Loyola University New Orleans student systems: where each part of your practicum lives

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

At Loyola University New Orleans, one single sign-on opens the three systems a nursing practicum runs on: Canvas for coursework, LORA for registration and holds, and Exxat Prism for placements, compliance and hours. Knowing which system holds what keeps you from chasing a hold in the wrong place in the weeks before a practicum starts.

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7calendar days to show Canvas participation in an online session

3core systems opened by one Loyola single sign-on

One single sign-on, three core systems

The Nursing Student Handbook says one Loyola single sign-on opens Canvas, LORA and Exxat Prism. LORA's entry point is sso.loyno.edu, and Exxat access runs through single sign-on with Microsoft Authenticator. Set the authenticator up well before your first practicum term, because Exxat is where your placement request and compliance documents live.

Where each part of a Loyola nursing practicum lives
System	What it holds	When a practicum student needs it
Exxat Prism	Wishlist placement requests, affiliation agreements, site requirements, compliance documents, clinical hours	From three months before a practicum to the last logged hour
LORA	Registration, grades, class schedules, account balances, financial aid, transcripts, the Holds tab	Before each term, to register and clear holds
Canvas	Course delivery and messages between faculty and students	Every day of every course
Nursys e-Notify	License verification and status-change alerts sent to the School of Nursing	Throughout enrollment, in the background
Respondus LockDown Browser and Monitor	Proctored online exams, with a webcam	Exam days in online courses
Loyola email	Official university notices	Always; it is the only address Loyola recognizes

Exxat Prism: placements, compliance and hours

Exxat Prism is Loyola's clinical placement and compliance system. It holds the Wishlist preference form, clinical site affiliation agreements, site requirements, the School of Nursing's compliance documents and clinical hours tracking. Students buy an Exxat subscription for required documents and a STEPS subscription for placement processing.

The Graduate Nursing Student Resources page links Loyola's own Exxat training: short videos showing how to upload compliance documents and how to finish learning activities in Prism, plus written guides for the Wishlist request and for Explore Clinical Locations. AGACNP students get one more Exxat walkthrough, a video placed in the AGACNP Practicum I course on Canvas, so the two systems meet right at the first practicum. The Exxat Prism page covers subscriptions, the APPROVE team and hour logs in depth.

LORA: registration, records and the Holds tab

LORA, short for Loyola Online Records Access and called LORA Self Service in the bulletin, is the records side of Loyola: grades, account balances, financial aid, transcripts and class schedules. Some students register online there with adviser approval, and the AGACNP guide notes that the School of Nursing's Academic Advisor registers some students automatically.

For practicum students, the Holds tab is the part to watch. The handbook sends students there to see why registration is blocked, a missing immunization record being its example. Loyola's FNP guide adds that a student behind on requirements receives a compliance hold and is not registered for the practicum course. Compliance items are uploaded to Exxat, so clearing that kind of hold starts there, while LORA shows whether it has lifted. The compliance requirements page lists the items that trigger it.

A compliance hold shows up in LORA, but its cause sits in Exxat. When registration for a practicum course is blocked, check your Exxat Required Documents first.

Canvas: daily coursework and the day-7 rule

Canvas is Loyola's learning management system, carrying course delivery and communication between faculty and students. The handbook asks students to check it daily. Online students who have not participated in Canvas by day seven of a session, at 11:59 PM Central, can be administratively dropped.

Help comes from Canvas Support and Loyola's Online Learning Team, and a self-paced orientation course called Streetcar to Canvas walks new students through the platform. Undergraduates meet Canvas in one more role: the undergraduate policy has them upload the preceptor agreement to the Canvas course, while graduate students upload theirs to Exxat. If you move between levels, or help a BSN classmate, that split is worth remembering.

Exams, license monitoring and email

Proctored online nursing exams run on Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor, and a webcam is required. Test the setup on the computer you will actually use before the first exam.

Nursys e-Notify works in the background. The School of Nursing verifies RN licenses through NCSBN's Nursys and receives automatic alerts when a license status changes, for students whose boards take part. Graduate students need a Louisiana or multistate RN license for as long as they study at Loyola, plus a license active in each practicum state; the RN license page has the detail.

Every student gets a Loyola email address, the only one the university recognizes for official notices. Loyola Online lists Gmail as the student email service, while the nursing resources page calls it Wolfmail. Whatever the name, check it regularly, since official notices go there and nowhere else.

Library, forms and support for distance students

The Monroe Library's Distance Library Services primarily serves School of Nursing distance programs. It offers research help, off-campus database access and ILLiad delivery, including mailing Monroe Library books to students outside the New Orleans metro area. The library's online support page adds research consultations with subject liaisons and subject research guides, which suit DNP Scholarly Project literature work.

Forms and guides collect on the Graduate Nursing Student Resources page: the handbook, practicum guides for FNP, AGACNP, nurse anesthesia and nurse-midwifery students, the affiliation agreement, preceptor agreements, the Early Start/Extend Practicum form, the incomplete-grade request, withdrawal and leave forms, and the state authorization map. The Information Technology Help Desk handles access problems. Loyola Online also lists Office 365, Zoom, HowlConnect, the Office of Writing and Learning Services, the Online Student Success Office and the Office for Accessible Education.

How our work lands in Loyola's systems

Your placement ends up in Exxat Prism, so that is where we aim our work. We gather what the Wishlist asks for (agency name and address, contact person, authorized legal signer and preceptor information) along with the uploads that go with it: the preceptor's CV, the license with a Nursys PDF for NP preceptors, and the signed Preceptor Agreement. You enter it in your own Exxat profile, complete and in the order Loyola's guide expects.

We also keep your calendar in view: compliance items that expire, the three-month lead time before each practicum, and the start of each Canvas session. Loyola's placement office and faculty decide every placement; we see to it that your request arrives in Exxat whole and in line with Loyola's rules. See how it works.

Questions Loyola students ask

What is LORA at Loyola New Orleans?

LORA stands for Loyola Online Records Access, and the bulletin also calls it LORA Self Service. It holds grades, account balances, financial aid, transcripts and class schedules, and some students register there with adviser approval. Nursing students check its Holds tab when registration is blocked, for example by a missing immunization record or a compliance hold.

How do I get into Exxat Prism at Loyola?

Exxat Prism opens through Loyola's single sign-on, the same one that opens Canvas and LORA, using Microsoft Authenticator. You also need the two Exxat subscriptions Loyola requires: one for required documents and one for STEPS placement processing. The Graduate Nursing Student Resources page links Loyola's Exxat videos, the Wishlist guide and the Explore Clinical Locations guide.

What happens if I miss Canvas participation in the first week?

Loyola's enrollment rules say online students who show no activity in Canvas by the end of day 7 of a session (11:59 PM Central) may be administratively dropped. A drop from a practicum course would stall that term's hours, so post in each course during the first days of every session, even when your practicum shifts start later.

Do I need a webcam for Loyola nursing exams?

Yes, for proctored online exams. Loyola's handbook requires Respondus LockDown Browser and Respondus Monitor, which uses a webcam, for proctored online nursing exams. Install both on the computer you plan to test on and run a practice check before the first exam, since a problem found ahead of time is far easier to fix.

Can online Loyola students borrow library books?

Yes. The Monroe Library's Distance Library Services mails Monroe Library books to students outside the New Orleans metro area through ILLiad, and it offers off-campus database access and research help. It primarily serves School of Nursing distance programs, which makes it a practical resource for DNP Scholarly Project literature reviews.

ExxatExxat PrismHow Loyola New Orleans nursing students use Exxat Prism: the two subscriptions, Required Documents, STEPS, the APPROVE team, hour logs and preceptor evaluations.ExxatExxat Wishlist requestFiling a Loyola New Orleans placement request with the Exxat Wishlist: every field, the preceptor uploads, the signer, and what Placement Approved really means.ComplianceCompliance requirementsEvery compliance item Loyola New Orleans nursing students need before a practicum, the 60-day vs thirty-day deadline conflict, and how a compliance hold works.ProcessClinical placement processHow a Loyola New Orleans NP or DNP practicum gets approved: Exxat subscriptions, compliance, the site search, agreements, the Wishlist and Placement Approved.Hybrid programsCampus intensivesCampus intensives at Loyola University New Orleans for AGACNP, PMHNP and Nurse-Midwifery students: what Loyola publishes and how to plan practicum hours.

Last checked 2026-09-25

We check these pages against Loyola's own bulletin, program pages, practicum guides, forms and licensure disclosures. Your plan of study, your practicum guide, your program director and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator have the final word.

Loyola asks you to select your own preceptor and site. We make that the easy part.

Tell us your Loyola program, where you live and which term your next practicum starts. We find preceptors whose patients fit the course, check whether the site already has a Loyola affiliation agreement, and prepare everything your Exxat Wishlist needs.

Preceptors matched to the course: outpatient primary care for NURS G823, pediatrics and obstetrics for NURS G829, acute care for NURS G902, psychiatric care for NURS G856
Preceptor CV, license and Nursys PDF, the Preceptor Agreement and the site's signer details ready for the Wishlist
In your own community, in Louisiana or any state where Loyola approves your practicum

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