Wisconsin health systems that run their own NP student process

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

Several of Wisconsin's largest health systems publish their own rules for nurse practitioner students, and almost all of them want the request to come from the school, backed by an affiliation agreement. Some are not signing new agreements at all. If you are a Concordia University Wisconsin student securing your own preceptor, check a system's process before you ask one of its clinicians to precept you.

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Numbered steps. Building a CUW plan around these rules: 1 Ask about agreements first; 2 Plan to the system's calendar; 3 Keep a second route open; 4 Treat your employer like any other system. — Building a CUW plan around these rules: 1 Ask about agreements first; 2 Plan to the system's calendar; 3 Keep a second route open; 4 Treat your employer like any other system.

The pattern: the school submits, the system decides

One rule repeats across the systems below. Wherever a system publishes an NP student process, it expects two things from the school itself: a signed affiliation agreement, and the placement request. Two of the largest, UW Health and the Froedtert and Medical College of Wisconsin pairing, say they are not taking on new affiliation agreements, and Aurora limits APRN rotations to its own employees at named partner schools.

That sits beside CUW's own model, in which you identify and secure the preceptor and graduate faculty approve the site. CUW's pages name no clinical partner systems for its NP programs. So a friendly yes from an NP inside one of these systems is only a first step: the request still travels through CUW's side, and the system's education office makes the call.

Before you invest time, ask the Graduate Clinical Coordinator two questions: does CUW hold a current agreement with this system, and who files the request? Each summary on this page comes from the system's own student page as captured in 2026. Several live pages block automated reading, so archived copies were used, and the live page always wins.

Six systems at a glance

The table condenses each system's published process. Timing is the system's own, not CUW's, and it often lands months before a term begins.

Published NP student processes, from each system's own pages (2026 captures)
System	Who submits	Timing	Agreement or eligibility
Froedtert ThedaCare Health with the Medical College of Wisconsin	One application through MCW's NP student process	Spring by Sept 8; summer and fall by Jan 15	Agreements with both Froedtert and MCW; MCW is not adding new programs
Aurora Health Care (Advocate Health)	School coordinator or clinical director, on MyClinicalExchange	Not stated in the capture	Current Aurora employees at its named core partner schools; Wisconsin RN license
Ascension Wisconsin	School coordinator or designee, through ESCPP	At least 8 weeks before the start date	New agreements can take 4 to 8 weeks or longer
Children's Wisconsin	A faculty member only	Spring by Nov 1; summer by April 1; fall by May 31; winter by July 1	Last-semester MSN or DNP students; affiliation and program agreements
UW Health	School placement coordinator, on myClinicalExchange	Fall by May 1; spring by Oct. 1; summer by March 1	Not accepting new affiliation agreements
Marshfield Clinic Health System	Application received by Marshfield	Four months before the start date	A contract with the school must come first

Froedtert ThedaCare and the Medical College of Wisconsin

Froedtert sends all NP and CNM student requests down one path, the Medical College of Wisconsin NP Student Process and Application. Every student experience needs both an affiliation agreement and a program memorandum, and MCW's page says the school's agreements must cover Froedtert Health and MCW alike. Froedtert South in Pleasant Prairie is handled separately.

MCW adds that, for now, it is not signing agreements with any further programs. It answers within 8 weeks of each deadline, and it takes summer and fall 2027 applications from September 1, 2026 through January 15, 2027. MCW warns that a student who sidesteps the application cannot go forward, so a direct ask to a Froedtert NP is no substitute for it. A Froedtert rotation is realistic only where CUW already holds both agreements, which the Graduate Clinical Coordinator can confirm.

Aurora and Ascension Wisconsin

At Aurora Health Care, Clinician Student Services handles NP, DNP, CNM and CRNA students. As captured in March 2026, its page limits rotation requests to people already employed by Aurora who study at one of its core academic partner schools. One name on that list reads simply "Concordia", with no campus given, and CUW publishes no such partnership, so treat it as unconfirmed for CUW and ask the Graduate Clinical Coordinator.

The rest of Aurora's process is plain. Requests come from the school's coordinator or clinical director through MyClinicalExchange, students cannot arrange dates with preceptors themselves, and a current Wisconsin RN license is required of all students, with proof requested from anyone at an out-of-state school.

Ascension Wisconsin has no NP-specific page; its published route covers nursing and allied health students together. A school coordinator or designee files each request in Ascension's Electronic Student Clinical Placement Process (ESCPP), no later than 8 weeks before the clinical begins. Ascension says a new affiliation agreement takes 4 to 8 weeks and sometimes more, and it wants your student details, a cleared background check and its mandatory training finished 4 weeks before day one. In southeastern Wisconsin, the SEWNA calendar governs nursing placement requests.

Children's Wisconsin, UW Health, Marshfield and Gundersen

Children's Wisconsin will hear a graduate request only when a faculty member makes it; students cannot ask on their own behalf. Placements run a single semester each, year-long preceptorships are declined, and the graduate request form is limited to students in their final MSN or DNP semester. The school keeps an affiliation agreement (renewed every three years) and a program agreement (renewed yearly), and a certification form is due 30 days before the start.

UW Health in Madison is currently not accepting new affiliation agreements. Requests arrive through myClinicalExchange from the school placement coordinator, and the page asks that neither schools nor students contact its staff directly. Priority goes to UW-Madison partners, then to UW Health employees in affiliated programs, with a limit of two rotations per student. Its preferred-program list, which it describes as not exhaustive, does not name CUW.

Marshfield Clinic Health System requires a contract with the student's school before any placement and wants the application four months before the start date. It also warns that primary care rotations may be hard to accommodate because of high request levels. Gundersen offers APRN placements in acute, primary and specialty care and says it works with the school on requirements, with no lead times published.

Building a CUW plan around these rules

Ask about agreements firstBefore you approach a clinician inside a large system, find out from the Graduate Clinical Coordinator whether CUW has a live agreement with that system and whose name goes on the request.
Plan to the system's calendarA system deadline can fall months before the 4-week proposal window on CUW's archived form. The clinical deadlines guide sets the two side by side.
Keep a second route openCUW's 2014-15 handbook cautioned that big systems hand out few placements and urged students to hold a "plan B" in reserve. Independent and community practices without a central student office can be that route.
Treat your employer like any other systemCUW's 2022 blog cautions that a job in a health system does not by itself open a clinical spot there, and CUW's archived rules keep you out of your own unit. See clinicals where you work.

Why CUW students choose us in system-heavy markets

Where a few large systems employ most of the primary care clinicians, a solo search slows down fast. We read each system's current student page before we suggest anyone inside it, steer your search toward practices that can sign with CUW directly, and flag contract needs on the first call. If the only preceptor you know works inside a closed system, we treat that name as a lead to confirm and keep searching in parallel.

We line your dates up against each system's window, keep a second site in play, and hand CUW's graduate faculty a complete proposal, with the preceptor's license, board certification and CV already gathered. For the southeastern Wisconsin picture, see Milwaukee NP preceptors, or tell us your track and city.

Questions CUW students ask

Can I ask a Froedtert or UW Health NP to precept me directly?

You can talk with them, but neither system lets that conversation replace its process. MCW turns away students who bypass its application, and UW Health asks both schools and students to stay out of direct contact with its staff. The school makes the request, so your first stop is the Graduate Clinical Coordinator.

Does Aurora Health Care take CUW nurse practitioner students?

Aurora's page does not say. It limits current APRN rotations to Aurora employees at its core academic partner schools, and one entry reads only "Concordia" without naming a campus. CUW publishes no partnership with Aurora. Ask the Graduate Clinical Coordinator before you count on an Aurora rotation, and keep another site in view.

How early should I start if my preceptor works for a Wisconsin health system?

Earlier than CUW's own paperwork suggests. Ascension wants school requests at least 8 weeks ahead, Marshfield wants applications four months ahead, and UW Health, Children's Wisconsin and MCW use fixed deadlines that fall months before a term starts. Check the system's live page and plan backward from its date.

Does working for a health system help me get a rotation there?

It can help, but it is never automatic; CUW's 2022 blog says as much, and CUW's archived rules keep you out of your own unit. Aurora's current limit covers employees at named partner schools, and UW Health ranks employees in affiliated programs second, after UW-Madison partners.

Are these health system rules current?

They reflect each system's published wording as captured in 2026. Froedtert, Aurora, UW Health, Marshfield and Gundersen block automated reading of their live pages, so archived 2026 copies were used. Rules and deadlines change, so read the live page yourself and check your plan with the Graduate Clinical Coordinator.

MilwaukeeMilwaukee NP preceptorsHow Concordia University Wisconsin NP students find preceptors in Milwaukee and southeast Wisconsin, and what the area's big health systems publish.ContractsClinical contractsHow clinical contracts work for Concordia University Wisconsin NP students: 8 to 12 weeks in CUW's archived handbook, and no patient care until one is signed.EmployerClinicals where you workDoing CUW NP clinicals with your own employer: the same employer is allowed, your own unit is not, and a health system job is no automatic placement there.RolesThe Graduate Clinical CoordinatorWho does what in Concordia University Wisconsin NP clinicals: the Graduate Clinical Coordinator, the older contract and education coordinators, and faculty.CalendarClinical deadlinesPlan CUW clinicals backward from the start date: the archived 4-week proposal rule, contracts of up to 12 weeks, health system cutoffs and 2026-27 term dates.State guideWisconsinCUW's home state: the disclosure answer, Mequon's campus sessions, Wisconsin's new APRN license, the preceptor license rule and each health system's own process.

Last checked 2026-09-26

We check these pages against CUW's own academic catalog, program pages and published nursing documents. Your course faculty and the Graduate Clinical Coordinator have the final word.

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