Precepting a UCCS nurse practitioner student
If a UCCS student has asked you to precept, or you are open to hosting one, this page sets out what the University of Colorado Colorado Springs asks of preceptors, what it offers in return, and how the paperwork runs. UCCS approves each preceptor and signs the agreements; we match you with students whose course fits your practice and prepare the details UCCS needs, so your part stays clinical.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your UCCS program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your UCCS course.
Who UCCS accepts as a preceptor
UCCS's requirements depend on the student's track. Across all three tracks, you need two years of experience and a license in the state where the student's hours take place.
- Family NP and Adult-Gerontology Primary Care NP students: nurse practitioners, physicians (MD or DO) or physician assistants. Nurse practitioner preceptors need national certification plus full prescriptive authority, and military providers need a state license.
- Psychiatric-Mental Health NP students: psychiatric NPs, psychiatric clinical nurse specialists or psychiatrists, each with full prescriptive authority. A licensed clinical social worker, licensed counselor or licensed psychologist can supervise some hours too, in limited amounts and only with Option Coordinator approval.
- Relationships: UCCS bars relatives and close friends as preceptors, and bars sites where the student or a family member works. A separate location or unit of the student's employer can work if UCCS approves it.
If you have a resume, UCCS would like a copy, a request it ties to CCNE requirements. The details are on FNP and AGNP preceptor requirements and PMHNP preceptor rules.
What a UCCS rotation looks like from your side
FNP and AGNP students train in primary care: outpatient clinics rather than hospital floors or emergency departments, with urgent care and certain specialty clinics allowed later in the program. PMHNP students may train in inpatient or outpatient psychiatric settings, and UCCS encourages group and individual therapy experience. Rotation length depends on the course and on when the student started:
| Course | Started before Fall 2026 | Started Fall 2026 or later |
|---|---|---|
NURS 6730 Advanced Health Assessment | 45 | 45 |
NURS 6900, NURS 6915, NURS 6925 or NURS 6950 (primary care) | 90 | 110 |
NURS 6980 Synthesis (FNP, AGNP) | 360 | 440 |
NURS 6801, NURS 6802 or NURS 6803 (psychiatric) | 135 | 165 |
NURS 6985 PMHNP Synthesis | 225 | 275 |
The student's Clinical Site Sheet states the exact hours they will spend with you that semester. Outside major health systems, an FNP or AGNP student may log no more than 330 hours with a single preceptor or site, so the larger rotations are often split between clinics. The clinical hours guide has the full breakdown.
What UCCS asks of preceptors
- Agree to a defined commitmentThe student submits a Clinical Site Sheet with your credentials, license, certification and an exact number of hours for the semester.
- Sign the preceptor agreement letterUCCS drafts it, and your site's authorized signer signs an Affiliation Agreement with UCCS if one is not already in place. For an organization new to UCCS, allow time: if legal issues come up, that first contract can spend six to eight weeks or more in review.
- Wait for UCCS's go-aheadThe student may begin only after UCCS confirms that the contract and your letter are signed, and only within the semester's dates.
- Supervise and evaluateThe student logs every patient in Medatrax. If you precept for more than 24 hours, you complete an evaluation in Medatrax on a scale of 1 to 4; a paper copy is available on request, and the same form serves every level.
- Host a site visitUniversity faculty check in at least once per course after the student passes the halfway point, on site or by phone for FNP and AGNP and by phone for PMHNP. For a phone visit, the student need not be present.
The affiliation agreements and site visits and evaluations guides explain each step from the student's side.
What UCCS offers its preceptors
UCCS's Preceptor Information page and its 08/2026 Preceptor Handbook describe what preceptors receive:
- Documentation of the hours you precept each semester, which, depending on your certifying body, may count toward recertification.
- Access to the UCCS Kraemer Family Library through a request form.
- Networking with UCCS faculty and a chance to recruit new graduates.
- A letter for each rotation level, sent through Medatrax.
- Links to the NONPF Preceptor Portal and the AANP preceptor knowledge center.
For a practice that is hiring, a semester of precepting doubles as a long look at a future colleague: someone who already knows your patients, your workflow and your charting by graduation. For an individual clinician, the hours documentation and the rotation letters add up to a clear record of the teaching you have done.
Colorado's rural and frontier preceptor tax credit
UCCS's Preceptor Information page also links to Colorado's Rural and Frontier Health Care Preceptor Tax Credit. It is a state program rather than a UCCS benefit: a Colorado tax credit for which a limited number of preceptors who teach students in rural or frontier areas of the state may be eligible. Eligibility, the application and the credit itself are set by the state, so confirm current terms with the Colorado program before counting on it.
Whether your practice location qualifies as rural or frontier is decided under the program's own definitions, and it applies only in Colorado. Our page on Colorado NP practice and preceptors covers the Colorado rules that shape precepting, including this credit.
How we work with preceptors
Precepting goes most smoothly when the student fits your practice and the paperwork arrives complete. We match UCCS students to preceptors by course, setting and schedule, so a pediatric rotation lands in a clinic that sees children and a psychiatric rotation lands with a prescriber whose patients fit the population the course covers. You decide on each student, and you choose the dates and hours.
Before anything reaches UCCS, we gather what the student's Clinical Site Sheet needs from your side: your qualifications and license information, the practice's details and the name of whoever signs contracts there. UCCS reviews and approves you as it would any preceptor, and the paperwork describing you arrives accurate and complete. To hear about UCCS students near you, use the contact form and choose the preceptor option as your program.
Questions UCCS students ask
Can a physician or PA precept a UCCS NP student?
Yes, for Family NP and Adult-Gerontology NP students. Physicians and physician assistants qualify alongside NPs when licensed where the rotation happens and at least two years into practice. UCCS recommends that students log at least 200 hours with an NP during the program, so physician and PA rotations often pair with an NP rotation elsewhere.
Do I need a contract with UCCS to precept a student?
Yes, in two parts. Your site needs a fully executed Affiliation Agreement with UCCS, and you sign a preceptor agreement letter; UCCS drafts both from the student's site sheet. The student cannot count hours until both are signed and UCCS confirms, so a quick signature at your end helps the student start on time.
Can I precept a UCCS student from another state?
UCCS requires you to hold a license in the state where the student does the hours, and students do hours in their approved home state unless the Graduate Clinical Practicum Coordinator approves another. PMHNP students must use providers in UCCS's approved states even for telehealth.
Can I precept a student who works at my clinic?
Not at the same location. UCCS bars clinical hours where the student or a family member works. Another site or unit belonging to the same employer is a different matter, and the Graduate Clinical Practicum Coordinator can approve it. Family members and close friends are ruled out as preceptors in every case.
Will precepting a UCCS student count toward my recertification?
UCCS documents the hours you precept each semester, and some certifying bodies accept precepted hours toward renewal. Each organization sets its own rules and limits, so check yours before relying on precepting for recertification, and keep UCCS's documentation with your records.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-25
We check these pages against UCCS's catalog, practicum handbooks and college pages. Your degree plan, the handbook for your cohort and the Graduate Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.
UCCS asks you to find your clinical hours where you live. Let us run that search.
Tell us your UCCS track, your next clinical course and where you live. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare the details your Clinical Site Sheet needs, early enough for the agreement to be signed before the semester.
- Preceptors matched to the course: pediatrics for
NURS 6900, acute and chronic care forNURS 6915andNURS 6925, psychiatric prescribers forNURS 6801toNURS 6803 - Credentials, license, certification and the site's signer ready for the Clinical Site Sheet
- In Colorado Springs, along the Front Range, or in any of UCCS's approved states
Start your placement plan
Your program, city and next clinical semester is all we need to begin.