Preceptor dropped out? Next steps for Loyola University New Orleans students

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

A preceptor who leaves partway through a term puts two things at risk at Loyola University New Orleans: the hours you have already logged and the hours you still owe. Secure the first, tell Loyola the same day, and bring in a replacement who meets Loyola's rules through the same Exxat approval your first preceptor went through.

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Tell us your Loyola program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Loyola course.

2graduate APRN students at most per preceptor at a Louisiana site

Nov 24last day for course withdrawal in Loyola's Fall 2026 full semester

The first few days, in order

Get your finished hours signedAsk the departing preceptor to sign your practicum log for every hour to date. The Preceptor Agreement already commits them to signing logs regularly, and a signature is far harder to collect once they are gone.
Check ExxatConfirm each hour you worked is entered in Exxat, where Loyola documents and verifies practicum hours. AGACNP students already log each day's time and cases in Prism before they go home, so their record should be current.
Tell your faculty of recordPut it in writing: the date the preceptor stopped, hours logged, hours remaining and weeks left in the term.
Tell the Clinical Practicum CoordinatorThat office tracks placements and affiliation agreements and will process whatever replaces the lost preceptor.
Ask for a nameA preceptor leaving on good terms may know a colleague who could take over. Ask before the goodbye.
Start the replacement search at onceEvery week spent waiting is a week of hours you will have to fit in later.

Why the evaluation matters as much as the hours

Your preceptor also grades your performance. The Preceptor Agreement has them check in with your Loyola faculty at the beginning and the close, then file the Practicum Evaluation Form, and AGACNP preceptors get Exxat Prism evaluations at the halfway point and two weeks from the end of term. When a preceptor leaves early, ask your faculty how an evaluation for the hours already done will be collected.

This is more than a formality. The lowest passing grade in a Loyola graduate nursing course is B- (80 percent), and a Pass/Fail course requires 80 percent on every evaluation element. A missing evaluation can leave a hole in the grade even when every hour is logged. The grades and progression page covers the rest of the grading rules.

Three ways to replace a preceptor

Whichever route you take, the newcomer faces the same checks your first preceptor passed: certified by their board, licensed in the state where the site operates, beyond 2,080 hours in practice, not a relative, and physically present whenever you count an hour. The setting still has to suit the course, so an FNP student who moves into urgent care or a hospital ward needs the Graduate Program Director's approval first.

One more check catches students out. If the replacement is employed by an organization other than the site, the Preceptor Agreement says Loyola needs an agreement with that employer as well.

Replacement routes and what each one still needs at Loyola
Route	What Loyola still needs	Pace
Another clinician at the same site	The site's agreement already covers it; the new preceptor's CV, license (a Nursys PDF for NPs) and signed Preceptor Agreement go into Exxat	Fastest, if someone qualified has room
A site already on Loyola's map	A new Wishlist request; the affiliation agreement is already in place	Quick, since the contract step is done
A brand-new site	The Standard Loyola Affiliation Agreement signed by an authorized signer, then a full Wishlist request	Slowest; site-written contracts can take several months

Louisiana sites: the two-student limit

At a Louisiana site, the state's preceptor rule adds a check that surprises many students. Under LAC 46:XLVII.3543, the state board's preceptorship rule, a single preceptor can oversee at most two graduate APRN students in one clinical experience. A colleague at your old site who already has two students cannot add you, however willing.

That rule also asks each preceptor for a Louisiana RN or APRN license that is active and unencumbered, and wants the bulk of graduate clinical time to be under an APRN who shares your population focus. Faculty are expected to check in with both you and the preceptor every week, so expect your faculty of record to want an early word with the new preceptor. The state's rules are covered on the Louisiana APRN practice page.

Buying time without losing the course

Should the remaining hours not fit before the term closes, new dates are possible through the Early Start/Extension Practicum form, which your faculty of record approves. When a term closes with hours still owed, an Incomplete can hold the course open, but only if you have finished roughly three quarters of the work and are passing. The behind on clinical hours page covers the catch-up math and those grade rules.

Know the withdrawal date as well. For the Fall 2026 full semester, the last day to withdraw from a course is November 24, and the online 8-week sessions carry their own dates. A W leaves your GPA alone but may affect financial aid, while walking away without a formal withdrawal earns an F. Talk to your faculty before choosing either path.

Why Loyola students call us when a preceptor leaves

A mid-term replacement is the most time-sensitive search there is, and we run it that way. We look first for clinicians who can take you under an agreement Loyola already holds, confirm they meet Loyola's rules and, at Louisiana sites, the two-student limit, and have the newcomer's CV, Nursys PDF and signed agreement ready so your Exxat update is complete the day it goes in.

We stay on call through the rest of the term, and when a new site is the right answer we ask about the affiliation agreement on the first call. The change is approved by Loyola's faculty and placement office, and the file they open from us is whole and follows Loyola's rules. Use the form below to tell us the course, the hours still owed and the weeks left, or see how it works.

Questions Loyola students ask

Do my hours count if my preceptor quits before the term ends?

Hours worked at an approved placement are documented in Exxat and signed off by the preceptor, so the practical danger is a missing signature. Get the practicum log signed and every hour entered before the preceptor leaves, then ask your faculty of record how those hours and the partial evaluation will be counted.

Can my new preceptor work at the same clinic?

Yes, if another clinician there meets Loyola's rules and has room. The site's existing affiliation agreement still applies, so the change is mostly a new Preceptor Agreement, CV and license upload in Exxat. At a Louisiana site, check that the clinician is not already supervising two graduate APRN students.

Who do I tell at Loyola when my preceptor leaves?

Tell your faculty of record, who owns the course and approves any change of dates, and the Clinical Practicum Coordinator, who processes placements and agreements in Exxat. If the new setting needs a director's approval, such as urgent care or a hospital ward for an FNP course, the Graduate Program Director decides.

Will a preceptor change delay my graduation?

It can if the remaining hours run past the term, because Loyola holds back graduation certification while an Incomplete is open. A replacement found in the first week or two gives you the best chance of keeping the original date. See delayed graduation for the options if it slips.

What if my preceptor is still there but the placement is not working?

Speak to your faculty of record early. The Preceptor Agreement asks preceptors to report problems and to talk with Loyola faculty, so course faculty are the right people to decide whether to adjust or move the placement. Any new preceptor goes through the same Exxat approval as the first.

Urgent helpBehind on clinical hoursShort on practicum hours near the end of a Loyola New Orleans term? Work out the gap, add supervised hours Loyola will count, and know when an Incomplete fits.FormsPreceptor Agreement formWhat a preceptor signs on Loyola New Orleans' Preceptor Agreement: teaching duties, logs, evaluations, faculty contact and the rule on the preceptor's employer.FormsEarly start and extensionThe Loyola University New Orleans Early Start/Extension Practicum form, Incompletes for unfinished hours, AGACNP midterm action plans and the I-to-F dates.RolesWho does whatEvery role in a Loyola University New Orleans practicum: Clinical Practicum Coordinator, program directors, faculty of record, project advisor and APPROVE team.LouisianaLouisiana APRN rulesHow Louisiana's collaborative practice agreements, prescriptive authority rules and LSBN preceptor rule shape who can precept a Loyola New Orleans NP student.Urgent helpDelayed graduationWhen a missing preceptor threatens your Loyola New Orleans graduation: Incompletes, IP grades, leave, withdrawal, revised plans and the five-year limit.

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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