YSU grades, Incompletes and time limits for graduate nursing
Youngstown State University's graduate nursing students must earn a B or higher in each required MSN course, practicums included, may repeat a course only once, and must finish inside the School of Nursing's four-year limit even though the graduate catalog allows six. Here are those rules, the places where YSU's catalog and handbook disagree, and who reviews a progression problem.
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The B rule, practicums included
The graduate nursing handbook sets a B as the floor for every required MSN course before you move forward. The catalog states it more bluntly for each track: in FNP, AGACNP and Nursing Education courses, a C or lower means the course must be repeated, and it may be repeated only once. Across the whole MSN, no more than two required nursing courses may be repeated.
For practicums the rule is written into the prerequisites. NURS 7062 requires NURS 7061 with a B or better, and the chain runs on through NURS 7065; the AGACNP sequence works the same way from NURS 7071 to NURS 7075. A grade under B in one practicum stops the next from starting and pushes every later term back by at least seven weeks, as the 7-week practicum guide shows.
Graduate students at YSU cannot take a course credit/no credit, and the university's retake policy that recalculates GPA excludes the MSN and nursing certificate programs, so the first grade stays in your average. Graduation needs a 3.0 cumulative GPA or higher, and a student marked not in good standing after 9 semester hours is suspended if any later semester GPA falls below 3.0.
Clinical failure and removal for unsafe practice
Clinical faculty assign the final practicum grade. The handbook lists what they weigh: what your preceptor reports, what faculty observe directly, your clinical documentation and logs, and course assignments.
YSU defines unsafe clinical practice broadly: any act, omission, judgment or pattern of behavior that puts, or could put, a patient, family member, provider, fellow student or the student at risk of physical, psychological or emotional harm. Dishonesty, falsified clinical records and misrepresented hours or patient encounters fall under the same heading.
When patient safety is compromised, clinical faculty, preceptors or authorized agency staff may remove a student from the setting at once, and the Graduate Program Director reviews the removal. Outcomes range from a clinical remediation plan or repeated clinical experiences to a failing course grade or disciplinary action.
Other handbook rules that can stall progression
- Hours you miss must be rescheduled for a time both your preceptor and clinical faculty sign off on.
- Equipment a site lends you and you fail to return blocks the next practicum, or triggers a graduation hold after the final one.
- Letting compliance documents or certifications lapse is grounds for administrative withdrawal.
- Not starting, or not finishing, required clinical experiences is also grounds for administrative withdrawal.
Incompletes, and the spring deadline conflict
An Incomplete is meant for a student who has finished more than 60% of a course with satisfactory work but cannot complete it for reasons beyond their control that the instructor accepts. The handbook adds the rule that bites hardest in a sequenced program: while you hold an I in a required graduate nursing course, you may not progress to later courses.
The catalog and the handbook set different dates for finishing a spring Incomplete, and they part ways on time limits and transfer credit too.
| Rule | Graduate catalog | Graduate nursing handbook, 2026-27 |
|---|---|---|
| Finish a fall-term I by | March 1 | March 1 |
| Finish a spring-term I by | September 1 | July 1 |
| Finish a summer-term I by | October 1 | October 1 |
| Time limit | Six years for all coursework | 48 months from first enrollment, transfer credit included |
| Age of transfer credit | Under six years old at graduation | Completed within the previous four years |
| Transfer credit cap | 12 semester hours for 45-59 hour programs; 9 for 30-44 | 12 for FNP and AGACNP; 9 for Nursing Education |
Under the catalog, an I left unfinished past its date becomes an F. Where the documents disagree, plan to the earlier date, July 1 for a spring Incomplete. Neither says how a 7-week term maps onto fall or spring for this purpose, so ask your faculty to state your completion date in writing.
Students on older plans may remember a gentler option: the 2022-23 handbook allowed a PR grade and seven more weeks when FNP hours ran short. The 2026-27 handbook does not repeat that rule, so ask your clinical faculty what applies if hours fall short. It is also why a preceptor who leaves mid-term is so costly, and why our placement desk moves straight to a replacement; see if your preceptor drops and behind on clinical hours.
An Incomplete in one practicum holds up the next: the handbook bars progression to later courses until the I is resolved, so a missing preceptor can cost more than one term.
Time limits: six years in the catalog, four in the handbook
The graduate catalog gives students six years to complete the coursework for a program or certificate. The Centofanti School of Nursing is stricter: every MSN requirement, approved transfer credit included, must be done within 48 months of your first enrollment. For nursing students, the school's four-year rule is the one to plan around.
Four years sits well above the handbook's own estimate of roughly 22 months for full-time study and 36 for part-time. A part-time plan leaves roughly a year of room by our count, and a run of delayed practicums can use it up faster than expected.
Practicums also carry their own clock. Stay out of practicum courses for longer than 12 consecutive months and every practicum you finished has to be taken again, hours included, because the earlier hours no longer count toward graduation. The shorter rule on missed 7-week terms is in the academic calendar guide.
Leave of absence and extensions
The Graduate Program Director approves leaves of absence and extensions under the handbook. Read one line before asking: an approved leave does not pause or lengthen the four-year maximum. Time away still counts against it.
Before requesting one, count the terms left in your curriculum plan, note where your next practicum falls, and check whether the pause would stretch past 12 months without a practicum. If a lost preceptor is what has you considering a break, talk to the Graduate Clinical Coordinator and to us first: a replacement preceptor found quickly can keep you in sequence.
Transfer credit into YSU's MSN
FNP and AGACNP students may bring in up to 12 semester hours, and Nursing Education students up to 9. The work must come from a regionally accredited institution, be finished within the previous four years and carry an A or B; a B-minus, S or CR is not accepted.
Courses the handbook names as eligible
- Advanced Pathophysiology (YSU's
NURS 6902) - Advanced Pharmacology (
NURS 6903) - Advanced Physical Assessment (YSU's
NURS 6904, Advanced Health Assessment) - Theoretical Foundations (
NURS 6901) - Healthcare Issues and Trends (
NURS 6900)
Specialty didactic, clinical and practicum courses cannot transfer and must be completed at YSU, so every FNP or AGACNP practicum hour is earned inside YSU's own sequence.
Pharmacology deserves a second look. The handbook notes that the Ohio Board of Nursing expects your 45-hour advanced pharmacology course to fall within the five years before your APRN license application. By our reading, a course taken near the edge of the four-year transfer window could be accepted by YSU and still age past five years by the time you apply, so check the dates. The certification exams guide covers licensure.
The APG Committee and progression concerns
Appeals within the School of Nursing's jurisdiction go to the Admissions, Progression, and Graduation (APG) Committee, which also reviews clinical progression concerns. The committee recommends an outcome, and the appropriate academic administrator takes the final action. Other roles are mapped in the who does what guide.
Academic integrity cases follow the university process. The instructor must notify you by university email within two university working days and invite you to an Academic Integrity Conference held within five working days. Sanctions run from an official warning up to a request for a hearing before the Academic Grievance Subcommittee.
Questions YSU students ask
What happens to my timeline if I fail a YSU practicum?
You repeat it in a later 7-week term, and every practicum after it moves back by at least one term, because each needs a B in the one before. You also need a preceptor for the repeat, approved like any other. The move counts against both the four-year limit and your two allowed repeats, so plan the new sequence with your advisor right away.
Can I transfer practicum hours from another NP program to YSU?
No. The handbook limits transfer to five core courses and says specialty didactic, clinical and practicum courses must be completed at YSU. Post-master's certificate students can face the opposite: the handbook warns they might have to retake some or all of the three P's (pathophysiology, pharmacology and assessment), based on the specialty they already hold.
Does YSU provide malpractice insurance during practicums?
Yes. The handbook says YSU provides professional liability insurance for students taking part in approved clinical experiences. The word approved matters, since the cover is tied to approved clinical experiences; it is one more reason to have every preceptor and site approved before the practicum starts.
Can my preceptor fail me at YSU?
Your preceptor evaluates you, and those evaluations weigh heavily, but clinical faculty assign the final grade using evaluations, observation, documentation and logs. A preceptor can remove you from the setting at once if patient safety is compromised, and the Graduate Program Director then reviews that removal.
Does a leave of absence count toward the 12-month practicum rule?
The handbook's wording covers any absence from practicum courses longer than 12 consecutive months and names no exception for an approved leave. Since a leave also leaves the four-year clock running, confirm with the Graduate Program Director how your leave interacts with both rules before it begins.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against YSU's own catalog, graduate handbook, online program pages and FAQ, and Ohio rules. Your clinical faculty, the Graduate Clinical Coordinator and your advisor have the final word.
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