Liberty's Gate courses: what they collect and when they fall

What a Gate course is

In the 2026-27 catalog, each School of Nursing Gate course carries zero credits and the same one-line description about submitting practicum requirements. It is a checkpoint built into your degree plan, not a class with lectures. The Gate is where Liberty gathers what it needs before approving you for practicum, and it appears in Canvas alongside your other courses.

The prerequisite role is what makes Gates matter. The catalog lists NURS 731 before NURS 771, makes NURS 828 a prerequisite for NURS 840, and says NURS 527 must be passed “prior to beginning any practicum courses.” If the Gate isn't complete, the practicum course behind it can't open. The rest of the path, from team match to first day, is on the placement process page.

Gate courses by track

Two oddities are worth knowing. NURS 827 (Gate 4) exists in the catalog but not in the 2026-27 FNP plan, and NURS 828 sits in the PMHNP and post-master's DNP plans but not the FNP plan, even though the course list makes it a prerequisite for NURS 840. FNP students should ask which Gate covers their DNP practicums.

The combined RN-BSN-MSN works differently: NURS 492 is its gate course and must be finished before most 500- and 600-level NURS courses.

What the Gate collects: the current list

Liberty doesn't publish the Gate checklist itself; it lives inside the course. The catalog does list what practicum students must have in place, and those are the items a Gate gathers.

DNP, FNP and PMHNP students (2026-27 catalog)

• AHA BLS for Healthcare Providers with AED, American Heart Association only (why only AHA)
• Background check and drug screen
• The Immunization/Physical Exam Form
• The Essential Attributes requirement
• OSHA and HIPAA training, plus anything a specific practicum site adds

For MSN students, the catalog lists AHA CPR, immunizations (MMR, TB testing, varicella, Hepatitis B and influenza), HIPAA and bloodborne pathogens training, a criminal background check and a 10-panel drug screen before any practicum course. Sites may add their own requirements, and students cover the costs. The clearance page explains each item and when to get it.

The older MSN packet (2022-23 handbook)

The most detailed public list comes from the 2022-23 MSN Student Handbook, the newest public edition. It is dated and the current Gate may differ, but it shows the kind of paperwork a Gate collects. Most items went into CastleBranch.

• Current RN license and CPR card
• Release of Information Form and Statement of Essential Attributes Form
• Proof of immunizations: Hep B, MMR, varicella, tetanus, TB and influenza
• HIPAA Form and the Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan (OSHA) sign-off
• Hepatitis B Vaccine Declination Form where it applied, sent to the practicum coordinator
• Preceptor Verification and Agreement Forms, showing the preceptor's work email and phone
• Preceptor Curriculum Vitae, with license numbers, education and employment history

Those last two items are why the Gate can't wait for the search to finish. The preceptor forms and the affiliation agreement are covered on the site contract page.

When each Gate falls, and what that means for your search

On the NP tracks, the plan grids put Gate 1 a full semester before the first practicum: FNP students meet NURS 731 in semester 6 and NURS 771 in semester 7, and post-BSN PMHNP students meet Gate 1 in semester 5 with Practicum I in semester 6. Later Gates run beside the practicum courses. Liberty doesn't say what each later Gate collects; a fair reading is that each prepares the next stage, but confirm inside the course.

MSN students meet NURS 527 in the first semester, well ahead of NURS 671, NURS 674, NURS 677, NURS 680 or NURS 685. That early slot buys time only if you use it, because the affiliation agreement and preceptor contract must still be secured before the first practicum course.

Liberty publishes no deadline in days for Gate submissions. Treat the Gate's opening as the latest point to have a committed preceptor, not the earliest.

Where the paperwork goes: CastleBranch and InPlace

Two Liberty systems sit around the Gate. CastleBranch holds compliance records and background checks: the current catalog asks Fast Track post-MSN DNP applicants to “maintain compliance in CastleBranch,” and the 2022-23 MSN handbook routed preceptor agreements and CVs there too. The CastleBranch page covers accounts and uploads.

InPlace replaced Typhon during the 2022-23 year, according to that handbook, which described it handling placement, clinical evaluations, portfolios, a preceptor and contract database, and placement compliance, with students paying the program fee. Logs and evaluations live there once you start; the InPlace page explains them.

The same handbook said the background check and drug screen were good for one year. On a multi-year program, expect some records to need renewing between one Gate and the next.

Built around your Gate checklist

The Gate asks for things only you can supply, such as your immunization records and background check. Our part is the preceptor side. A placement advisor looks for preceptors and sites that fit your track before your Gate opens, then helps you collect the preceptor's CV, license details and site information in the shape the Gate asks for.

The practicum team and the Gate course stay the authority on what counts, and we work from the checklist you see in Canvas. If a preceptor's document comes back with a question, we help you get the answer from the preceptor quickly. The approval is Liberty's, and a Gate file built this way arrives with each item in place. If your Gate is close, read what is realistic on a short timeline, or send us your term.