On-campus requirements in JSU's online nursing programs
JSU describes its MSN as fully online, yet its DNP and MSN program pages add that some campus requirements may apply. The events JSU names are orientation, on-site simulation and the dissemination of scholarly projects, and only one carries a published month: the DNP Dissemination Day in July. Counts and dates for the rest are not public, so build travel room into your clinical schedule from the start.
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What "100% online" means at JSU
JSU's MSN overview calls the program "100% Online with required practicum," and the Nursing Education and Emergency Management concentration pages use the same idea. The BSN-DNP track pages and the Post-Master's DNP page describe distance delivery too. Coursework runs in Canvas, and your practicum or residency hours happen at a clinical site.
The same program pages carry a qualifier. In JSU's words, "some on campus requirements may be required. On campus events may include, but are not limited to, orientation to programs/tracks, on site simulated learning experiences, and dissemination of scholarly projects." The phrase "not limited to" matters: the list is a set of examples, not a closed schedule.
So "online" at JSU means online courses with the possibility of campus days, which is different from a program that never asks you to travel. STEP RN-BSN is presented as fully online, and the traditional BSN is a campus program with its own clinical rotations.
The campus events JSU names
Four items in JSU's documents point to time on campus or a possible campus trip. Only the DNP Dissemination Day has a published month.
| Event | Who it affects | What JSU publishes | Not published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Orientation and immersions | BSN-DNP and Post-Master's DNP | Zero-credit online orientation courses that, per the handbook, cover immersions and document tracking | How many immersions, how long, which dates |
| On-site simulation | NP tracks | Simulation centers at the South Complex Annex; NP hours combine simulation and direct patient care | Which courses meet on campus, and when |
| Dissemination Day | DNP students, both routes | July, on campus, with DNP students, project facility staff and JSU faculty | The exact day each year |
| Comprehensive exam | BSN-DNP NP tracks | Given in spring (April or May); required for graduation | Location; a 2017-18 handbook said on campus |
The MSN programs have no comprehensive exam, and the MSN online orientation is NU 5101, a zero-credit course with no published immersion.
Orientation and immersions
Each graduate plan of study opens with a zero-credit online orientation: NU 8002 BSN-DNP Online Orientation, NU 8001 Post-Master's DNP Online Orientation, or NU 5101 for the MSN. The 2024-25 Graduate Handbook says the DNP orientations cover immersions and document tracking, which is where CastleBranch enters your first semester.
JSU does not post how many immersions there are, how long they last or when they fall. Canvas courses open on the first day of each semester, so the orientation shell is where dates are most likely to appear first. Check it and your GEM inbox in the first week, and ask your program coordinator for any known campus dates at admission, before you commit to a work schedule or a preceptor's calendar.
One more item has a campus link: graduate students need a School of Nursing ID badge for clinical settings, and it comes from the Graduate Nursing Program Office. Whether distance students collect it in person or receive it another way is worth asking at admission.
Simulation at the South Complex
The School of Nursing is based at the JSU South Complex, 1701 Pelham Road South in Jacksonville, in the former Jacksonville Hospital building the university received in 2018. The South Complex Annex, once Brookstone Medical Center, houses the High Fidelity Simulation Center and the Low Fidelity simulation labs.
JSU's FNP and AGACNP pages describe the tracks' clinical hours as a mix of simulation and direct patient care. The clearest case is AGACNP Practicum I: the 2024-25 handbook listed its 70 hours as simulation practicum hours, the 2026-27 catalog lists 70 clinical practicum hours for ANP 7869, and both AGACNP plans of study show 110. Treat that as a conflict and confirm the current split with your course faculty.
Whether any simulation hours require a trip to Jacksonville is not published. How simulation and patient-care hours are counted is covered in what counts as clinical hours, and the acute care course hours are in AGACNP practicums.
Dissemination Day and the end of the DNP
The DNP timeline closes the project year in two steps. First, results are shared on site at your project facility in July. Then Dissemination Day brings DNP students, project facility staff and JSU faculty to campus to discuss every DNP project, also in July, with graduation listed for August.
That puts the campus trip inside the summer term of DNP 8799, the third residency course, so plan residency hours around it rather than discovering the conflict in June. Because facility staff are invited, tell your preceptor about it when the residency begins. The residency sequence is laid out in DNP residency courses.
Watch one date conflict. JSU's 2026-27 academic calendar lists summer commencement on July 30, 2027, while the DNP timeline says graduation happens in August. Confirm with the DNP Program Coordinator which applies to your cohort, especially if family will travel.
Planning clinicals around campus dates
The graduate handbook's attendance rule covers campus events as well as clinicals: you notify course faculty before any absence, and that includes practicum time with a preceptor, orientation and dissemination, and clinical simulations. A campus day that falls on a preceptor shift is therefore something both people hear about in advance.
- Collect the known datesNote the Dissemination Day month, the spring comprehensive exam window if you are in an NP track, and any immersion dates from orientation.
- Share them with your preceptor earlyGive your preceptor the dates when you agree a schedule, so their clinic calendar and your campus days do not collide.
- Leave buffer weeks in heavy termsSummer terms are short. Build campus travel into your hour plan instead of squeezing it into the final weeks.
- Plan the driveNP track students can live in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Mississippi or Tennessee. Jacksonville is in northeast Alabama, so a campus day may mean an overnight stay.
Where NP students may live is explained in the admission states guide.
How we plan placements around your campus days
Whether JSU helps with your placement or not, we find you a preceptor and site that meet JSU's rules and sit comfortably inside the rest of your JSU calendar. Campus days are part of that fit, so we ask for them at the start.
- We map your practicum or residency terms against the campus dates you know and the ones still to be announced.
- We look for preceptors whose clinic schedules leave room for a travel day without losing hours.
- For DNP residents, we look for a facility ready for the full project cycle, from proposal to the July results share on site.
- Your faculty get the preceptor and site information they review, and your CastleBranch items and malpractice approval are verified first.
See how it works for the full process, or use the form below to start.
Questions JSU students ask
Is JSU's online DNP program completely online?
Mostly. Courses run online in Canvas and clinical hours happen at a site, but JSU's DNP pages say some campus requirements may apply, naming orientation, on-site simulation and the dissemination of scholarly projects as examples. The DNP Dissemination Day in July is the one campus event with a published month.
How many times do JSU online nursing students have to visit campus?
JSU does not publish a number. The graduate handbook says the DNP orientation courses cover immersions, but the count, length and dates are not public. Ask your program coordinator at admission and watch your orientation course in Canvas from the first day of the semester.
Where is the JSU School of Nursing located?
The School of Nursing is at the JSU South Complex, 1701 Pelham Road South, Jacksonville, Alabama, in the former Jacksonville Hospital building. The simulation centers are in the South Complex Annex. JSU's main campus address is 700 Pelham Road North.
Is the JSU nursing comprehensive exam taken on campus?
The current graduate handbook says the BSN-DNP comprehensive exam is offered in spring, April or May, and is required to graduate, but it does not state a location. The 2017-18 handbook said it was given on campus. Ask your NP track faculty how and where it is delivered for your cohort.
Does the MSN Nursing Education practicum happen on the JSU campus?
JSU describes the teaching practicum in NU 5982 as planned around the student's needs, in a location and setting the student finds workable, rather than on campus. The MSN pages still mention possible campus requirements, so confirm any orientation or event dates with the MSN Program Coordinator.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-27
We check these pages against JSU's 2026-27 catalog, nursing handbooks, program pages and licensure disclosures. Your course faculty and your plan of study have the final word.
Whether JSU helps or you start alone, we find the preceptor.
Tell us your JSU program, your next practicum or residency and the town you train near. We find preceptors and sites that fit the course and gather what JSU's faculty need to clear them, early enough for the semester.
- Preceptors matched to the course: family practice across the lifespan, adult-gerontology acute care, DNP residencies
- License, certification and site details ready for JSU's clearance, with your CastleBranch and malpractice items in order
- Across Alabama and in Georgia, Florida, Mississippi and Tennessee
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