The Preceptor Agreement Packet: TAMUCC's every-semester preceptor paperwork

Updated September 26, 2026 · Reviewed by the Corpus Christi Preceptor placement team

TAMUCC's FNP Student Clinical Guide calls it the Clinical Preceptor Agreement; most people call it the Preceptor Agreement Packet. It is a DocuSign document completed for every preceptor, every semester, even one who precepted you last term, and it carries the preceptor's CV and a license copy no more than 30 days old. Once signed, it goes into Canvas for your clinical instructor, and until then your precepted hours do not count.

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30 daysthe maximum age of the license copy your preceptor attaches to each packet

1-2business days before your preceptor receives the DocuSign request, which reaches administration first

Numbered steps. How the DocuSign routing runs: 1 You open the packet; 2 Administration handles it first; 3 Your preceptor completes and signs; 4 You upload the signed packet to Canvas; 5 Your clinical faculty clears you. — How the DocuSign routing runs: 1 You open the packet; 2 Administration handles it first; 3 Your preceptor completes and signs; 4 You upload the signed packet to Canvas; 5 Your clinical faculty clears you.

What the packet is for

The packet is the preceptor's own commitment, kept separate from the site's affiliation agreement and renewed each term. The agreement lets TAMUCC students train at a site; the packet puts one named preceptor on your course for one semester, with their credentials on file. TAMUCC's flowsheet requires both, for each site and each preceptor, before any precepted hours accrue.

No TAMUCC source publishes a fixed semester deadline for the packet. Your course syllabus and clinical faculty member set the working date, and in practice it has to be complete before your first clinical day, because hours logged earlier will not count. If you are unsure of the date for your course, ask your clinical faculty member at the start of term rather than guessing.

What goes into the packet

TAMUCC's guide names what the preceptor supplies and the Canvas step that finishes the job.

CV information, attached by the preceptor, so faculty can see their background and practice history.
An updated copy of the preceptor's license, dated within the past 30 days. A copy saved on the preceptor's computer from last year falls outside the rule.
Signatures through DocuSign, with the packet passing through TAMUCC administration before it reaches the preceptor.
Your upload to Canvas of the fully signed packet, where your clinical instructor verifies it.

Board certification and years of independent practice are TAMUCC qualifications rather than attachments the guide lists, but your clinical faculty member approves the preceptor against them, so keep proof close at hand. The full qualification list is in preceptor requirements.

How the DocuSign routing runs

You open the packetBegin the Clinical Preceptor Agreement in DocuSign for this preceptor and the course you are taking this term.
Administration handles it firstThe packet goes to TAMUCC's administration before it goes out, so the preceptor's signature request arrives one to two business days later.
Your preceptor completes and signsThe preceptor attaches CV information and a license copy from the last 30 days, then signs.
You upload the signed packet to CanvasPlace the finished document in your course's Canvas site for your clinical instructor to verify.
Your clinical faculty clears youWith the packet verified and the site agreement active, your assigned clinical faculty member can clear you to begin. See clinical faculty and clearance.

Warn your preceptor about the short delay in step two. A preceptor expecting the email the same day may assume it went astray, and a request that sits unopened costs you days of the term.

Every semester, every preceptor

TAMUCC requires a new packet each semester for each preceptor, and the guide spells out that this includes a repeat preceptor. Each of the four FNP clinical courses, from the early clinical work of NURS 5624 to the integrated practice of NURS 5746, has its own objectives, and each semester's packet needs its own recent license copy.

When a new Preceptor Agreement Packet is needed
Situation	New packet?
A preceptor new to you this semester	Yes
The same preceptor who signed for you last semester	Yes, a new one for this semester
Two preceptors sharing your hours this term	Yes, one for each preceptor
A backup preceptor stepping in mid-term	Yes, completed before hours with them count

Backup arrangements are covered in backup preceptors. Whoever precepts you, the hours count only after their packet is complete.

Where packets stall, and how to keep yours moving

The usual holdups

A license copy older than 30 days, or a copy of the wrong license. Ask for a fresh one each semester.
Missing CV information, especially from preceptors who have never worked with TAMUCC.
A DocuSign request the preceptor overlooks because nobody told them to expect it a day or two after you start.
A preceptor who falls short of TAMUCC's qualifications, discovered only when your clinical faculty member reviews the packet.
A signed packet that never reaches Canvas, leaving your clinical instructor nothing to verify.

Each one pushes back your first counted hour, and hours cannot roll over into the next semester, so a week lost here is a week you must make up inside the same term.

Signed is not finished. The packet counts once it is uploaded to Canvas and your clinical instructor has verified it.

Packets that go out complete the first time

Our placement desk treats the packet as part of the match, not an afterthought. By the time you open DocuSign, your placement advisor has gathered the preceptor's CV, a license copy dated inside TAMUCC's 30-day window and proof of board certification, and has walked the preceptor through what they will receive, from whom and when. That removes the back-and-forth that holds packets up.

The work continues each semester. When your next course starts, we collect a new license copy and confirm the preceptor is ready for the new packet, or line up a different preceptor with documents in hand if the course calls for another setting. If a preceptor has to leave mid-term, the replacement arrives with packet documents ready. TAMUCC's faculty verify and clear; we make sure what they receive is complete. See how it works, or send your details through the form below.

Questions TAMUCC students ask

Is the Preceptor Agreement Packet the same as the affiliation agreement?

No. The affiliation agreement is a contract between TAMUCC and the site, requested through the "Initiate Affiliation Agreement" form and valid until its expiration date. The packet is between TAMUCC and one preceptor for one semester. A rotation needs both, and hours count only after the site agreement is active and the packet is complete.

How long does the Preceptor Agreement Packet take to complete?

TAMUCC's administration handles the packet first, so your preceptor receives the signature request one to two business days after you start it. From there, timing depends on how quickly the preceptor gathers a current license copy and CV information and signs. Starting a week or two before your planned first day leaves room for small corrections.

Where do I upload the signed packet?

Upload the fully signed packet to your course's Canvas site, TAMUCC's learning management system, where your clinical instructor verifies it. Keep your own copy as well. The upload is the last step on your side; clearance to begin still comes from your assigned clinical faculty member once everything checks out.

Do DNP, Nurse Educator or Leadership students complete the same packet?

The packet process is published in the FNP Student Clinical Guide. The DNP relies on a Letter of Support from the practice organization and a community facilitator, and the Nurse Educator practicum, NURS 5459, pairs students with a preceptor, but TAMUCC publishes no packet steps for those tracks. Your course faculty or DNP chair can confirm which forms apply.

What should my preceptor know before the packet arrives?

Tell them it comes from TAMUCC by DocuSign a day or two after you start it, that it asks for CV information and a license copy from the last 30 days, and that it repeats every semester. Our page for preceptors explains the rest of the role, including the hours certificate TAMUCC issues at the end of term.

DocuSignAffiliation agreementsWhen a TAMUCC clinical site needs an affiliation agreement, how the Initiate Affiliation Agreement form works, the three-month wait and mid-term expirations.PreceptorsPreceptor requirementsTAMUCC's FNP preceptor rules: an active NP, MD or DO license, national board certification, two years of independent practice, and who is ruled out.ClearanceClinical faculty and clearanceHow TAMUCC assigns your clinical faculty member by location, what your weekday schedule must fit, and what must be done before clearance lets hours count.FNPThe TAMUCC placement processThe TAMUCC FNP clinical path in order: CastleBranch, Typhon, a Texas preceptor, the affiliation agreement, the packet, faculty clearance and end-of-term forms.PreceptorsPrecept a TAMUCC studentFor Texas NPs and physicians: what precepting a TAMUCC nursing student involves, who qualifies, the paperwork, and what TAMUCC offers preceptors in return.

Last checked 2026-09-26

We check these pages against TAMUCC's catalog, FNP clinical guides, MSN and DNP handbooks and college pages. Your course, your clinical faculty member and the handbook for your cohort have the final word.

TAMUCC makes the preceptor search yours. Let us run it for you in Texas.

Tell us your TAMUCC program, your next clinical course and where in Texas you can drive. We find preceptors who fit the course and gather what the affiliation agreement and the Preceptor Agreement Packet need, early enough for both to clear.

Preceptors matched to the course: pediatrics for NURS 5644, women's health for NURS 5645, broad primary care for NURS 5746
CV, license, board certification and the site's agreement status ready for TAMUCC's paperwork
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