeek-10 deadlineWhen Sacred Heart University wants your next site and preceptor filed: the FNP week-10 rule, Clinical Placement Team dates, RN-BSN nine months and DNP NU 823.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.UrgentNeed a preceptor fastWeek 10 or a course start is close and you still need a Sacred Heart University preceptor. Why existing agreements matter and what we do in the first days.

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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