North Dakota nurses and Kent State's online programs
Kent State's online nursing programs are closed to North Dakota residents for now, since the state appears on none of the seven program lists. Kent State's licensure table still rates each licensure program MEETS for North Dakota, and the state's board asks distance programs for recognition plus a fresh filing every semester before students train there.
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Kent State's status for North Dakota
The approved-states page leaves North Dakota off every list, the 30-jurisdiction RN-to-BSN included. Its neighbors fare better: South Dakota appears on three lists (Nurse Educator, NAHSL, RN-to-BSN) and Minnesota on the WHNP list. On Kent State's separate licensure page, every North Dakota rating reads MEETS.
| Program | Online enrollment from ND | Licensure disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| PMHNP and WHNP, MSN and certificates | Not listed | MEETS |
| AGCNS, MSN and certificate | Not listed | MEETS |
| FNP, AGPCNP, AGACNP | Absent from the page; ask Kent State | MEETS |
| Nurse Educator, NAHSL | Not listed | No license, not rated |
| Post-MSN DNP | Not listed | Not rated |
| RN-to-BSN | Not listed | Not rated |
Because the program pages still describe out-of-state APRN licensure as an open question, check the MEETS column with the Office of Student Services. The whole table, state by state, is on our licensure disclosures page.
How NDBON recognizes distance programs
North Dakota's Board of Nursing is thorough with programs based elsewhere. It recognizes distance programs before their students train in North Dakota facilities, and its definition of a covered program includes those leading to APRN licensure, which puts nurse practitioner tracks in scope. Bachelor's completion programs for working RNs are not part of its description. The request goes in two months ahead, 60 days before students arrive, along with a yearly fee.
Recognition then renews itself in practice every term. Each semester, before students begin, the program tells the board who is coming and under which license, where and in which courses they will train, who will precept and teach them, with resumes and licenses, which agreements cover the sites, and whether every facility has confirmed room for them. The board also wants evidence of NC-SARA membership or state higher-education authorization; Kent State joined SARA in 2015.
A statute backs the process: North Dakota law exempts students of a recognized out-of-state program from its licensing requirements once the board is notified in writing, and only where clinical sites are available.
Practice climate and where NP students look
AANP places North Dakota among full practice states, so its nurse practitioners need no physician agreement. Care runs through a few large systems. Essentia Health covers North Dakota, Minnesota and Wisconsin; Sanford Health runs big medical centers in both Fargo and Bismarck; Bismarck also has CHI St. Alexius Health, part of CommonSpirit; Altru Health System serves Grand Forks, and Trinity Health serves Minot.
The metros are small. Fargo counts about 202,000 North Dakota residents and Bismarck about 140,000, with Minot and Grand Forks near 75,000 each. A search in a smaller market covers fewer practices, so an early start matters more, and each agency decides for itself about hosting.
Two compacts, one still waiting
Multistate RN licensing arrived in North Dakota with the Nurse Licensure Compact on January 19, 2018. In March 2021 the state also enacted the APRN Compact, and five states have now done so: North Dakota, Delaware, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming. Activation takes seven enactments, so a North Dakota APRN license is still single-state.
Kent State will want an unrestricted RN license good in the state of your practicum; our RN license for practicum page explains when to show it. Thinking about North Dakota mid-program? Kent State wants to hear about it first, through the Office of Student Services, before the move happens; that applies across the RN-to-BSN, MSN and DNP. Clinicals outside Ohio shows how SARA and state boards split the work.
Preceptor files that are ready early
Kent State students work with our placement desk because we make the preceptor side of a practicum complete before anyone asks. When Kent State clears your practicum, we find a qualified preceptor near you, collect the resume and license copy your approvers will want, describe the site, and check both the agency's onboarding list and its agreement status with the College of Nursing. That is the same material North Dakota expects recognized programs to file every semester, so nothing waits on the preceptor. Start with the form below.
Questions Kent State students ask
Which Kent State online nursing programs accept North Dakota residents?
None of the programs on Kent State's approved-states page, RN-to-BSN included. The mostly online FNP, AGPCNP and AGACNP are missing from that page, and Kent State has not published whether they take North Dakota residents. Ask the Office of Student Services, and check the page again later, since it carries no revision date.
Does the APRN Compact let a North Dakota NP practice in other states?
Not yet. North Dakota enacted it in 2021, but it switches on only when seven states have enacted it, and the count stands at five. Until then a North Dakota APRN license covers North Dakota alone, while your RN license already carries multistate privileges under the Nurse Licensure Compact.
Does NDBON's recognition process cover Kent State's RN-to-BSN?
The board frames recognition around programs that lead to LPN, RN or APRN licensure, and it leaves bachelor's completion programs for licensed RNs out of that description. The first hurdle is Kent State's, though: North Dakota is missing from the RN-to-BSN list, so enrolling from the state is not open today.
Is Minnesota or South Dakota an option if I live in North Dakota?
Kent State's online practicum happens at home, under the license for the state you live in, so a neighbor's listing does not carry over to a North Dakota resident. If you are moving, South Dakota is open for three programs and Minnesota for the WHNP; the South Dakota guide has details.
Related pages
Last checked 2026-09-24
We check these pages against Kent State's own catalog, handbooks and program pages. Your MSN or DNP handbook, your syllabus, your practicum faculty and your concentration coordinator have the final word.
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