Behind on clinical hours in a UTRGV course

What passing a UTRGV clinical course takes

In UTRGV's clinical courses, hours are a gate, not a score you can balance with exams. The Fall 2025 NURS 6612 syllabus makes all 224 hours plus a preceptorship grade judged satisfactory the condition for passing, whatever your theory grade, and the NURS 6613 syllabus for Spring 2026 applies that bar to its 336. On the PMHNP side, NURS 6476 (Fall 2025) needs 220 precepted hours to pass and NURS 6620 (Spring 2026) needs 300.

A second threshold sits behind the first. The archived 2023-24 graduate guide halts progression after any clinical course graded below B, and FNP I is the prerequisite for FNP II, so a fall course left short can hold back your whole final semester. Grades and progression covers the grading rules in full.

The rules that shape a catch-up plan

Working more hours is only half of recovery. Four UTRGV rules decide which extra hours count.

• Faster only with permission. Under the FNP syllabi, getting ahead of the schedule requires both a legitimate reason and the course coordinator's advance approval, so settle any heavier schedule before you start it.
• One course per hour. An hour cannot count toward a second clinical course you are taking the same term, so keep separate logs even at a shared clinic.
• Daily cap in NURS 6347. The Summer 2025 syllabus limits its 45 hours to 8 a day, so long days cannot rescue a late start in that course.
• Signatures every week. In NURS 6612, the grading criteria for clinical logs refuse a log unless your preceptor signed it each week or completed an evaluation, and the Mandatory Weekly Time Report goes in at every Wednesday class, showing the current and following weeks because faculty visit sites at random.

PMHNP hours carry one more limit: telepsychiatry counts only up to a cap, and UTRGV's two sources set it at different levels: 75 hours in the archived FAQ, 220 in the Spring 2026 NURS 6620 syllabus, each out of 520. Rules for counting hours explains every rule.

Adding a second approved preceptor

When one preceptor cannot supply the hours, a second one can share them. A qualified, approved NP, PA or MD/DO can precept the FNP courses, and NURS 6347 already requires two NPs; for the other FNP courses, confirm with your course coordinator that splitting hours between preceptors suits the course. The second preceptor needs the same approval as the first: a listed or newly affiliated site, a signed preceptor agreement carrying the course objectives, and a Typhon data sheet.

Timing narrows the options. A site new to UTRGV needs an agreement that can run 30 to 90 days, which can outlast a 7-week rotation, so mid-term the practical choice is usually a practice already on UTRGV's approved list. PMHNP students need another psychiatrist certified by ABPN or PMHNP certified by ANCC, cleared by clinical faculty before any hours count.

How we help you recover hours

If your preceptor has cut clinic days or left, our placement desk looks for a second preceptor who can host you at the course's weekly pace, starting with practices on UTRGV's approved list so no new agreement stands in the way. We confirm the clinician fits the course rules, gather the details for the preceptor agreement and Typhon data sheet, and brief the new preceptor on weekly log signatures and the time report so nothing stalls at the end.

If your first preceptor can still offer some days, we plan the two schedules together, so the combined weeks reach the course total on time. Send your course, signed-hour total and end date through the request form.