Troy's state authorization, SARA and the online MSN warning
Troy University's state authorization page tells you whether Troy is cleared to serve distance students in your state: 40 states through SARA, eight more through their own agencies, and California under an exemption. It does not settle where your clinical hours can happen, and the MSN page cautions that the online MSN may not be offered in every state, so check both before you apply or relocate.
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Three separate questions
Troy's authorization list is easy to read as a map of where clinicals can happen, but it answers something narrower. State authorization is about whether Troy, as an institution, may offer distance education to people living in a state. Whether Troy can place clinical hours there is a second question, answered for online nursing only by Troy's 2020 clinicals-by-state table. Whether your program meets a state's rules for licensure is a third, and the state's board of nursing owns that one.
Troy's page draws the same line in its own words. It notes that Troy's review of each state's rules for programs involving licensure, practicums or internships is still under way, and it recommends that anyone considering an online licensure program outside Alabama contact that state's licensing agency before beginning. For a nursing student, all three questions need a yes before a preceptor search makes sense.
Troy and SARA
Troy says it is a participating member of the State Authorization Reciprocity Agreement (SARA), which Alabama administers through the Southern Regional Education Board (SREB). The NC-SARA directory lists Troy University as a Participant, not on provisional status, with the Alabama Commission on Higher Education as its State Portal Entity.
On clinical work, Troy's page notes that SARA allows "minimal restrictions on clinical practice and internships (no greater than 10 students at one location)." That describes a SARA limit. It does not set up a site for anyone, and every preceptor and agency still passes through Troy's faculty approval and agreement steps.
The 40 states Troy lists as SARA authorized are Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin and Wyoming.
Eight state authorizations, plus California
Nine states sit outside the SARA list, each with its own entry on Troy's page. Alabama is Troy's home state. Seven others (Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas and Virginia) show Troy as authorized, and California lists Troy as an out-of-state public institution that needs no Bureau approval.
| State | Authorizing body Troy names | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Alabama Commission on Higher Education | Authorized |
| California | Department of Consumer Affairs | Out-of-state public institution; Bureau approval not required |
| Florida | Florida Commission on Higher Education | Authorized |
| Georgia | Georgia Nonpublic Education Commission | Authorized |
| North Carolina | University of North Carolina System | Authorized |
| South Carolina | South Carolina Commission on Higher Education | Authorized |
| Tennessee | Tennessee Higher Education Commission | Authorized |
| Texas | Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board | Authorized |
| Virginia | State Council of Higher Education for Virginia | Authorized |
California is the one exemption: Troy says approval from the state's Bureau is not required for an out-of-state public institution. None of these nine appears on the SARA list, so for students living there this table is the authorization Troy points to.
If your state is on neither list
Put the two lists together and one state is missing: Massachusetts. The District of Columbia and the US territories are absent too. Troy tells students living in states it does not list, and in non-SARA states, to contact the Coordinator of State Authorizations, whose Office of State Authorization sits within Institutional Research, Planning and Effectiveness.
Massachusetts and the District of Columbia are both Not yet determined in Troy's 2020 online nursing table, so neither the authorization page nor the clinical table gives a working answer there. Ask before you apply, and keep the reply.
Students outside the US have a check of their own. Troy asks international students to confirm whether the licensing body in their country recognizes a program completed online through Troy.
The MSN warning on Troy's program page
Troy's MSN page adds a caution of its own: because each state has its own approval process, the online MSN may or may not be available in a given state. The page stops there. It gives no list of states where the MSN is or is not offered, and it does not point to the 2020 clinical table.
Read that line as a reason to ask before applying, above all for the FNP track. The 2025-26 graduate catalog says FNP students complete clinical requirements in their locale, so the state you live in decides whether the track works for you. The HINL track has no on-campus requirements, yet its practicums still need a preceptor and a setting in a state where Troy can place students. DNP students face the same question, since the 2020 clinical table covers the DNP alongside the MSN, and Troy's state authorization page shows no separate table for the post-master's certificates.
Where Troy's lists pull in different directions
Set the authorization lists beside the 2020 clinical table and several states read differently. Neither page reconciles them.
- Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Montana and New York are SARA authorized for Troy, yet the 2020 table marks clinicals there No. SARA covers distance education; the table covers clinical experiences, where those boards set their own terms for out-of-state nursing programs.
- South Carolina has its own authorization through the South Carolina Commission on Higher Education, but its clinicals are Not yet determined in the 2020 table.
- Wyoming is on the SARA list, while the 2020 table shows only an application for authorization, submitted 12/4/20.
- Louisiana is SARA authorized and marked Yes for clinicals, but the table's own note ends that approval on October 12, 2022.
- Eighteen other SARA states, Arkansas through Vermont, sit at Not yet determined in the 2020 table.
Authorization to enroll is not approval to do clinicals. A state can be on Troy's SARA list and still be No or Not yet determined for online nursing clinicals.
Whom to ask, and what to ask
Each question has a different owner, at Troy or in your state. Ask them before you apply, before you move, and before you recruit a preceptor outside Alabama.
| Question | Who answers it |
|---|---|
| Can Troy serve me as a distance student in my state? | Coordinator of State Authorizations |
| Can Troy place clinical hours in my state now, and does a state step apply? | Clinical Placements Specialist |
| Is the online MSN or DNP offered where I live? | Coordinator of State Authorizations, then the MSN Program Coordinator (Online) or DNP Coordinator |
| Will the program meet my state's rules for NP licensure? | Your state's board of nursing |
| Which RN license do I need for clinicals? | Your faculty advisor; Troy requires an unencumbered RN license in the clinical state |
Write to offices by title; Troy's state authorization page carries the office's contact details. Our guide to who does what covers every Troy role in a preceptorship, and the RN license guide explains the license rule.
Why Troy students bring us in early
For online students outside Alabama, state rules shape the preceptor search more than anything else. We start with your state's authorization route and its row in Troy's clinical table, flag anything unsettled before you spend weeks recruiting, and then find preceptors in the state where your RN license is active, matched to Troy's rules for your course.
Troy faculty make every approval, and our work gives them a search that fits your state and your course from the first form. See how it works, or tell us your state in the form below.
Questions Troy students ask
Is Troy's online nursing program available in every state?
Not necessarily. Troy's MSN page says each state has its own approval process, so the online MSN may not be offered everywhere, and it names no states. The authorization page covers 40 SARA states, eight state-agency authorizations and a California exemption, leaving Massachusetts, DC and the territories unlisted. Ask the Coordinator of State Authorizations about your state first.
Does SARA let me do clinicals anywhere in a member state?
No. SARA concerns distance education, and on clinicals Troy's page mentions only a light SARA limit of ten students at one location. A state's board can still set its own terms, which is why five SARA states are No in Troy's 2020 clinical table. Your preceptor and site also need faculty approval and signed agreements.
Why is Massachusetts missing from Troy's authorization lists?
Troy's page gives no reason. Massachusetts is neither among the 40 SARA states nor in the state-specific table, and the 2020 online nursing table lists it as Not yet determined. Troy asks students in unlisted states to contact the Coordinator of State Authorizations, so start there before applying from Massachusetts.
Do the ASN and BSN depend on my home state's authorization?
Those programs are taught in person in Alabama: the ASN in Montgomery and the BSN at Troy and Dothan. Troy's 2025 disclosure says both meet RN educational requirements in all 50 states, DC and American Samoa, and that their graduates can take the NCLEX-RN in any state. If you plan to be licensed elsewhere, confirm with that board.
How current are Troy's state lists?
The online nursing clinical table linked from Troy's authorization page is dated 12/15/2020, and the ASN and BSN disclosure beside it is from 2025. Troy also says its review of state rules for programs with practicums continues. Treat every list as a starting point and confirm your state in writing with the Coordinator of State Authorizations.
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
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