Clarkson progression rules and what they mean for your clinicals
At Clarkson College, a graduate nursing course graded below B- has to be repeated, each course can be repeated only once, and failing grades in two courses end the program. No Clarkson program may run past seven years, and time on leave counts. Clinical courses add their own pressure points: an approved preceptor before registration, hours on pace by midterm, and incompletes granted only at faculty discretion.
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Tell us your Clarkson program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your course.
The grade rules at a glance
Clarkson's progression policy, AA-2, sets separate floors for graduate and undergraduate students. The table puts them side by side with the probation rule from Policy AA-20.
| Rule | Graduate: MSN, certificate, DNP | Undergraduate: BSN, LPN to BSN, RN to BSN |
|---|---|---|
| Minimum grade | B-; anything lower must be repeated | C-; WF, D, F and NP count as failing |
| Repeats allowed | One per course | One per course |
| Dismissal | C, D, F or NP in two courses, or a third WF | The same course failed twice, a D or F in any two courses, or a third WF |
| Cumulative GPA | 3.0 | 2.0 |
| Probation | Below 3.0 after 6 credits, up to one year | Below 2.0 after 12 credits, up to one year |
The graduate wording is blunt: students "are NOT allowed to repeat a course more than once." One gap in the policies is worth knowing. AA-2 requires a repeat for any graduate grade under B-, while Policy AA-6 lists only C, D, F and NP as failing graduate grades and does not mention C+. If a C+ ever appears on your record, ask your Graduate Nursing advisor how it counts toward the two-course dismissal rule. Undergraduates repeating a course also retake its recitation course where one exists.
Why one repeat costs more in a clinical sequence
Clarkson builds each NP track so the clinical courses are taken in single file, never two in the same term. AA-2 adds that you cannot move to higher-level major courses until the prerequisites are complete, and students who enroll without them may be administratively withdrawn. Put together, a repeated clinical course does not just cost one grade; it moves every later clinical course back by a term.
Take an FNP student who has to repeat NRS 840 in spring. NRS 844 requires both NRS 840 and NRS 842, and only one clinical can run each term, so the repeat pushes the rest of the sequence, and likely the graduation date, back by at least one semester. The repeat also needs fresh approval: Clarkson's 2023 clinical sheets required a new agreement whenever the preceptor, the course or the semester changes, so a repeated term often means a new search as well. Our agreement form guide covers that paperwork.
Incompletes when clinical hours run short
Under Policy AA-10, an incomplete ("I") is a judgment call shared by course faculty and the program director, open only to a passing student with work left over. Miss the completion date faculty choose and the I turns into an F. Clarkson's 2021-22 graduate handbook named unfinished clinical or practicum hours as one situation where an incomplete may be given, and the 2021-22 undergraduate handbook let BSN students use one to make up clinical hours the following semester, with progression on hold until the hours were done.
An incomplete is discretionary, not automatic, and it depends on being in good standing. The 2021-22 graduate handbook tied passing at midterm to having at least half of the course hours done, so falling far behind early can close the door before an incomplete is on the table. Our pacing guide shows weekly targets, and behind on clinical hours covers the recovery options.
An incomplete can hold your place, but the next clinical course cannot start until its prerequisite is finished, so every week of make-up time moves the sequence too.
When a preceptor falls through mid-course
Clarkson's 2021-22 graduate handbook set out the order of events. Tell course faculty right away, then move quickly to a replacement preceptor who can meet the course expectations. Time with the replacement counts only after that person's DocuSign paperwork clears. Where the term is too short to finish, the handbook leaves dropping the course to the student, after talking it through with faculty and your advisor.
Two related rules shape the timing. An unavoidable preceptor change, such as a preceptor declining to take the student, is one of the two exceptions to the rule that the agreement form must be submitted before registration. And the form must be finished before week one of classes ends; a student who misses that can be asked to withdraw. A withdrawal recorded as WF counts toward the three-WF dismissal rule, so ask your advisor which grade a withdrawal will carry before you act. Our dropped preceptor guide walks through each step.
Seven years, leaves and time off
Policy AA-17 gives every Clarkson program seven years from start to finish, and time on leave counts toward it. Students who run out of time are withdrawn and must reapply. Policy AA-30 grants a leave of absence for one semester, and skipping registration for the term after it leads Clarkson to withdraw you.
The seven-year line matters most on the longest part-time plans. Clarkson lists the BSN to DNP at 18 or more semesters part-time, which is six years at three terms a year by our count, leaving about one year of slack for repeats, leaves or terms lost to a missing preceptor. The MSN's 12 to 14 or more part-time semesters leave more room, but not unlimited room. If you expect a gap, talk to your advisor before the term, not after. The semester calendar shows how Clarkson's terms fall.
Other checkpoints that stop progress
- Graduate Weekend: missing any part of it fails
NRS 830, and failing the physical assessment check-off twice also fails the course (2021-22 graduate handbook). See the Graduate Weekend guide. - Health and safety compliance: under Policy SW-7, students out of compliance cannot attend classes, register or attend clinical.
- Approval before registration: every NP clinical course and both practicums carry the catalog note requiring preceptor and site approval before you register.
- Nurse anesthesia: the program is lock-step, a failed course means reapplying for the next year's cohort, and program policy expects a B average in every ANA and DNP course. Details are in the nurse anesthesia guide.
None of these rules is unusual on its own. What catches students is how they stack: a late preceptor delays registration, a late start squeezes midterm hours, and a short term leads to an incomplete or a repeat that shifts the next course.
How our desk protects your sequence
Several of the progression risks on this page begin with a preceptor who is not in place early enough, and that is precisely the part of the plan our placement desk takes on for Clarkson students. We line up preceptors who fit each course ahead of Clarkson's paperwork date for the term, so the agreement is in Clarkson's hands well ahead of registration.
We plan all five clinical courses as one sequence, so a delay in one does not catch the next by surprise. And if a preceptor withdraws partway through a term, your placement advisor is already searching for a replacement who meets Clarkson's rules while you talk to faculty. Tell us where you are in the sequence with the form below.
Questions Clarkson students ask
What grade do I need to pass a Clarkson graduate nursing course?
A B- or higher avoids a repeat under Policy AA-2, and you need to keep a 3.0 cumulative GPA. Two courses graded C, D, F or NP lead to dismissal. For clinical courses, the syllabus explains how your hours and preceptor evaluations factor into that grade.
How many times can I repeat a course at Clarkson?
Once. Graduate students must repeat any course below B-, and the policy says they may not repeat a course more than once; undergraduates face the same one-repeat limit with a C- floor. In a clinical sequence, a repeat also pushes each later clinical course back a term.
Can I get an incomplete if I do not finish my clinical hours?
Possibly. Clarkson treats an incomplete as discretionary: faculty and the program director decide, and only a passing student qualifies. Unfinished work left past the agreed date converts to an F, and the next clinical course cannot begin while the incomplete is open.
How long can a Clarkson leave of absence last?
One semester under Policy AA-30. If you do not register for the semester after the leave, you are withdrawn. The leave also counts toward the seven-year limit for finishing your program, so plan the return term with your advisor before the leave begins.
What happens if I pass Clarkson's seven-year limit?
Policy AA-17 withdraws students who have not finished within seven years, leave included, and they must reapply to continue. Part-time BSN to DNP students have the least margin, since Clarkson lists that plan at 18 or more semesters, so raise any planned break with your advisor early.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Clarkson College's own catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your course faculty and Graduate Nursing advisor have the final word.
Clarkson asks you to find your preceptor. We make the search the easy part.
Tell us your Clarkson track, your city and your next clinical course. We line up preceptors who fit the NRS course and Clarkson's rules, gather the details the site and preceptor agreement asks for, and flag early whether the site needs a new affiliation agreement.
- Preceptors matched to the course: all-ages primary care for FNP, acute care units for AGACNP, psychiatric providers for PMHNP
- License, experience and site details checked against Clarkson's rules before the agreement is filed
- Every clinical course planned in sequence, close to home in a state where Clarkson's graduate nursing meets requirements
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