Kentucky nurses and Clarkson College clinicals
Clarkson College's 2026-27 state workbook marks Kentucky Meets Requirements for Graduate Nursing, so Kentucky nurses can enroll in Clarkson's online MSN, certificate and DNP tracks and complete clinicals at home. Older Clarkson catalogs said the opposite, and two of Kentucky's neighbors still read Does Not Meet, so where you train deserves more thought than the headline answer suggests.
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Kentucky's answer, then and now
The 2024-25 catalog dropped the state list, and Kentucky's current row carries no footnote. If you were turned away before 2024, the answer has changed. For Kentucky, Clarkson's licensing link goes to the Kentucky Board of Nursing's license verification page, a handy tool later for checking a preceptor. The RN-BSN tab still reads Does Not Meet; the FAQ below covers what that means.
| Clarkson source | Kentucky |
|---|---|
| Catalogs 2018-19 through 2023-24, graduate nursing | Listed among states Clarkson could not enroll from |
| 2026-27 workbook, Graduate Nursing (every MSN, certificate and DNP track) | Meets Requirements |
| 2026-27 workbook, CRNA | Meets Requirements |
| 2026-27 workbook, RN-BSN | Does Not Meet Requirements |
What the Kentucky Board of Nursing asks, and of whom
Of the program, very little. KBN's approval work stops at prelicensure programs born in Kentucky, and its overview of out-of-state programs is explicit that a school elsewhere has nothing to file with it, whatever its presence in Kentucky beyond the clinical itself. The overview also leans on KRS 314.101, which, as KBN reads it, spares out-of-state nurses a Kentucky license during a clinical rotation on one condition about the school: SARA membership, or else licensure by Kentucky's Council on Postsecondary Education. Clarkson's state page describes the college as an NC-SARA participant.
Of the preceptor, more. Kentucky-based preceptors of online APRN students, and the faculty overseeing them, are expected by KBN to carry Kentucky's own RN and APRN licenses, active and unencumbered. Faculty living in another compact state, KBN adds, need only the Kentucky APRN license. That lines up with Clarkson's own preceptor requirements, and the Board's verification page is where the check happens.
Reduced practice and who ends up precepting
AANP rates Kentucky reduced practice. Prescribing in Kentucky runs through two physician agreements, covering scheduled and unscheduled medications, for any NP the Board has not exempted, and first-year licensees work under employer-setting requirements. Clarkson's two-year minimum for preceptors already rules out that first-year group.
Searches mostly start where Kentuckians live. Louisville/Jefferson County holds 1,121,085 Kentuckians by 2025 Census estimates; Lexington-Fayette follows with 535,174, Kentucky's part of greater Cincinnati with 474,868, and Bowling Green with 197,180. Large Kentucky systems include Baptist Health, which also serves southern Indiana, St. Elizabeth Healthcare, Norton Healthcare, UofL Health and the University of Kentucky's UK HealthCare. Their student policies are their own business, and this page names none of them as a Clarkson host. Research recorded no Kentucky incentive for preceptors.
Seven borders, two closed doors
Kentucky touches seven states, and Clarkson's workbook splits them. Tennessee and West Virginia read Does Not Meet for Graduate Nursing, so a preceptor just over either line cannot anchor Clarkson hours however short the drive; see the Tennessee and West Virginia guides. Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Missouri and Virginia read Meets.
Northern Kentucky students have the kinder map: Ohio and Indiana share the Cincinnati metro and the compact, though an Ohio or Indiana site means an Ohio or Indiana preceptor license and that state's workbook row. Illinois reads Meets but is outside the compact.
Your license for Kentucky rotations
Kentucky was one of the compact's original implementers on Jan. 19, 2018, the same date as Nebraska. A Kentucky multistate license held by a Kentucky resident covers Kentucky hours and those in other compact states Clarkson clears; the RN license guide has Clarkson's wording. With no APRN Compact law on Kentucky's books, APRN licenses here, your preceptor's now and yours later, remain good in Kentucky alone.
Why Kentucky students choose us
Clarkson students in Kentucky choose us because every search is built around the state's preceptor rule: each NP we propose holds an active Kentucky APRN license, confirmed on the Board's own verification page, and practices in Kentucky or a neighbor Clarkson's workbook clears, never over the Tennessee or West Virginia line. We cover Louisville, Lexington, Northern Kentucky and Bowling Green and plan all five courses at once. Share your county and next course on the contact page.
Questions Clarkson students ask
Is Kentucky still on Clarkson College's excluded list?
No. Kentucky appeared on the list printed in Clarkson's catalogs from 2018-19 through 2023-24; later catalogs dropped the list, and the 2026-27 workbook reads Meets for every graduate track. An older rejection or email does not reflect the current position, so check the workbook itself and ask the program if in doubt.
Can a preceptor licensed only in Ohio supervise my Kentucky hours?
No. Clarkson's clinical sheets tie the preceptor's license to the clinical's state, and KBN separately insists on Kentucky APRN licensure for APRN preceptors inside Kentucky. An Ohio NP could precept you in Ohio, under Ohio's rules and Ohio's workbook row, but not at a Kentucky site.
I live near Tennessee. Can my FNP hours happen there?
No. Tennessee sits among the 12 states Clarkson's 2026-27 workbook marks Does Not Meet for Graduate Nursing, so leave it off your clinical map. Keep FNP rotations in Kentucky or a neighbor that reads Meets, and ask your Graduate Nursing advisor before approaching any out-of-state site.
Why does Kentucky read Does Not Meet for Clarkson's RN to BSN?
Clarkson publishes the answer without a reason. KBN places RN-BSN programs outside its jurisdiction, and for RN-BSN clinicals in Kentucky it wants a Kentucky RN license from any preceptor lacking a compact home state. The workbook answer is Clarkson's own; ask the program before applying.
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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