How Our ACE Practicum Placement Works
We source the three candidates an American College of Education nursing placement plan needs: a qualified preceptor or mentor, a workable site, and a project concept. Current ACE application material asks applicants to acknowledge access to a local practicum setting, and ACE retains the review decision. We are an independent placement service, separate from ACE, and we handle the candidate search. This is an indirect-care education or administration experience, not nurse-practitioner clinical rotations or direct patient care.
What exactly do you place for an ACE practicum?
We source a preceptor or mentor, site, and project candidate for the student's placement plan. Both MSN pathways publish 200 total practice hours through separate 50-hour and 150-hour components; NUR5094 and NUR5194 are 150-hour capstones, not 200-hour courses.
This is an education or administration field experience. A Nurse Educator practicum takes place in a teaching setting such as a school of nursing, a staff-development or clinical-education department, or a similar learning environment. A Nurse Administrator practicum takes place in a leadership or management setting. Neither involves nurse-practitioner clinical rotations or hands-on direct patient care, because ACE does not offer an NP program.
How does the placement process work, step by step?
We move from your program details to a candidate plan that is ready for school and host review. Here is the path most students follow with us:
- 1. Share your track and pathway. Tell us whether you are in MSN Nurse Educator or Nurse Administrator, RN-to-MSN or BSN-to-MSN, your location, and your timeline.
- 2. We source a preceptor or mentor candidate. We identify a professional whose role and credentials appear to fit the track.
- 3. We identify a candidate site. We look for a physical location suited to an education or administration experience.
- 4. We help scope a project. We organize a project concept around the 150-hour MSN capstone and current course objectives.
- 5. You submit the proposal. ACE and the organization retain all approval decisions, and no hours begin before written confirmation.
Who is the preceptor or mentor and what makes them qualified?
Your preceptor or mentor is an experienced professional who fits the role your track requires. For a Nurse Educator practicum, that typically means someone in a teaching or education role. For a Nurse Administrator practicum, that typically means someone in a leadership or management role.
We screen a candidate against the credential and experience expectations available for the program before the student takes the proposal to ACE for review. We do not place nurse-practitioner clinical preceptors, because ACE has no NP or direct-patient-care program.
What makes a site worth proposing?
A candidate site is a location where an education or administration experience can realistically happen. For Nurse Educator students that is often a school of nursing, academic program, or staff-education department. For Nurse Administrator students that is often a healthcare organization's leadership, operations, or management setting.
We assess whether the site appears workable for the track and project, then the student carries the candidate through ACE's review. Final approval always rests with ACE and the organization.
What does the project involve?
The project is the focused body of work completed during the 150-hour MSN capstone. In a Nurse Educator capstone it may center on curriculum, instruction, assessment, or educational program work. In a Nurse Administrator capstone it may center on leadership, operations, quality, or program-management work.
We help you define a project that is meaningful, achievable within the hour requirement, and appropriate for your setting, so you are not starting from a blank page.
What does it cost and when do I pay?
Current pricing is maintained on the cost page, and you pay when matched. There is no charge until we have identified a candidate preceptor or mentor, site, and project for your review.
We are independent of American College of Education. ACE handles your enrollment, curriculum, and final practicum review. We handle the sourcing work that produces a candidate plan for that review.
Good to know
Is this an NP or clinical practicum?
No. American College of Education does not offer a nurse-practitioner program, so this is not an NP practicum, a clinical rotation, or a direct-patient-care experience. It is an education or administration field experience for the MSN Nurse Educator or MSN Nurse Administrator track.
Are you part of American College of Education?
We work independently of ACE. ACE manages your enrollment, coursework, and final practicum approval. We source the preceptor or mentor, the site, and the project.
Which ACE programs do you place for?
We support MSN Nurse Educator and Nurse Administrator placement searches. Both pathways publish 200 total practice hours through separate 50-hour and 150-hour components, while the selected MSN capstone itself remains 150 hours.
How long does placement take?
Timelines vary by your track, location, and start date. Once you share your program details, we begin sourcing and present a candidate preceptor or mentor, site, and project package for review before payment is due.
When do I pay?
You pay only when you are matched. Current pricing is maintained on the cost page, and nothing is due until a candidate preceptor or mentor, site, and project are presented for your review. ACE retains its own decision.
Plan your practicum, protect your weekends
Tell us your ACE pathway, your city, and your practicum timeline. We will come back with a placement plan and a realistic path to a candidate preceptor, site, and project for ACE review.