Alabama sits in the not-authorized column of every NKU online nursing table, and it is not one of the 11 states NKU's NP programs accept. That rules out NKU clinicals in Alabama for now. Florida and Georgia next door are both open to NKU's NP tracks, so a nurse with a move ahead has options.
Tell us the NKU program and the open state you're heading to.
| NKU program group | Alabama |
|---|---|
| NP tracks: FNP, AGACNP, PMHNP and NP certificates | Not on the NP application list |
| MSN Nursing Education and Nurse Executive Leadership | Not authorized |
| Post-master's DNP | Not authorized |
| RN-to-BSN | Not authorized |
Both NKU copies of the state authorization table agree on Alabama, so there is no conflict to resolve. NKU's licensure disclosure says that in a restricted state a student may be unable to complete field placements.
NKU requires every preceptor to practice in a current NKU-approved state, so Alabama clinicians and sites cannot host NKU practicum hours. That applies to NP rotations, the Nursing Education and Nurse Executive Leadership practicums, DNP project work and the RN-to-BSN's leadership practicum alike.
Enrolled NKU students weighing a job in Birmingham or Huntsville should know the stakes. NKU's program pages say a change of state can alter your standing in the program and want your advisor and concentration coordinator told promptly, and Alabama offers no NKU field placements.
Rule 610-X-3-.09 of the Ala. Admin. Code gives the Alabama Board of Nursing a gate for schools based elsewhere. Fifteen or more days ahead of any clinical learning in Alabama, an outside APRN or pre-licensure program must send a letter of intent with its approval paperwork, identifying each student, the clinical supervisor and the facility, with a sign-off from the facility's nursing leadership; the program also owes a yearly out-of-state fee. Post-licensure students training in Alabama need an Alabama or multistate RN license.
Alabama joined the compact on January 1, 2020, and AANP calls it reduced practice, with NP practice overseen jointly by the nursing and medical boards.
Florida and Georgia each appear on NKU's NP application list, and each is cleared for the education and leadership MSN tracks. Florida is open across the board; in Georgia, NKU's two copies disagree about the DNP and the RN-to-BSN is closed. Mississippi welcomes NKU's non-NP graduate study and its RN-to-BSN, while NP study stays closed there. Tennessee shares Alabama's not-authorized status.
Anyone relocating should secure two answers before applying: a yes from NKU admissions on the new address, and an RN license that works in that state. The Florida, Georgia and NP admission states pages go deeper.
For nurses leaving Alabama for an open state, we make the first NKU term start on time. Once NKU confirms your eligibility, a placement advisor maps preceptors near your new address, handles the preceptor documents NKU asks for, and lines up a site contact for NKU's affiliation agreement, so your first Medatrax request is ready well ahead of NKU's 90-day recommendation. Contact the placement desk with your timeline.
No. Alabama is in the not-authorized column for NKU's MSN and post-master's certificates, and it is outside the 11-state list for the NP concentrations. The DNP and RN-to-BSN rows read the same way. NKU publishes the tables on its state authorization page and asks applicants to check back for updates.
No. An NKU preceptor has to work in a state on NKU's approved list, which Alabama isn't. A student in the Columbus, Georgia area or the Florida Panhandle should keep preceptors on their own side of the line. Alabama's board would also expect advance filings from an outside program before any clinical learning in Alabama.
Speak with your advisor and concentration coordinator first. NKU cautions that a relocation can change program status and that field placements may be impossible in a restricted state. With every online NKU nursing program closed in Alabama, the clinicals you still owe would be in doubt.
Of Alabama's neighbors, Florida and Mississippi are authorized for NKU's online RN-to-BSN. Georgia and Tennessee are not. Kentucky, Ohio and Indiana, NKU's home region, are all authorized, and the full list of 22 states plus Puerto Rico appears on NKU's state authorization page.
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against NKU's own published sources. NKU's School of Nursing and your Canvas clinical shells have the final word.
Tell us your NKU track, where you live and which 7-week session your clinical starts. We find a preceptor and site that fit NKU's rules for your track and have your self-placement request ready well inside the 90-day window.
A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site that fit NKU's rules for you.