Behind on clinical hours in a USU course

Updated September 23, 2026 · Reviewed by the USU Preceptor placement team

Work out exactly how far behind you are, counting only hours USU will accept: logged in Project Concert within 48 hours, after your approval letter, and inside the caps. Then tell your course faculty before the gap grows, because an FNP Incomplete needs at least 81 of a course's 135 hours and hours never roll over to the next course.

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17hours a week, roughly, keeps an 8-week FNP course on pace

12hours, the most USU allows in one clinical day

Count the hours that will count

Before you plan a catch-up, get an honest number. The total on your screen can be higher than the total USU will accept.

Total your logged hours.Open Project Concert and add up the hours entered for this course. Only this course matters, because hours don't roll over.
Take out anything at risk.Subtract hours entered more than 48 hours after the encounter, hours before your approval letter or the course start, hours during a Complio clinical pause, and time when your preceptor had more than two students (one in New Jersey).
Check the caps.Urgent care counts up to 135 hours across the FNP program, optional specialties up to 40 combined, telehealth up to 40, and hospice or skilled nursing up to 40 within geriatrics. Hours past a cap don't help.
Compare with the pace.Set your countable total against the table below. The full rules are on what counts as a USU FNP clinical hour.

The pace for a 135-hour course

USU's FNP handbook builds its advice around a preceptor who can offer roughly 17 hours a week, enough to cover 135 hours in eight weeks. The table is arithmetic from that pace, not a USU schedule.

An even pace through an 8-week FNP practicum
End of week	Hours on an even pace	Hours still to go
1	17	118
2	34	101
3	51	84
4	68	67
5	84	51
6	101	34
7	118	17
8	135	0

On an even pace you pass 81 hours during week five. If you're well short of that by then, an Incomplete may be out of reach, so talk to faculty before week five ends. Catch-up has limits too: no more than 12 hours in a clinical day, and your preceptor's schedule comes first.

Log within 48 hours, every time

Late logging is the quietest way to lose hours. The FNP handbook says encounters not entered in Project Concert within 48 hours don't count, and DNP immersion hours follow the same rule. USU publishes no grace period. If you can't get into Project Concert, tell your faculty in writing inside the 48 hours.

Make logging part of the clinical day: fill in the Hours log and the Journal Entry logs before you leave the parking lot, or that evening at the latest. Journal entries also build FNP program minimums of 100 geriatric, 80 pediatric and 40 women's health entries, so a missed entry costs twice. The Project Concert page covers the system itself.

Hours logged after the 48-hour window don't count, however real they were. Log every shift the same day.

Why you fell behind decides the fix

Match the cause to the fix. Extra effort aimed at the wrong problem burns time you don't have.

Common causes of a shortfall under USU's rules
Cause	What USU's rules say	What to do
Your preceptor offers fewer days than planned	USU expects at least one clinical day a week and about 17 hours	Ask for a fixed weekly day, and tell faculty if it can't grow
A Complio item expired	You're on clinical pause and can't attend or log hours	Renew it at once; Complio warns at 60, 45, 30 and 15 days
Your approval letter came late	No hours or site time before the letter	Tell faculty the date it arrived and plan the remaining weeks
Your job clashes	Most FNP hours run Monday to Friday, 8:00am to 5:00pm	Rework your work schedule for the rest of the course
Your preceptor has other students	Hours over the 1:2 ratio don't count (1:1 in New Jersey)	Confirm the student count and log only compliant hours
Your preceptor left	OFE makes every reasonable attempt at an alternative	See preceptor dropped out

Talk to faculty before the gap grows

Tell your course faculty as soon as you can see a shortfall coming, not in week seven. Bring your countable total, the hours your preceptor can still offer and a week-by-week plan. The options faculty can offer shrink each week.

Ask about the levers USU's rules leave open. The FNP handbook bars hours before the course starts or during holiday breaks unless approved, so ask whether approval is possible. If you'll reach 81 hours, ask about an Incomplete. Without one, the catalog treats unfinished clinical hours as lost, to be done again the next term. Delayed graduation shows what that does to your plan.

Copy your CPC if the problem is the placement itself, and keep everything in your USU email. Attendance is expected to be 100%, so flag a missed day at once rather than hoping to absorb it quietly.

Other USU programs

Nurse Educator (MSN578): 100 hours, reported weekly in Project Concert. Hours that are part of your own job don't count, so extra shifts at work won't close a gap.
Health Care Leadership (MSN587): 100 hours with check-ins in weeks 1, 4 and 8. Week 4 is the natural point to raise a shortfall.
DNP: immersion hours are logged within 48 hours and don't roll over between courses, from DNP707 to DNP712.
RN-to-BSN: 45 hours in each of NUR378 and NUR499, with the same agency leader for both, so switching agencies between the two isn't the usual fix.

We found no published Incomplete threshold outside the FNP. Check your course in D2L and ask your faculty.

Why students who are behind choose us

If the root cause is the placement, such as a preceptor with too few days or one who's leaving, a placement advisor can search for an additional or replacement preceptor who fits your course and USU's rules, in person near you as the main route. We help you assemble the Appendix H packet for OFE. You submit it, USU approves, and no hours count before the approval letter.

Hours logged late or past a cap fall under USU's rules, and approval timing is the Program Director's, so our effort goes where it moves your total: the right preceptor, found early. Where the fix is a steadier schedule rather than a new person, we'll tell you straight. If the fix belongs in your next course, tell us which one or use the chat.

Questions USU students ask

Can I make up clinical hours after my USU course ends?

Not as a rule. Hours don't roll over from course to course. If you've done at least 81 hours in an FNP course, ask your faculty about an Incomplete. Otherwise the catalog says incomplete clinical hours are lost and must be repeated the following term.

Do hours count if I logged them late but my preceptor confirms them?

USU's FNP handbook says hours not logged in Project Concert within 48 hours won't count, and it describes no exception for a preceptor's confirmation. If a system problem stopped you logging, tell your course faculty at once and keep a screenshot, but plan as though the late hours are gone.

Can I work 12-hour clinical days to catch up?

Twelve hours is USU's ceiling for one clinical day, so a few long days are allowed if your preceptor works them. They can close a modest gap. They rarely fix a large one, because the preceptor's schedule comes first and most FNP hours run on weekdays during office hours.

Can I do clinical hours during USU's winter break?

Only with approval. The FNP handbook bars clinical hours during holiday breaks without it, and USU's 2026-27 calendar lists a winter break from December 22 to January 4. Ask your course faculty well before the break, in writing, and don't log anything until you have a yes.

Will adding a second preceptor help me catch up this course?

Sometimes, but slowly. A second preceptor needs their own Appendix H, Program Director review of 4 to 16 weeks on average, and coverage under OFE's approval letter before you log hours with them. Mid-course, that's often too slow for this course, so it's usually a plan for the next one.

FNPWhat counts as an FNP hourWhat counts toward USU's 540 FNP clinical hours: inpatient never, caps on urgent care, specialties and telehealth, journal minimums and the 48-hour rule.SystemProject ConcertHow USU nursing students use Project Concert: login, hours and journal logs, evaluations, portfolio, compliance status and the 48-hour logging rule.HoursClinical hours by USU programEvery USU nursing program's clinical and practicum hours in one table, by course number, plus the rules USU uses to decide which FNP hours count.Placement helpPreceptor dropped outWhat to do when your USU preceptor withdraws: telling OFE, what every reasonable attempt means, the withdraw-and-retake risk and replacing them quickly.TimelineDelayed graduationWhat a late or failed clinical placement costs a USU nursing student in time: withdraw and retake, lost hours, the FNP course chain and clinical pause.ComplioComplio (American DataBank)How USU uses Complio by American DataBank: the two packages to order, who pays, review times, expiry notices and the clinical pause that stops your hours.

Last checked 2026-09-23

We check these pages against USU's own catalog, handbooks and disclosures. USU's current handbook and your Clinical Placement Coordinator have the final word.

Six months out is USU's rule. We start now.

Tell us your USU program, your state and when your next practicum opens. We look for preceptors who meet USU's rules and help you build the packet the Office of Field Experience and Program Director review.

Preceptors matched to the course: family practice, pediatrics, women's health, urgent care within USU's caps
Appendix H, license, CV and board certification gathered the way OFE asks
In person near you; telehealth only inside USU's 40-hour limit

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