PreCheck StudentCheck: NKU's background check for graduate nursing

NKU's online program pages say a criminal background check "(state and federal) is required for admission" and that applicants must use PreCheck StudentCheck. The graduate admission page names the same vendor and links NKU's own order page for nursing.

NKU is plain about cost: any cost tied to the background check is the applicant's responsibility. The price is not published on NKU's pages, so the order page is where you see the current package.

Order through the NKU link on the graduate admission page. It opens the StudentCheck package set up for NKU nursing, which keeps your result where NKU's reviewers expect to find it.

Keep a copy of the completed report and your order confirmation. If a question about your record comes up at a later clinical review, you will have the paperwork in hand instead of waiting on a new copy.

The requirement is written for the online graduate programs that lead to clinicals. Other NKU nursing programs handle background checks differently, or say nothing in public.

NKU describes the scope as state and federal records. PreCheck's StudentCheck page lists three services: background checks, drug testing and immunization tracking. NKU does not say publicly which of its nursing programs order a drug screen; the only NKU nursing program that lists a drug test in public is the campus Nurse Anesthesia DNP.

The immunization side runs through Sentry. In 2025 NKU's College of Health & Human Services told clinical students to send vaccination proof through PreCheck via SentryMD, which is why NKU refers to the pair as PreCheck/Sentry. Sentry compliance tracking covers that half of the system.

The Contracts & Compliance team reviews the contract and compliance portion of every Medatrax self-placement request, and NKU lists PreCheck/Sentry among the questions that team handles. A gap in your compliance file can hold up a rotation even when the preceptor and site are ready. The Contracts & Compliance guide explains the team's full role.

NKU's 2026 posting for a Clinical Placement Specialist describes term-by-term placement spreadsheets organized by specialty, location and compliance status, with compliance handled "using systems such as Sentry and Precheck." Your background check result travels with your placement file, so keep it clean and current before each self-placement request.

Hospitals and large health systems often onboard students with requirements of their own, which can include a second background check, a drug screen or a badge appointment. NKU's public pages do not describe site-level onboarding, so ask your preceptor's office what the site needs as soon as the preceptor agrees.

AGACNP students feel this most, because their rotations run in acute care hospitals, where student onboarding tends to take longest. The AGACNP clinicals guide covers those five courses.

Build that into your timeline. Preceptor details are due to NKU no later than 30 days before a rotation, and NKU highly recommends 90; site onboarding runs alongside NKU's review rather than after it. The clinical compliance overview shows every item NKU checks, so you can see where a site's extras fit.

NKU's graduate pages publish no rule on how background findings are weighed for MSN clinicals. NKU's 2024-25 undergraduate catalog, in its section on the campus BSN, warns that clinical agencies "may deny clinical access" for felonies and some misdemeanors. It is a reminder that sites make their own access decisions.

If you expect a question, raise it with your track's Contracts & Compliance contact before a preceptor is holding a session for you. An early, candid conversation protects both your rotation and the preceptor's schedule.

We match you with preceptors at sites whose onboarding fits your session, and we ask each site up front what it runs beyond NKU's PreCheck and Sentry checks. You hear about an extra badge step or drug screen when the preceptor says yes, with weeks to spare.

Every preceptor file we assemble is built for NKU's review: credentials matched to your track, the Preceptor Responsibilities form signed, and the site contact ready for the affiliation agreement. Read how the service runs or send us your details to start.