Kent State from South Dakota: educator, leadership and RN-to-BSN tracks
Three Kent State online nursing programs take students from South Dakota: the two master's tracks built for educators and nurse leaders, Nurse Educator and NAHSL (certificates included), and the RN-to-BSN. No NP or CNS program lists the state, although Kent State's licensure table rates them MEETS there. South Dakota's board leaves placement arrangements to programs and agencies.
Get your placement plan
Tell us your Kent State program and where you live. A placement advisor replies with the preceptor and site options that fit your Kent State course.
Kent State programs open to South Dakota
South Dakota sits on 3 of Kent State's 7 online lists: it is one of 21 states for the Nurse Educator program, one of 20 for NAHSL, and one of 30 jurisdictions for the RN-to-BSN. Its northern neighbor, North Dakota, appears on none.
| Kent State program | Online enrollment from SD | Licensure disclosure |
|---|---|---|
| Nurse Educator, MSN and certificate | Approved | Not rated (optional credential) |
| NAHSL, MSN and certificate | Approved | Not rated (optional credential) |
| RN-to-BSN | Approved | Not rated |
| PMHNP and WHNP, MSN and certificates | Not listed | MEETS |
| AGCNS, MSN and certificate | Not listed | MEETS |
| FNP, AGPCNP, AGACNP | Not on the page | MEETS |
| DNP (post-MSN) | Not listed | Not rated |
Neither the educator nor the leadership credential is required for practice anywhere, by the catalog's own account, which explains their absence from the licensure table. On the NP and CNS rows, MEETS is not an admission ticket, and Kent State's program pages still hedge on APRN licensure beyond Ohio.
Planning an educator or leadership practicum here
Nurse Educator students start in their clinical specialty with NURS 67092, then shift to teaching in NURS 60592, precepted by an experienced educator in academic or staff-development work. Faculty planning for it begins in mid-February of the prior semester. The program page counts 300 hours, half per course, while a rotation page lists 180; your syllabus settles it.
NAHSL students move from NURS 64292 to the NURS 64302 seminar paired with NURS 64392, learning from administrators, managers and executives near home. Kent State pictures the preceptor as a leader with a master's degree who sits a level or two above you, and it nudges students to look past their own unit or employer.
Three large systems serve South Dakota: Avera Health, Monument Health and Sanford Health. Sioux Falls counts about 305,000 South Dakotans and Rapid City about 157,000. Their education and nursing administration offices are typical places to explore, and each decides whether to host. See our Nurse Educator and NAHSL pages.
How South Dakota's board handles programs from other states
South Dakota takes a light-touch approach. Its Board of Nursing leaves out-of-state programs outside its approval process, and its 2020 guidance for them says the arrangement to place a student in a South Dakota direct-care setting belongs to the program and the local preceptor or agency. The board's request is faculty coverage: someone on the program's faculty licensed in South Dakota, or practicing there by privilege, at a level matching the students, RN for RN students and APRN for APRN students. ARSD 20:48:07:49, the distance-education rule, repeats that faculty standard.
Its preceptor standard for in-state programs, ARSD 20:48:07:34, wants each preceptor licensed at the student's goal level or higher, and APRN preceptors whose role, focus or specialty resembles the student's. For Kent State students, Kent State's own criteria govern, and hours count only where the College of Nursing holds an affiliation agreement.
Licensing, practice and the APRN Compact
South Dakota's compact membership began January 19, 2018, and multistate RN licenses from Ohio or any other member state work there. On February 5, 2024, South Dakota enacted the APRN Compact, becoming one of five enacting states; seven are needed before it runs. In AANP's terms, NPs reach full practice once they have 1,040 hours behind them in a written collaboration, whether with a physician, a certified nurse midwife or a certified NP. APRN licensure itself expects 500 or more graduate clinical hours tied to the student's role and population, plus graduate pathophysiology, health assessment and pharmacology.
When Kent State wants proof of your license, and why its catalog and handbook disagree on the date, is explained on our RN license for practicum page.
Why South Dakota educators and leaders choose us
An educator or leadership practicum calls for a preceptor unlike a clinical one, and our placement desk knows Kent State's standard for each. We look for a certified nurse educator, staff-development specialist or master's-prepared manager who works in person near you, from Sioux Falls to Rapid City, and put together a complete preceptor profile for the faculty member and coordinator who approve it. Our desk checks early whether the site already has a College of Nursing agreement and keeps working with you if a preceptor steps back. RN-to-BSN students get the same attention for NURS 43001. Start with the form below.
Questions Kent State students ask
Can I become a nurse practitioner through Kent State while living in South Dakota?
Not through Kent State's online programs as listed today. The PMHNP and WHNP lists skip South Dakota, and the mostly online FNP, AGPCNP and AGACNP are missing from the approved-states page. The licensure table rates the NP concentrations MEETS there, so ask the Office of Student Services whether anything has changed.
Does South Dakota's board need to approve Kent State before my practicum?
No. Out-of-state programs sit outside the board's approval process, and it treats placements as arrangements between the program and the local preceptor or agency. It does expect one faculty member on the program side who is licensed in South Dakota or practices there by privilege. Kent State's approvals and affiliation agreements still apply.
Is Kent State's RN-to-BSN available to South Dakota nurses?
Yes, South Dakota is one of the 30 RN-to-BSN jurisdictions. The degree is fully online, and its hands-on pieces are the Health Promotion course, NURS 43001, and the NURS 47099 capstone project. You need a license valid where you do that work, so a South Dakota or multistate RN license. See the RN-to-BSN page.
What kind of leader should precept my NAHSL practicum in South Dakota?
Someone with a master's degree, preferably an MSN, working a level or two above your current job. Kent State's preceptor criteria include healthcare administrators with active licensure or certification, at least one year of practice, and their employer's approval. The practicum also includes a project for the site.
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.
Kent State says the preceptor search is yours. We make it the fastest part of your practicum.
Tell us your Kent State concentration, where you live and which semester your next practicum starts. We find preceptors who fit the course and prepare everything your practicum faculty and coordinator review before they approve.
- Preceptors matched to the course: primary care for
NURS 61292, acute care forNURS 61092, psychiatric care forNURS 61592, women's health forNURS 66192 - Credentials, license and site details ready for your practicum faculty and coordinator
- In your own community, in Ohio or wherever you live and hold your RN license
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