Southern Utah University

Course Syllabus

Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2025

Foundations in Leadership (Online)

ORGL 3510-SW1

Course: ORGL 3510-SW1
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2025
Department: INDS
CRN: 33689

Course Description

This course focuses on the variety of applied practices and habits by which individuals make, and remake, themselves and others into inspired leaders. Throughout the term we will focus on developing leadership skills, establishing climates conducive to leadership, managing conflict, and other important practices master leaders exemplify. (As Needed) [Graded (Standard Letter)] Prerequisite(s): ENGL 2010 - Prerequisite Min Grade: C- Registration Restriction(s): Bachelor of General Studies majors only.

Required Texts

Peter G. Northouse, Introduction to Leadership: Concepts and Practice, 6th ed. (2025) SAGE Publications

All other materials will be provided on Canvas. 

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will be able to:


1. Identify essential styles, theories and approaches to leadership
2. Demonstrate awareness of their own leadership philosophies, strengths and plans for improvement.
3. Use innovative thinking to solve problems, make decisions and approach tasks related to organizational contexts
4. Build awareness of diversity in the workplace as it relates to teamwork, communication, problem solving, decision making and organizational leadership

Course Requirements

Course Assessments Course Outcomes
E-portfolio | #2
Application Assignments | #1, #3
Discussion Boards | #3, #4
Group Assignment | #1, #2, #3
Final Project | #3

Course Outline

E-portfolio: Throughout the semester, students will work to create an e-portfolio showcasing their professional leadership accomplishments, leadership style, mission, and vision. In addition to crafting unique content for the e-portfolio, they will also upload a portion of their work from the term to the e-portfolio. This assignment is worth 10% of your grade

Weekly Application: On a weekly basis students will apply textbook readings on the practice of leadership to real world situations. Sample weekly applications may include commenting on relevant modern-day case studies, responding to prompts, personal journaling, creating visual responses to prompts, etc. Each week's modules will be locked until a new week starts. There are six weekly application assignments. Each is worth 5% of your grade, for a total of 30%. 

Discussion Sections: On a weekly basis throughout the term, students will engage in discussion sections regarding our weekly leadership readings. Successful entries will be approximately 300 words for first responses (to be followed up with responses to others’) and will reference readings and personal experience. There are a total of five discussion sections throughout the course. Each is worth 5% of your grade, for a total of 25%

Group Assignment: Once during the semester, you will be asked to work in a group to apply principles from a specified chapter that we read from our Northouse textbook. Because leadership is rarely a solitary endeavor, you will be asked to put what you have learned over the term into working together on a small project. The group assignment is worth 10% of your grade

Final Project: For their final project, students will analyze a sitcom that shows examples of less-than-stellar organizational leadership in order to employ theories learned during the course to offer insights on how said organization could improve. Students will create a video (including PowerPoint) explaining the foibles of the hypothetical organization and detailing their proposed solutions. Presentations will be between 12-15 minutes long. The final project is worth 20% of your grade

The following grading standards will be used in this class:

GradeRange
A | 100 % to 94.0%
A- | < 94.0 % to 90.0%
B+ | < 90.0 % to 87.0%
B | < 87.0 % to 84.0%
B- | < 84.0 % to 80.0%
C+ | < 80.0 % to 77.0%
C | < 77.0 % to 74.0%
C- | < 74.0 % to 70.0%
D+ | < 70.0 % to 67.0%
D | < 67.0 % to 64.0%
D- | < 64.0 % to 61.0%
F | < 61.0 % to 0.0%

Instructor's policies on late assignments and/or makeup work

Because we are attempting to learn an entire semester's worth of material in 7 weeks, this course moves at a fairly fast clip. I also recognize, however, that life happens, and I try to be as flexible as I can within the constraints of this course. To that end, you have a 1-day grace period built in to every assignment, in which I will take late submissions without penalty. After that time is up, there will be a 10% late penalty per day for unexcused late work. If you need time beyond the allotted grace period due to illness or some other reason, please contact me so that we can work something out. 


Make Up Work/Extra Credit: There is no extra credit available in the course.

Attendance Policy

There are no required meeting times for this course. However, I would urge you to make use of office hours to chat with me if any issues or problems arise. 

ADA Statement

Students with medical, psychological, learning, or other disabilities desiring academic adjustments, accommodations, or auxiliary aids will need to contact the Disability Resource Center, located in Room 206F of the Sharwan Smith Center or by phone at (435) 865-8042. The Disability Resource Center determines eligibility for and authorizes the provision of services.

If your instructor requires attendance, you may need to seek an ADA accommodation to request an exception to this attendance policy. Please contact the Disability Resource Center to determine what, if any, ADA accommodations are reasonable and appropriate.

Academic Credit

According to the federal definition of a Carnegie credit hour: A credit hour of work is the equivalent of approximately 60 minutes of class time or independent study work. A minimum of 45 hours of work by each student is required for each unit of credit. Credit is earned only when course requirements are met. One (1) credit hour is equivalent to 15 contact hours of lecture, discussion, testing, evaluation, or seminar, as well as 30 hours of student homework. An equivalent amount of work is expected for laboratory work, internships, practica, studio, and other academic work leading to the awarding of credit hours. Credit granted for individual courses, labs, or studio classes ranges from 0.5 to 15 credit hours per semester.

Academic Freedom

SUU is operated for the common good of the greater community it serves. The common good depends upon the free search for truth and its free exposition. Academic Freedom is the right of faculty to study, discuss, investigate, teach, and publish. Academic Freedom is essential to these purposes and applies to both teaching and research.

Academic Freedom in the realm of teaching is fundamental for the protection of the rights of the faculty member and of you, the student, with respect to the free pursuit of learning and discovery. Faculty members possess the right to full freedom in the classroom in discussing their subjects. They may present any controversial material relevant to their courses and their intended learning outcomes, but they shall take care not to introduce into their teaching controversial materials which have no relation to the subject being taught or the intended learning outcomes for the course.

As such, students enrolled in any course at SUU may encounter topics, perspectives, and ideas that are unfamiliar or controversial, with the educational intent of providing a meaningful learning environment that fosters your growth and development. These parameters related to Academic Freedom are included in SUU Policy 6.6.

Academic Misconduct

Scholastic honesty is expected of all students. Dishonesty will not be tolerated and will be prosecuted to the fullest extent (see SUU Policy 6.33). You are expected to have read and understood the current SUU student conduct code (SUU Policy 11.2) regarding student responsibilities and rights, the intellectual property policy (SUU Policy 5.52), information about procedures, and what constitutes acceptable behavior.

Please Note: The use of websites or services that sell essays is a violation of these policies; likewise, the use of websites or services that provide answers to assignments, quizzes, or tests is also a violation of these policies. Regarding the use of Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI), you should check with your individual course instructor.

Emergency Management Statement

In case of an emergency, the University's Emergency Notification System (ENS) will be activated. Students are encouraged to maintain updated contact information using the link on the homepage of the mySUU portal. In addition, students are encouraged to familiarize themselves with the Emergency Response Protocols posted in each classroom. Detailed information about the University's emergency management plan can be found at https://www.suu.edu/emergency.

HEOA Compliance Statement

For a full set of Higher Education Opportunity Act (HEOA) compliance statements, please visit https://www.suu.edu/heoa. The sharing of copyrighted material through peer-to-peer (P2P) file sharing, except as provided under U.S. copyright law, is prohibited by law; additional information can be found at https://my.suu.edu/help/article/1096/heoa-compliance-plan.

You are also expected to comply with policies regarding intellectual property (SUU Policy 5.52) and copyright (SUU Policy 5.54).

Mandatory Reporting

University policy (SUU Policy 5.60) requires instructors to report disclosures received from students that indicate they have been subjected to sexual misconduct/harassment. The University defines sexual harassment consistent with Federal Regulations (34 C.F.R. Part 106, Subpart D) to include quid pro quo, hostile environment harassment, sexual assault, dating violence, domestic violence, and stalking. When students communicate this information to an instructor in-person, by email, or within writing assignments, the instructor will report that to the Title IX Coordinator to ensure students receive support from the Title IX Office. A reporting form is available at https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv

Non-Discrimination Statement

SUU is committed to fostering an inclusive community of lifelong learners and believes our university's encompassing of different views, beliefs, and identities makes us stronger, more innovative, and better prepared for the global society.

SUU does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, color, national origin, citizenship, sex (including sex discrimination and sexual harassment), sexual orientation, gender identity, age, ancestry, disability status, pregnancy, pregnancy-related conditions, genetic information, military status, veteran status, or other bases protected by applicable law in employment, treatment, admission, access to educational programs and activities, or other University benefits or services.

SUU strives to cultivate a campus environment that encourages freedom of expression from diverse viewpoints. We encourage all to dialogue within a spirit of respect, civility, and decency.

For additional information on non-discrimination, please see SUU Policy 5.27 and/or visit https://www.suu.edu/nondiscrimination.

Pregnancy

Students who are or become pregnant during this course may receive reasonable modifications to facilitate continued access and participation in the course. Pregnancy and related conditions are broadly defined to include pregnancy, childbirth, termination of pregnancy, lactation, related medical conditions, and recovery. To obtain reasonable modifications, please make a request to title9@suu.edu. To learn more visit: https://www.suu.edu/titleix/pregnancy.html.

Disclaimer Statement

Information contained in this syllabus, other than the grading, late assignments, makeup work, and attendance policies, may be subject to change with advance notice, as deemed appropriate by the instructor.