Southern Utah University

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Southern Utah University
Southern Utah University
Fall Semester 2026

Leadership Theory and Professional Role Development for the FNP (Online)

NURS 6112-A70

Course: NURS 6112-A70
Credits: 3
Term: Fall Semester 2026
Department: Nursing
CRN: 34105

Course Description

This course explores leadership theories and professional role development for advanced practice nurses, emphasizing transformational leadership, interprofessional collaboration, ethical decision-making, and self-care. Students apply evidence-based leadership frameworks to the FNP role to strengthen competencies in communication, emotional intelligence, and clinical practice and effectiveness as autonomous providers.

Required Texts

Marquis, B. L. & Huston, C. J. (2023). Leadership roles and management functions in nursing (11th ed). Lippincott Wolters & Kluwer. ISBN: 978-1-975155-29-2

Learning Outcomes

FNP

Learning Outcome Alignment: A list of learning outcomes for this course is found below. You will demonstrate your understanding of the outcomes throughout your coursework as listed under the assessment criteria below.

NURS 6112

Course Outcomes

Teaching

Method/ Assessment

Criteria

FNP Student

Learning

Outcomes

SUU Essential

Learning Outcomes

AACN Essentials

Source: SUU Nursing FNP Student Handbook

Source: SUU websiteSource: AACN website

Evaluate theories for nursing leadership in clinical settings.

Papers, interview, discussions, theory presentation, AI conversation

FNP: 1

Communication, critical thinking, inquiry & analysis, teamwork

9.3j,k,l,m,n,o

9.4d,e,f,g,h

10.1c,d

10.2g,h,i,j

Discover core values that support effective nursing leadership.

Papers, AI conversations

FNP: 1

Critical thinking, inquiry & analysis, teamwork

2.2j

6.2g,h,i,j

9.1i,j,k

10.3j,k,l,m,n,o,p,q

Consider how emotional intelligence can enhance leader performance

Papers, AI conversations, Interviews

FNP: 1

Communication, critical thinking, inquiry & analysis, teamwork

1.1e,f

2.1d,e, 2.9f,h,j

6.1g,h,i,j,k,l

Determine your personal leadership style.

Paper, theory presentation

FNP: 1

Communication, integrative learning, lifelong learning

1.1e,f

2.8f,g,h,i,j

3.5h,j

Develop a personal leadership mission statement.

Paper

FNP: 1

Communication, ethical reasoning, integrative learning, lifelong learning

1.2i,j

2.2j,2.3h

5.3e,f,g,h

6.4e,f,h

Identify and navigate key program-specific technologies (FNP Master Canvas, Typhon) required for clinical tracking and complete required program and clinical documentation

Quizzes, Program documentation

FNP: 1

Integrative learning

Course Requirements

Grade Scheme

Grades will be determined in the graduate programs using the following grading scale. To progress in the graduate program, students must maintain a term grade point average of B- (GPA 2.70 on a 4.0 scale) and no failing courses.

GradeRange
A100 % to 94.0%
A-< 93.0 % to 90.0%
B+< 89.0 % to 87.0%
B< 86.0 % to 84.0%
B-< 83.0 % to 80.0%
F< 80.0 %

Assignment Outline

Personal Leadership Style Paper

This paper will explore your personal leadership style and will include your personal leadership mission statement. The paper should be at least 4-5 pages of text and will include reflections on your emotional intelligence level. You will identify with a chosen leadership theory. You will assess your past leadership opportunities and reflect on how your leadership capabilities have been developed.

Nurse Leader Interview Paper

You will interview an individual in a nursing leadership position and write a paper based on their responses. You will identify a leadership theory that reflects the leader’s belief system and style. This paper will be at least 4-5 pages of text and will include reflections on any experiences you have had with the nurse leader, as well as comparing your own leadership style with theirs.

Theory Presentation and Discussion

You will prepare and present a PowerPoint presentation on a specific leadership theory. After the presentations have been posted, you will contribute to a group discussion and post comments on the presentations created by other students, as well as answering questions posed to your own presentation.

AI Conversation

This assignment is to used what you learned about leadership styles to have a "conversation" with an AI tool and practice using leadership styles. You will choose three leadership styles and model each of those styles as you respond to the AI tool in a conversation about a common nursing issue. The AI tool will then analyze your use of the leadership styles.

Quizzes

You will have one leadership quiz in this course. The quiz consists of 25-30 multiple choice questions which cover topics related to the readings of the course. You will have one attempt to take the quiz. The quiz must be submitted no later than the assigned due date. You may use your textbook or notes to complete the quiz.

You will have weekly quizzes related to program information and documentation. Quizzes will vary in length between 5 and 10 questions.

Compliance Documentation

Please start on compliance documentation early. You will not be able to pass this course until compliance is demonstrated. It is imperative that you work with course faculty and program staff regarding any questions or issues that may arise while completing the outlined compliance requirements. There are several forms required throughout NURS 6112. You must complete and submit these forms and successfully complete all requirements as indicated in order to receive a letter grade in this course.

Course Outline

Emotional Intelligence
Leadership theories 
Leadership styles
Personal Leadership style
FNP Orientation
FNP program compliance

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

Instructor's Response Time & Feedback

From the DON Faculty Handbook:

7 week term courses: Emails from students in 7-week online classes must be responded to within 48 hours. In teaching an online class, faculty may have to respond over the weekend. If a faculty is not going to be able to respond within 48 hours, faculty should notify students and department chair in advance when possible. All assignments must be graded within five calendar days of the due date for online term courses. If faculty need an extension to grade assignments because of assignment length, holiday, or other circumstances, faculty will notify students in advance. Assignments need to be graded in sufficient time to allow students to improve and build upon their learning for subsequent assignments.

Late Assignments

Late Policy: Papers/assignments are due at the time designated. Faculty members retain the option of not accepting late papers/assignments and will deduct points for late work. Canvas is set up so that 30% of the student's grade is deducted each day that the assignment is late. Individual faculty maintains final determination in situations related to late work. Early communication with faculty is encouraged regarding late work and extenuating circumstances.

Attendance Policy

In asynchronous learning, students have the flexibility to engage with course content, such as lectures and readings, at any time that suits their schedule within a set timeframe (usually a week). Assignments, however, have specific deadlines. Late work will not be accepted.

At the beginning of each term there is a Commenced Attendance Quiz which must be completed within a few days of the start of the term. If this is not completed a student may be dropped from the course. This "quiz" is merely for attendance purposes.

Course Fees

This course does require access to Typhon which is $100 for the subscription. It is a one time fee. You will not have to pay this fee again during your program

Supplemental Resources

FNP Student Handbook

The use of generative AI in written papers in this course is not approved. AI use to create an outline, increase readability or other use must be disclosed as stated below. The instructor reserves the right to require papers to be submitted to AI detection software and points deducted for the use of AI to write any major sections of a paper.

https://www.suu.edu/cti/academic-integrity-tools-and-statements.html

When students use generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process for this course, students should only use these technologies to improve readability and language, or to generate a basic skeleton of ideas for assignment content. Applying these technologies
should be done with careful oversight, and students should carefully review and edit the result, as AI can generate good-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or biased. SUU Policy#6.33 on academic integrity should be followed when using AI. If you are unsure to what extent to use AI as part of an assignment, please reach out to me before the assignment is due. If a student uses AI-assisted technologies, the student should disclose in their assignment the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies in the assignment by following the instructions below. This declaration does not apply to the use of basic tools for checking grammar, spelling, references etc. If there is nothing to disclose, there is no need to add a statement. Any assignment which has been determined by the professor (using the tools provided by SUU to monitor academic integrity) to have been created using these technologies which were not disclosed by the student is subject to failure.

Disclosure Instructions:
Students must disclose the use of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process by adding this statement at the end of their assignment: (this does not apply to the assignments that expressly require the use of AI.)

Statement: During the preparation of this work [THE STUDENT(S)] used [NAME TOOL /SERVICE] in order to [REASON].

Canvas is where course content, grades, and communication will reside for this course.

SUU has several resources and services available to support you during your time here at SUU, please review this list of SUU Campus Resources and Services and the Student Code of Conduct. For more information on Canvas and other technologies, and their statements on Accessibility and Privacy statements please review our Vendor Resources page.

Finances are an integral part of maintaining your wellbeing. If you are struggling financially or wish to know more about budgeting, please visit the Financial Wellness Center in room 201C in the Sharwan Smith Center, contact Ashleigh Zimmerman at (435) 865-8436, or text the Financial Wellness line at 435-708-1952.

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.

Religious / Conscience Belief Accommodation

RELIGIOUS / CONSCIENCE BELIEF ACCOMMODATION: In accordance with SUU Policy 6.7 Student Belief Accommodation, students may request, in writing, that their faculty accommodate their sincerely held religious or conscience beliefs. Students should provide their faculty with sufficient advanced notice, if possible within the first five (5) business days of the semester or session, or thereafter with good cause for requesting an accommodation after the first five (5) business days.

Faculty must provide a schedule accommodation or excuse an absence, in any course, for students to observe or participate in religious holidays or an organized activity conducted under the auspices of the student’s religious tradition or religious organization.

In courses that are required for graduation or for an academic major, a faculty member may accommodate a religious or conscience belief by modifying an assignment or examination if its content conflicts with the student’s belief. Faculty may decline the accommodation if it would fundamentally alter the course requirements. If declined, the student may request review by a neutral arbiter using the Belief Accommodation Request Form: https://cm.maxient.com/reportingform.php?SouthernUtahUniv&layout_id=5

Questions go to Assistant Provost Jake Johnson at johnsonj@suu.edu.

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.