Behind on clinical hours with the Troy semester closing in
Troy University ties every clinical hour to the course it belongs to and forbids clinical time in the breaks between semesters, so a shortfall cannot roll into the holidays or the next course. You have two kinds of options: add hours before the last official day, or use one of the grade routes in Troy's graduate catalog. The earlier you choose, the more of them stay open.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Troy program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Troy course.
Measure the gap against the course's hours
Start with the real number. Subtract the hours completed since faculty cleared you from the course total, then divide what is left by the weeks remaining before the last official day.
| Course | Program | Hours |
|---|---|---|
NSG 6619 | FNP (MSN, certificate, DNP) | 120 |
NSG 6666 | FNP | 180, with two preceptors |
NSG 6668 | FNP | 180 |
NSG 6680 | FNP | 300 |
NSG 6630 | HINL and DNP Nurse Leader | 120 |
NSG 6636 and NSG 6637 | HINL and DNP Nurse Leader | 180 each |
NSG 6676 | Nursing Education certificate | 180 |
NSG 3310, NSG 4411, NSG 4431 | RN to BSN | 120 across the three |
One conflict matters here. A progression passage in the DNP manual gives 135 hours apiece for NSG 6619, NSG 6666 and NSG 6668, while Troy's other lists give 120, 180 and 180. If your total depends on it, get the figure from course faculty in writing. The clinical hours guide shows every program's totals.
The limits you cannot stretch
Three Troy rules set the edges. Clinical time belongs to the enrolled course alone and never to a semester break, so the holidays are off limits and surplus hours cannot be banked for later. Time logged before faculty clearance counts for nothing. And faculty must hear about any change to your approved schedule immediately.
Troy's academic calendar lists December 9, 2026 as the last official day of the Fall 2026 16-week semester and May 12, 2027 for Spring 2027. It also shows a spring break starting March 15, 2027, so ask course faculty before planning clinical hours that week. Confirm your own course's end date too, since Troy leaves unstated whether a given online NSG course runs on the semester or the term calendar; the academic calendar guide explains the two formats.
Record only hours you actually completed. Under the MSN manual, falsified clinical hours mean failing the course and can lead to suspension or expulsion.
Adding hours before the semester ends
If the gap is modest, the fix is usually more time with a preceptor who is already approved. If it is large, you may need a second one.
- Ask your current preceptor for added daysAgree on the new dates, tell faculty at once as the manual requires, and follow their instructions for updating your clinical schedule form before the first extra shift.
- Add a second approved preceptorA second preceptor needs the full path: a complete form, biosketch and license copy, faculty approval, agreements and clearance. It also uses one of the two times Troy lets you work with that preceptor and site.
- Check the setting against your courseFNP students cannot add hospital shifts before
NSG 6680, and nobody can add hours in their own work area. - Put the plan in writingA short note showing the hours left, the new dates and who will precept them gives faculty what they need to agree or suggest another route.
When the hours will not fit: IP, Incomplete or drop
If the math does not work, Troy's 2025-26 Graduate Catalog describes three routes. Each depends on faculty or on dates Troy sets, and each carries a clock.
| Route | How it works | The clock |
|---|---|---|
| In-Progress (IP) | Allowed for practicum and internship courses, among a few others | Must be cleared within one calendar year or it becomes FI, which counts as an F |
| Incomplete (I) | Requested on the Incomplete Grade Request form before the grade is assigned; the instructor decides, and you must be passing, making satisfactory progress and facing documented circumstances beyond your control | The instructor's deadline can be no more than 9 weeks after the semester; unfinished work becomes FI |
| Drop | Available up to 65% of the course length and recorded as DR, a non-punitive grade | After that point a grade is assigned |
Troy's calendar also sets a last day to change an I grade: February 14, 2027 for Fall 2026 and July 25, 2027 for Spring 2027. All three routes are covered in more depth on our incompletes and withdrawal page.
What an unfinished practicum can do to your record
The routes above protect you only if they close cleanly. An IP or Incomplete that runs out turns into FI, which counts as an F. Troy's graduate catalog allows no more than six semester hours of grades below B; going past six hours of C or lower brings an automatic one-year academic suspension.
A practicum carries real weight in that count, since NSG 6680 alone is five semester hours. Courses with a D, F or W can be repeated, and both attempts count in your GPA. For FNP students a repeat also means waiting for the course's once-a-year offering, which our page on delayed graduation maps out. The rest of the rules are on grades and progression.
How we help you catch up
When the gap is hours rather than a missing preceptor, the quickest fix is often a second qualified preceptor with open days. We find one nearby who fits the course and passes your workplace and two-use checks, then collect the credentials and license copy your advisor needs to see, so nothing in the packet is missing.
If faculty agree to an IP or an Incomplete, we line up the preceptor for the remaining work early, around the dates they set. Your faculty make the approval and grade decisions; we give them a complete, rule-fitting option to say yes to. Tell us your course and the hours left in the form below.
Questions Troy students ask
Can I make up clinical hours over the semester break?
No. Troy's manuals keep clinical hours inside the dates of the course you are taking, and break weeks between semesters are excluded. Plan make-up time before the last official day, and if that will not work, ask course faculty about the In-Progress or Incomplete routes before the grade is assigned.
Can hours from my job count toward my clinical hours?
Not hours on your own unit or in your own workplace, which Troy bars, and not hours completed before faculty cleared you for the course. Only time with an approved preceptor, at an approved site, after clearance and inside the course dates goes toward the total.
Do extra hours in one course carry into the next?
Troy ties clinical hours to the enrolled course, so hours beyond one course's total are not banked for the following one. Plan each preceptorship's hours on their own, with the preceptor and schedule approved for that course. If you reach a course's total early, ask course faculty how to handle the dates still on your schedule.
Is an IP grade better than an Incomplete for a practicum?
They answer different problems. An IP is built for practicum and internship courses and gives up to one calendar year to finish. An Incomplete needs a request form, passing work and documented circumstances beyond your control, and its deadline falls no more than 9 weeks after the semester. Course faculty decide which fits.
What happens if my Incomplete or IP runs out?
The grade becomes FI, which counts as an F. That can force a repeat, since courses needing a B must be repeated, and it adds to the six semester hours of below-B grades Troy allows before an automatic one-year suspension. Track the deadline from the day the grade is posted.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against Troy's own 2026-27 MSN, DNP, AMSN and RN to BSN orientation manuals, program pages, degree maps and state authorization pages. Your faculty advisor, your course faculty and the School of Nursing have the final word.
Troy asks you to recruit your preceptor. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your Troy program, where you live and which semester your next clinical course starts. We find preceptors who meet Troy's rules for the course, check the setting against Troy's limits, and prepare everything the Preceptor Information Form and biosketch ask for, well ahead of the form deadline.
- Preceptors matched to the course: a graduate-prepared NP or physician for
NSG 6619, pediatrics and women's health forNSG 6666, adults and older adults forNSG 6668 - Preceptor Information Form details, a biosketch and a copy of the preceptor's license, ready for your faculty advisor
- In your own area, in Alabama or a state where Troy can offer clinicals, never in your own work setting
Start your placement plan
Program, city and semester is all we need to begin.