Clinical sites that charge a fee, and UNCW's rule for them

Updated September 24, 2026 · Reviewed by the UNCW Preceptor placement team

Some clinical sites and preceptors ask for an honorarium before they host a student. UNCW's DNP clinical handbook bars students from paying a site directly: the Graduate Clinical Placement Team processes any such fee, and you pay it through your UNCW student account. Packets for these sites also have to go in during the Placement Packet Application Window posted in Canvas.

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What the rule means in practice: Check the list of sites that require payment in the Overview; Tell the Clinical Placement Team as soon as a site mentions ; Submit your placement packet inside the Placement Packet App; Hand no money, card number or check to the site, the precept.

UNCW's rule in its own words

The Fall 2025 DNP Immersion and Clinical Overview handbook has a section headed "Clinical Site Preceptor Honorarium Payments." It opens: "Some clinical rotation sites and preceptors require an honorarium payment for student placement. Sites that have been identified as requiring payment can be found in the Overview Canvas course."

The core of the rule follows: "Students are prohibited from directly paying sites for any associated fees or services. All payments must be processed through the SON Graduate Clinical Placement Team and the university's designated channels to ensure institutional policy compliance and maintain transparency. The student will pay any fees via their UNCW student account."

So there are three parts. The fee is real and yours to cover. The university, through the Clinical Placement Team, is the only party that deals with the site about it. And the charge reaches you as a line on your UNCW student account, never as an invoice from the clinic.

What the rule means in practice

If a site you are considering charges a fee

Check the list of sites that require payment in the Overview Canvas course; it is not published outside Canvas
Tell the Clinical Placement Team as soon as a site mentions an honorarium, even if it is missing from the Canvas list
Submit your placement packet inside the Placement Packet Application Window, not just before the general deadline
Hand no money, card number or check to the site, the preceptor or anyone acting for them
Watch your UNCW student account for the charge once the team has processed it

If a site asks you to pay it directly, point it to UNCW's Clinical Placement Team and let the university handle the arrangement. A direct payment breaks UNCW's rule even when the site suggests it as the simpler route.

Why the application window matters more for paid sites

Most placements run on UNCW's general lead time, which the handbook gives as at least 8 weeks before the semester in its text and 90 days before the course in its process chart; the 8-week deadline page covers that conflict. Paid sites follow a stricter timetable.

The handbook says students using a site that requires payment "MUST" complete their preceptor Placement Packet form "during the Placement Packet Application Window outlined in Canvas due to processing and site payment timelines." The window's dates appear only in Canvas. A student who finds a paid site late in the cycle may learn the window has already closed for that semester, so identify any fee early and file inside the window. Ask the Clinical Placement Team for the current window as soon as a paid site reaches your shortlist.

North Carolina sites with their own fee rules

Fees and who may pay them vary by site, and several North Carolina health systems publish their own rules. None of these amounts appear here; the point is how each rule fits with UNCW's.

Atrium Health's Center for Advanced Practice, the central liaison for advanced practice students across its locations, states that "the student cannot pay the preceptor fee"; if the school does not pay it, the student cannot rotate there. UNCW appears on Atrium's clinical education affiliation agreement list, and Atrium currently has a moratorium on new agreements.

Goshen Medical Center, a community health center network, lists UNCW among its affiliated schools, places its agreement with Goshen itself rather than with the precepting provider or site, and charges a monthly placement payment. Under UNCW's rule, a fee like Goshen's goes through the Clinical Placement Team and your student account.

UNC Hospitals' APP Center notes that an administrative fee may apply to non-employees. Other systems say nothing publicly about fees, which is a reason to ask early rather than assume.

Questions to settle before you commit

Is the site on the Canvas list of sites that require payment?
Does the fee apply per semester, per month or per rotation?
Does the site need its own affiliation agreement with UNCW first, and does one already exist?
Who at the site handles billing, so the Clinical Placement Team has the right contact?
Does the timing fit inside this term's Placement Packet Application Window?

Write the answers down as the site gives them; details about money are easy to misremember weeks later, and the team will need them exactly.

Bring the answers to the Clinical Placement Team with your packet, in writing if the site gave them to you that way. Clear facts up front let the team process the fee within its timeline and keep your start date on track. The affiliation agreements guide explains the contract side.

How we handle sites with fees

Our work is the search, the matching and the paperwork. When we find a site and preceptor that fit your UNCW course, we tell you up front whether the site has mentioned any placement fee, so you can raise it with the Clinical Placement Team inside the application window instead of discovering it after the window closes.

You receive the preceptor and agency details UNCW asks for, the billing contact where a fee applies, and a clear note on timing. Any site fee then follows UNCW's own route through your student account. Our service fee is separate from any site honorarium, and the cost page explains what shapes a quote. To start, tell us your track and course through the contact form.

Questions UNCW students ask

Can I pay my preceptor directly if the site says it is easier?

No. UNCW's handbook states that students are prohibited from directly paying sites for any associated fees or services. Every payment runs through the SON Graduate Clinical Placement Team and the university's designated channels, and you pay your share through your UNCW student account.

Where do I find out which sites charge UNCW students?

In the Overview Canvas course. UNCW's handbook says sites identified as requiring payment are listed there, and the list is not public. If a site outside that list mentions an honorarium, tell the Clinical Placement Team before you submit your packet.

Does UNCW pay its preceptors?

The Preceptor's Corner says the School of Nursing does not provide monetary payment to preceptors and lists other benefits instead, such as precepting hours NP preceptors can apply toward the NC Board of Nursing's continuing education requirement. The honorarium rule on this page covers fees that particular sites set for placement.

Will a site fee show up on my UNCW bill?

Yes. The handbook says the student will pay any fees via their UNCW student account after the Clinical Placement Team processes them. Your account also carries a separate liability insurance charge each clinical semester, which applies to every practicum course whatever the site.

What if a paid site is the only one that fits my course?

It can still work. Confirm the site with the Clinical Placement Team, file your packet inside the Placement Packet Application Window and let the team process the fee. If the timing or cost does not suit you, ask the team about other options before the window closes.

GCCGraduate Clinical CoordinatorWho does what in UNCW's clinical process: the Graduate Clinical Coordinator, the Clinical Placement Team, course faculty, program leads and advisors.DeadlinesThe 8-week submission deadlineUNCW's 8-week clinical submission rule, the 90-day line on its process chart, 2026 and spring 2027 dates, agreement lead times and what a late packet costs.AgreementsAffiliation agreementsHow UNCW affiliation agreements work: up to 6 weeks or more, who signs, DocuSign, existing vs new sites, and North Carolina systems with their own agreements.Site listsClinical Placement Team site listsHow UNCW's Clinical Placement Team shares site lists and offers sites, why an offered site must be accepted, and how to plan so your own site comes first.QuotesCostWhat goes into a quote for a UNCW preceptor placement: your track and course, the hours, the specialty, your region of North Carolina, timing and practica.

Last checked 2026-09-24

We check these pages against UNCW's catalog, handbooks and School of Nursing pages. Your course, your cohort's handbook and UNCW's Graduate Clinical Coordinator have the final word.

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