nursing homes, etc.) involved in the research is the responsibility of the candidate working under the guidance of the chair of the DNP Scholarly Project.

Approved DNP Scholarly Project Topic Form. This form is completed by the doctoral candidate, signed by members of the DNP Scholarly Project Committee holding graduate faculty status, the Director for Graduate Nursing Programs and filed in the School of Nursing, Office of the Director for Graduate Nursing Programs.

Conducting the DNP Scholarly Project. During the conduct of the Scholarly Project, candidates should be in frequent contact with their chair and committee members of the DNP Scholarly Project, as needed. The schedule of all committee members, including the outside member, shall be considered when selecting the time for all committee meetings. The process includes the writing and submission of the DNP Scholarly Project for preliminary approval.

Clinical Component. The DNP student is required for having a fully executed agreement with an agency (ies) to complete the clinical component of the program while implementing their specific DNP Scholarly Project. The clinical component format is based on the nature of the DNP Scholarly Project. It may take many forms and may be completed in various settings. The student must have a current “Preceptor Agreement” on file, have completed the certified background profile, which will include such requirements as immunization compliance and CPR requirements to be permitted to engage in clinical study component. According to School of Nursing of Health Sciences and Graduate Nursing Program guidelines, students may implement their DNP Scholarly Project in the clinical setting where they have IRB approval/review on file as well as the approval of their DNP Scholarly Project committee chair.

Preliminary Approval of DNP Scholarly Project. Based on recommendations from their DNP Scholarly Project Committee, the student will submit written work to the members of the committee. The chair will allow at least ten business days for reading the DNP Scholarly Project and will then convene the DNP Scholarly Project Committee (without the candidate) for the purpose of evaluation. Recommended revisions will be noted by the chair and communicated to the candidate. When, in the opinion of the chair and the candidate, the appropriate revisions have been made, the chair will inform the Director for Graduate Nursing Programs that the final oral defense may be scheduled.

Pre-defense Meeting of the DNP Scholarly Project Committee. The purpose of the meeting determines the state of readiness of the manuscript for the final oral defense. The following are possible committee decisions.

• There is unanimous agreement that the DNP Scholarly Project is ready for oral defense and any suggestions for change do not need to be seen before the oral defense.
• One or more committee members may request that minor changes be made in the pre-defense copy and wish to see the revisions before determining readiness to defend. An additional meeting of the DNP Scholarly Project committee is not needed for final approval.
• The committee determines that major revisions necessitate postponing the scheduling of the oral defense. If possible, a tentative timeframe for completing changes, in collaboration with the doctoral candidate and committee, will be identified and a potential date for the next pre-defense committee meeting should be set.

Selection of the Moderator. The role of the moderator is to preside and moderate the final presentation and oral defense. The moderator is selected by the DNP Scholarly Project Committee Chair.