West Virginia: two agencies, an NC-SARA question and your license
West Virginia splits the job. Its Board of Registered Nurses deals with pre-licensure programs, and out-of-state graduate programs take their clinical questions to the state's Higher Education Policy Commission instead. As for Florida International University (FIU), its licensure page makes no finding on West Virginia's requirements, so plan on asking more than one office before you enroll.
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Tell us your FIU program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your FIU course.
Start with FIU's own statements
That NC-SARA row matters more in West Virginia than almost anywhere, as the next section explains. The licensure row is unpacked on our licensure disclosure page. None of the rows says yes or no to a West Virginia clinical site; that call belongs to FIU.
| FIU source | West Virginia reading |
|---|---|
| Licensure page | Florida is met; West Virginia is not determined. The list covers the BSN, MSN and DNP Nurse Anesthesia only. |
| MSN and DNP admission | A Florida RN license is required first; FIU does not say whether a West Virginia multistate license satisfies the MSN. |
| Online primary care tracks | You identify the site, possibly outside South Florida; FIU does not say whether that includes another state. |
| NC-SARA | FIU participates through the Southern Regional Education Board. |
The WVHEPC rule for out-of-state graduate clinicals
West Virginia's RN board handles only pre-licensure programs from other states, through an approval application of its own. For master's and doctoral programs, the Board sends questions two ways: to the Higher Education Policy Commission (WVHEPC), and to whichever body accredits the program nationally.
WVHEPC's nursing education office publishes a clinical rotation guide for schools like FIU. Approval becomes necessary in two cases: a school without NC-SARA membership, or a single West Virginia site hosting at least ten of that school's students. FIU's NC-SARA membership answers the first trigger; ask FIU and WVHEPC together how the second plays out for you.
The RN license West Virginia expects during clinicals
The guide covers your license too. Make West Virginia your primary residence and it expects a West Virginia RN license; keep your residence in another state and it expects a multistate RN license. The state has taken part in the compact since 2018.
FIU's admission bar is separate: MSN and DNP applicants bring a current Florida RN license, FIU says nothing on West Virginia multistate licenses, and the RN to BSN takes Florida or multistate. Read our Florida RN license page, then ask FIU which licenses you should hold side by side.
Reduced practice and the state's health systems
AANP files West Virginia under reduced practice. There, an NP's first three years of prescribing happen under a collaborative agreement with a physician. Schedule II narcotic scripts max out at three days, while Florida lets APRNs write for seven (psychiatric exceptions aside).
| Type | Names |
|---|---|
| Population centers (2025 census estimates) | Charleston (about 200,000); the West Virginia part of Huntington-Ashland (about 185,000); the West Virginia part of Hagerstown-Martinsburg (about 158,000); Morgantown (about 142,000) |
| Large health systems | WVU Medicine; Vandalia Health, which includes CAMC, Mon Health and Davis Health; Marshall Health Network |
| State health agency | West Virginia Department of Health, Bureau for Public Health |
Read each system's student requirements on its own site before it goes on FIU's Preceptor Request Form.
What to confirm before enrolling or moving
- Ask FIU about West Virginia sitesThe Office of Clinical Education decides whether an online-track student may train outside Florida. Our page on clinicals outside South Florida covers that wider question.
- Ask WVHEPC how its guide appliesShare FIU's NC-SARA status and ask whether your placement needs any approval.
- Ask the WV RN Board about licensureFIU's disclosure asks future out-of-state licensees to check with that board first.
- Report a movePolicy 1370.001 updates your learner location only when you formally report the change.
Why FIU students in West Virginia choose us
West Virginia's rules sit across two agencies, and our search keeps both in view. You get in-person preceptors near Charleston, Morgantown or wherever you live, matched to your FIU course, with license status confirmed and the Preceptor Request Form details gathered in one place. We mark which sites already hold an FIU contract, and when a preceptor drops out, a new name is on its way to you. FIU's clinical department and your faculty sign off on each choice, and they receive a tidy, on-time file from you. Send us your details.
Questions FIU students ask
Does FIU need approval to send me to a West Virginia clinical site?
Under the state's guide, WVHEPC approval comes into play for a school outside NC-SARA, or for one sending at least ten students to a single site. FIU is an NC-SARA participant. FIU must still agree to a site outside Florida, so check with the Office of Clinical Education and WVHEPC before you commit.
Which RN license do I need to train in West Virginia?
It depends on your home. Living in West Virginia? The state's guide wants a West Virginia RN license. Living elsewhere? A multistate RN license. FIU adds its own admission rule for the MSN and DNP, a current Florida RN license, so you may have two requirements to meet.
Does the West Virginia Board of Registered Nurses oversee FIU's RN to BSN?
No. The Board regulates pre-licensure programs only, and the state's nursing education office says post-licensure programs fall outside it. FIU's RN to BSN students look for a preceptor, and FIU's BSN handbook says it is best to find one within your own facility.
Is West Virginia part of the APRN Compact?
No. West Virginia has not enacted the APRN Compact, which becomes operational only once seven states enact it. An NP license for West Virginia is its own application after graduation, and FIU's licensure page advises contacting the state's board before you start a program.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-26
We check these pages against FIU's own graduate handbook, preceptor manual, plans of study, catalog and licensure pages. Your plan of study, your course faculty, your clinical faculty and FIU's Office of Clinical Education have the final word.
FIU asks you to identify your clinical site. We make that the easy part.
Tell us your FIU track, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors whose patients fit the course, check early whether the site already holds an FIU contract, and prepare everything the Preceptor Request Form asks for.
- Preceptors matched to the course: adult and older-adult primary care for
NGR 6201L, pediatric primary care forNGR 6301L, an organizational mentor forNGR 7940C - Preceptor, facility, license and schedule details ready for the Preceptor Request Form, weeks ahead of the contract clock
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