DNP Project Process Guide

Students are encouraged to follow this DNP Project Process Guide and work with assigned faculty to ensure that all steps are followed in order to expedite completion. Documents for the DNP Project can be found on the Center for Research Quality (CRQ) website in the Forms and IRB sections. Please ensure you are using the current version by checking the date in the footer of the document.

Roles and Stakeholders:

? Student – Owner of the process checklist and candidate for the DNP degree.
? DNP Project Committee Chair (Chair) – Assigned to the Student as practicum faculty in NURS 8410. Leads the supervisory committee. May serve as context expert or methodologist.
? DNP Project Committee Member (Member) – Assigned to the committee during NURS 8400 as one of three members of the supervisory committee. May serve as context expert or methodologist.
? DNP Project URR Member (URR) – University Research Review (URR) member, assigned to committee during NURS 8400. This individual serves a dual role as a consulting committee member and the designated representative of the DNP program and Walden University to ensure that doctoral level scholarly standards for the university are met. Please note: Responsibility for providing mentoring of related to the content and methods of the project rests with the primary committee members.
? chsadmin@waldenu.edu – Group mailbox of the College of Health Sciences administration.
? dnp@waldenu.edu – Dedicated group mailbox of Walden’s Office of Student Research Administration (OSRA) for DNP project committees. Used to monitor movement of DNP Project documents between Chair and URR member, and coordinate movement of DNP Project documents with other involved parties such as the Form & Style reviewer and the CAO designee.
? DNP Program Director
? School of Nursing Research Coordinator
? Form & Style Reviewer – Undertakes the Form & Style review of the Final Project Paper.
? Chief Academic Officer (CAO) – Chief Academic Officer of Walden University (or designate). The CAO is responsible for the academic functions and integrity of the University including final university level approval all doctoral capstone experiences, dissertations, or projects.
Definitions

? DNP Premise (Premise) – A brief introduction to the DNP Project that a student wishes to conduct, used to determine whether the project is appropriate before development of the DNP Project Proposal. See NURS 8410 for more information about the Premise.
? DNP Project Proposal (Proposal) – A detailed plan to conduct a DNP Project, intended to provide the DNP Project Committee with all information needed to determine whether a DNP Project may proceed as planned, or whether further revision is required.
? DNP Project Proposal Package (Proposal Package) – A series of documents including various steps of the Proposal review process. The Proposal Package includes a clean copy of the Proposal, a Turnitin Report, one (or more) Minimum Standards Rubrics, and a DNP Project Checklist containing any feedback or comments from the committee.
? Final DNP Project Paper (Final Paper) – A paper reporting a completed DNP Project.
? Final DNP Project Paper Package (Final Paper Package) – A series of documents including various steps of the Final Paper review process. The Final Paper Package includes a clean copy of the Project Paper, a Turnitin Report, one (or more) Minimum Standards Rubrics, and a DNP Project Checklist containing any feedback or comments from the committee..
? DNP Project Committee (Committee) – A group of scholar-practitioners assembled to supervise the DNP Project. The Committee consists of a Chair, a Member, and a URR member. Chairs/Members will serve as content or methods experts, while the URR ensures that projects meet institutional-level doctoral standards.
? DNP Project Minimum Standards Rubric (MSR) – A rubric that aids determination of whether the Project meets minimum standards for a DNP Project Proposal and/or Final Paper. Each member completes an individual MSR at the proposal stage and final project paper stage. The MS is not a cumulative document.
? DNP Project Checklist (Checklist) – A document that provides detailed information about how a Proposal and/or Final Paper addresses various necessary elements of a DNP Project. The Checklist is a cumulative document. The entire committee’s comments from start to finish of the DNP Project will be included on the same DNP Project Checklist.
? DNP Project Final Quality Rubric (FQR): A rubric that aids in measurement of overall quality of a DNP Project and its associated Final DNP Project Paper. This rubric is only used when minimum standards have been met for the final DNP Project Paper.
Communication Guidelines

? E-mails should comply with the following e-mail subject line naming convention:
“<Student Last Name, First Initial>_<Stage>_<Step>
e.g., “BrownJ_Proposal_3a

? DNP Project papers (proposals, etc.) should be sent as MS Word documents and named according the following convention:
“<Student Last Name, First Initial>_<Stage>_<Step>_
e.g., “BrownJ_Proposal_3a.docx”
Or, if a faculty member is sending a document back with feedback:
“<Student Last Name, First Initial>_<Stage>_<Step>_< Last Faculty Reviewer>
e.g., “BrownJ_Proposal_3b_Stepans”

? DNP rubrics, checklists, Turnitin reports, and other documents should be appended with;
“<Student Last Name, First Initial>_<Last Faculty Editor>”
e.g., “DNP_MSR_BrownJ_Stepans”

? All E-mails should begin with the names of the Student, Chair, Second Committee Member, and URR, identified by role.
? Requests for review should be completed within 14 days, though quicker turnaround will be appreciated if possible.
? The following is an example of an e-mail request for review from a Chair to a Member.

“E-Mail Subject line: ArmstrongN_Proposal_3a

Student: Jacqueline Brown
Chair: Stoerm Anderson (Methods)
Member: MaryBeth Stepans (Content)
URR: Faisal Aboul-Enein

Dear Dr. Stepans,

As Chair, I am requesting your review as committee member of Jacqueline Brown’s proposal. Attached, please find:

? A clean copy of the DNP Project Proposal
? A copy of the Turnitin report
? A completed copy of the DNP Project Minimum Standards Rubric
? A completed copy of the DNP Project Checklist

Please reply to all acknowledging that you have received the documents and will complete the review within 14 days of this request.”
Step 1: Complete the DNP Premise in NURS 8410

1a – NURS 8410 Student: Develops a Premise that concisely describes the DNP Project that they wish to undertake. The premise should be submitted by the end of Week 6 of that course. As with all DNP Project related documents, the Student should anticipate the need to revise based upon faculty (who serves as DNP Project Chair) feedback. Early submission for formative feedback is recommended.

Note: Faculty in NURS 8410 will assume the role of Chair and will follow students through courses 8400, 8500, and 8510 in each subsequent quarter. Students will also be enrolled in NURS 8700 (a companion course designed specifically to work on the DNP Project) with their chair during each subsequent quarter. Students who require additional time to complete their DNP Project following NURS 8510 will be able to enroll in NURS 8701 to continue work on their DNP Project with their Chair.

1b – NURS 8410 Faculty: Guides development of the Premise in the course, providing feedback as necessary such that the final Premise meets guidelines as required in course materials. Upon satisfactory completion of a Premise that describes an appropriate and feasible DNP Project, faculty will forward the Premise to the DNP Program Director for final approval.

1c – DNP Program Director: Reviews and approves, or requests revision and resubmission of, the Premises, returning them to NURS 8410 faculty for distribution to students within 14 days of receipt.

1d – NURS 8410 Faculty: Returns Premises to students. If revision is required, faculty will return to step (1b). Students who do not complete and receive approval for a Premise by the end of NURS 8410 will still be permitted to enroll in NURS 8400. Students must receive approval for the Premise prior to proceeding with the DNP Project Proposal approval as outlined in Steps 2 and 3.

Note: Students are encouraged to begin development of the full DNP Project Proposal development as soon as they receive approval of the DNP Project Premise to proceed with the project as quickly as possible. Students should anticipate multiple revisions of the DNP Project Proposal. The sooner the first draft of the proposal is completed and submitted to the faculty chair (even in the latter portion of NURS 8410, if feasible), the sooner they will receive feedback and be able to begin making revisions.
Step 2: Complete the DNP Proposal

2a – Student: Works with his or her Chair in NURS 8400 and NURS 8700 to develop a Proposal that is ready for distribution to the Committee by the end of NURS 8400. As with all DNP Project related documents, the Student should anticipate the need for revisions based upon chair/committee feedback.

2b – NURS 8400 Faculty Member: Serves as DNP Project Chair and supports development of the Proposal, in accordance with the DNP Project MSR and Checklist. Notifies and coordinates with the SON Research Coordinator to form the remainder of the Committee. Supervises the NURS 8700 companion course, which focuses specifically on the DNP Project.

2c – SON Research Coordinator: Assists DNP Project Chair to identify committee members and liaisons between DNP Program Director and OSRA to officially appoint DNP Project Committee.

2d – DNP Program Director: Coordinates with the SON Research Coordinator, and provides final approval for the DNP Project Committee appointments to be submitted for official appointment by the OSRA.

2e – Walden/CHS/OSRP Administration: Assigns the Student, Chair, Member, and URR a confirmation of committee assignment within two weeks of their assignment in step 2d.
Step 3: Develop and Obtain Committee Approval of the DNP Project Proposal

3a – DNP Project Chair: When both Student and Chair feel that the Proposal meets requirements of the MSR and Checklist, the Chair will e-mail the Proposal Package to the Member, copying the student.* Please follow the file name and e-mail subject line naming conventions. Chairs are encouraged to keep all committee members informed regarding the progress of the proposal. For example, to notify the URR when the proposal has been sent to the member for formal review so that the URR knows the request for review will likely be sent to them in the near future.

*If the Proposal has returned to this step from a later step, please use a new MSR, but continue to use to the same Checklist to cumulatively document all revisions and requirements.

3b – DNP Project Committee Member: Reviews and returns the Proposal with comments, requests for revision, MSR, and Checklist in an e-mail to the Chair, copying the student. Please follow the file name and e-mail subject line naming conventions. The Member has 14 calendar days to review and return the Proposal to the Chair.
3c – DNP Project Chair: Works with the Student to ensure all revisions required by the Member for approval (if any are identified in the proposal, MSR, and/or checklist) are completed prior to proceeding to the URR review. If the Proposal was approved by the Member in step 3b, the revised Proposal will move forward to the URR in step 3d. The Chair will e-mail the Proposal Package to the URR, copying Student and dnp@waldenu.edu. Please follow the file name and e-mail subject line naming conventions. If the Proposal was not approved in step 3b, the process will return to step 3a.

3d – DNP Project URR: If any revisions to the Proposal are required by the URR, the Proposal is ‘Not Approved’. If no Proposal revisions are required by the URR, the Proposal is ‘Approved’. The URR will review/return the Proposal with comments, requests for revision, MSR, and Checklist in an e-mail to the Chair, copying the Member and dnp@waldenu.edu. In this e-mail, the URR will state that he or she has reviewed and confirmed the Turnitin report of the Student’s proposal. Please follow the file name and e-mail subject line naming conventions. If the Proposal is ‘Not Approved’, proceed to process step 3e. If Proposal is ‘Approved’, proceed to process step 3g. The URR has 14 calendar days to review and return the Proposal to the Chair.
3e – DNP Project Committee Chair: Reviews feedback and revisions required by the URR and contacts the Student to address the feedback and revisions.

3f – Student: Works with the Chair to revise the Proposal as required, documenting revisions on the Checklist. The process now returns to step 3a.

NOTE: In cases where committee members disagree with revisions deemed necessary by the URR member, it is important that the Chair, Member and URR meet to discuss areas of disagreement and work to resolve any issues before e-mailing the student. In these cases, the Chair may defer to the expertise of the Member to ascertain the value of such required revisions as appropriate based on the Member’s areas of expertise. As described in the URR Appeals Process, (see page 14 of the URR Manual found on the CRQ website) the Chair or Member (as appropriate given content or methodological expertise role) will need to provide a justification of why the proposed revision is inappropriate. It is not acceptable to decline to address a required revision without justification.

3g – Student: Upon approval of the Proposal by the Chair, Member, and URR, the Student will coordinate with Chair and Member to determine three different dates/times that all three can attend an oral defense conference call. (The URR is not required to attend to the oral defense).

3h – DNP Project Chair: Completes and e-mails the Oral Defense Conference Call Request Form, which can be found on the CRQ website at least 7 business days before the defense date to dnp@waldenu.edu.

3i – OSRA (dnp@waldenu.edu): E-mails confirmation that the oral defense conference call has been scheduled to the student, Chair, and Member.

3j – Student: Prepares a PowerPoint presentation with no more than 20 slides (the Student will have 20 minutes to present) and e-mail the PPT file to the Chair and Member no later than 3 business days prior to the scheduled Oral Defense Conference Call. Students should use the approved Proposal as a guide for presentation development. Students are strongly encouraged to submit a draft of their PowerPoint presentation to the Chair prior to the aforementioned deadline to allow time for feedback and revision of the PowerPoint presentation.

3k – Student: E-mails the Chair and Member one day prior to the Oral Defense Conference Call to remind the committee of the oral defense. The URR is not required to attend the oral defense. The Oral Defense Conference Call will be recorded and archived for 30 days.

3l – DNP Project Committee Chair, DNP Project Committee Member, Student: Participate in the Oral Defense Conference Call. The Chair and Member assign one of three possible outcomes: Pass (P), Pass with required modifications to the Proposal (PM), or Fail (F). If the outcome is ‘P’, proceed to process step 3m. If the outcome is ‘PM’, the Student will revise the proposal according to requested revisions and proceed to process step 3m. If the outcome is ‘F’, return to step 3g.

Note: the PM designation is appropriate for relatively minor modifications to the proposal. The Chair will also consult with the committee URR in the highly unlikely event that the committee stipulates major modifications to the proposal during the oral to ensure progress is equally support by all members of the committee.
3m – Chair: Following approval of the oral defense, the Chair submits a clean copy of the final, approved Proposal and a completed Proposal Approval Form (found on the Walden CRQ website) to dnp@waldenu.edu, copying the student, Member, URR, and the SON Research Coordinator.
Step 4: The Institutional Review Board (IRB) Ethics Approval Process

Documents such as the IRB application, sample consent form, and sample letters of cooperation documents are located at http://academicguides.waldenu.edu/researchcenter/orec/application

4a – Student: Submits the Ethics Pre-Application, which is the first step in the ethics approval process. This step is designed to prevent students’ completion of unnecessary forms. The purpose of the Ethics Pre-Application is to permit the IRB to help the student determine which ethics form(s), partner approvals, and review steps a doctoral project would require to move from proposal phase to execution phase.

Students can submit the pre-IRB application form to ethicsdnp@waldenu.edu at any time after having an approved premise, but the ideal time is four-to-eight weeks before the proposal defense, to ensure that the IRB is providing guidance regarding the final set of capstone activities. (Discrepancies will result in delays.) After receiving the completed Ethics Pre-application, the IRB will send the student one of the following:
(a) confirmation that the IRB should be able to provide ethics approval based on this form alone once the proposal is formally approved; or
(b) a list of the documents and approvals that will be required for the IRB’s ethics approval of the proposed project; or
(c) a request for more information in order to determine which forms and documentation are needed for the IRB’s ethics approval of the project.

4b – Student: Once student receives guidance from IRB staff regarding which materials are required, student submits those materials to the Chair for accuracy and feedback. Errors result in delays to IRB approval as the IRB will need to return the application and/or associated documents for corrections. If Students do not have the NIH certificate from NURS 8200, they may retrieve it from the NIH website. This certificate must be completed every five years.

Please note: The most common causes of IRB delays are inconsistencies in the IRB materials. Inconsistencies tend to occur when the student completed the materials very early in proposal development, but failed to completely update the IRB materials to reflect the final set of participant recruitment and data collection procedures.

4c – Chair: The chair reviews documents submitted in step 4b and completes any Chair sections on the IRB documentation. These documents are returned to the Student for submission to the IRB.

4d – Student: Submits the IRB materials to ethicsdnp@waldenu.edu. Student must CC the chair on all submissions to the IRB so the IRB can confirm the chair’s approval of the submission.

4e – IRB: Reviews IRB materials within 10 business days for expedited review or 15 business days for studies requiring full board review due to recruitment of vulnerable participants (e.g., children, hospital patients, intellectually disabled adults, etc). The IRB will return its decision or requests for revisions to the Student, copying the Chair. It is typical for IRB approval to involve a couple rounds of correspondence (each round taking 14-21 days, depending on whether vulnerable participants are involved). This means students should allow at least 4-6 weeks for IRB review.

4f – Student: Completes any revisions requested by the IRB, gains Chair approval, and resubmits. Follows this process until approval is granted, allowing 10 business days for review of each revision (or 15 business days if vulnerable participants are involved).

4g – Student/Chair: Receive IRB e-mail notification of approval. The IRB approval lasts for one calendar year from the approval date. Please note that the IRB approval is only valid while the Student is an actively enrolled student at Walden University. If the Student needs to take a leave of absence or is otherwise unable to remain actively enrolled, the IRB approval is suspended. This suspension of IRB approval does not extend the one calendar year expiration date of the IRB approval.
Step 5: Complete the DNP Project

Student: Students work with their Chair in NURS 8700 and their practicum preceptor to complete the DNP Project. Members may also be consulted should the need arise.

Step 6: Complete and Defend the Final Project Paper

6a – DNP Project Chair: When both Student and Chair feel the Final Paper meets requirements of the MSR and Checklist, the Chair will e-mail the Final Paper Package to the Member, copying the student. Chairs are encouraged to keep all committee members informed regarding the progress of the Project Paper. For example, notifying the URR when the Paper has been sent to the member for formal review allows the URR advance notice that a request for review will likely be sent to them in the near future. Please follow the file name and e-mail subject line naming conventions.

*If the Final Paper has returned to this step from a later step, please use a new MSR, but continue to use the Checklist to cumulatively document all revisions and requirements.

6b – DNP Project Committee Member: Reviews and returns the Final Paper with comments, requests for revision, the MSR, and the Checklist in an e-mail to the Chair, copying the Student. Please follow the file name and e-mail subject line naming conventions. The Member has 14 calendar days to review and return the Final Paper to the Chair.
6c – DNP Project Chair: Works with the Student to ensure that all revisions required by the Member for approval (as identified in the Final Paper, MSR, and/or Checklist) are made prior to proceeding to the URR review. If the Final Paper was approved by the Member in step 6b, the revised Final Paper will move forward to the URR in step 6d. The Chair will e-mail the Final Paper package to the URR, copying both the Student and dnp@waldenu.edu. Please follow the file name and e-mail subject line naming conventions. If the Final Paper was not approved in step 6b, the process will return to step 6a.

6d – DNP Project URR: If any revisions to the Final Paper are required by the URR, the Final Paper is ‘Not Approved’. If no Final Paper revisions are required by the URR, the Final Paper is ‘Approved’. If the Final Paper is ‘Approved’, the URR will return the Final Paper, MSR, and Checklist via e-mail to the Chair, copying the Member and dnp@waldenu.edu. In this e-mail, the URR will state that they have reviewed and confirmed the Student’s Final Paper Turnitin report and that they are now requesting a Form and Style review. Please proceed to step 6g.

If the Final Paper is ‘Not Approved’, the URR will return the Final Paper, MSR, and Checklist via e-mail to the Chair, copying the Member and dnp@waldenu.edu. Please proceed to 6e.

The URR has 14 calendar days to complete this review.
6e – DNP Project Committee Chair: Reviews feedback and revisions required by the URR and contacts the Student to discuss any strategies for addressing the feedback and revisions.

6f – Student: Works with the Chair to revise the Final Paper as required, documenting revisions on the Checklist. The process now returns to step 6a.

NOTE: In cases where committee members disagree with revisions deemed necessary by the URR member, it is important that the Chair, Member and URR meet to discuss areas of disagreement and work to resolve any issues before e-mailing the student. In these cases, the Chair may defer to the expertise of the Member to ascertain the value of such required revisions as appropriate based on the Member’s areas of expertise. As described in the URR Appeals Process, (see page 14 of the URR Manual found on the CRQ website) the Chair or Member (as appropriate given content or methodological expertise role) will need to provide a justification of why the proposed revision is inappropriate. It is not acceptable to decline to address a required revision without justification

6g – OSRA: Forwards the study to the Form & Style editors to conduct the Form & Style Review. The completed Form & Style Review is then e-mailed by Form & Style editors to the Student, copying the Chair, Member, and URR. Please note that very poorly written documents may require revision and resubmission to gain approval to advance the study beyond the Form & Style Review.

6h – Student: After receiving the Form & Style review, works with the entire Project Committee to address required Form & Style revisions.

6i – Student: Coordinates with Chair and Member to determine three different dates/times that the Chair and Member can attend an oral defense conference call. (The URR is not required to attend to the oral defense.)

6j – DNP Project Chair: Completes and e-mails the Oral Defense Conference Call Request Form, which can be found on the CRQ website at least 7 business days before the defense date to dnp@waldenu.edu.

6k – OSRA (dnp@waldenu.edu): E-mails confirmation that the oral defense conference call has been scheduled to the student, Chair, and Member.

6l – Student: Prepares a PowerPoint presentation with no more than 20 slides (the Student will have 20 minutes to present) and e-mail the PPT file to the Chair and Member no later than 3 business days prior to the scheduled Oral Defense Conference Call. Students should use the approved Final Paper as a guide for presentation development. Students are strongly encouraged to submit a draft of their PowerPoint presentation to the Chair prior to the aforementioned deadline to allow time for feedback and revision of the PowerPoint presentation.

6m – Student: E-mails the Chair and Member one day prior to the Oral Defense Conference Call to remind the committee of the oral defense. The URR is not required to attend the oral defense. The Oral Defense Conference Call will be recorded and archived for 30 days.

6n – DNP Project Committee Chair, DNP Project Committee Member, Student: Participate in the Oral Defense Conference Call. The Chair and Member assign one of three possible outcomes: Pass (P), Pass with required modifications to the Proposal (PM), or fail (F).

If the outcome is ‘P’, the Chair e-mails the URR, copying dnp@waldenu.edu, the successfully defended Final Project Paper, along with DNP Project FQRs completed by both the Chair and the Member, requesting a review of the Final Project Paper Abstract. The process proceeds to step 6p.

If the outcome is ‘PM’, the Student will revise the Final Paper according to requested revisions and the Chair e-mails the URR, copying dnp@waldenu.edu, the successfully defended and revised Final Project Paper, along with DNP Project FQRs completed by both the Chair and the Member, requesting a review of the Final Project Paper Abstract. The process then proceeds to step 6p.

If the outcome is ‘F’, return to step 6i.

(Step ‘6o’ has been purposefully omitted to prevent potential confusion between ‘6o’ and ‘60’.
6p – DNP Project URR: Confirms that abstract meets guidelines. If revisions are required, the URR suggests revisions by e-mail to Chair and the process proceeds to step 6q. If the abstract meets guidelines, the URR completes/submits a DNP Project FQR along with Chair and Member’s DNP Project FQRs, the Final Project Paper, and all three DNP Project MSRs to dnp@waldenu.edu, copying the Chair. The OSRA then forwards the abstract to the Chief Academic Officer for review. The process then proceeds to step 6r.
6q – Chair, Student: Communicate to help the Student revise abstract as per URR suggestions. When revisions have been completed, the Chair submits revised Final Project Paper to URR via e-mail and the process returns to step 6p.
6r – Chief Academic Officer/OSRA: If approved, the CAO/designate returns approval notification to the OSRA. Please proceed to step 6s.
If the abstract is not approved, the CAO/designate returns feedback to the OSRA for forwarding to the Chair/URR. The Chair supervises revisions with the Student, returns the revised abstract to the URR, and the process returns to 6p.
6s – OSRA: Notifies the Student (copying the Project Committee, chsadmin@waldenu.edu, the SON Research Coordinator, the DNP Program Director, and Advising) of Final Project Paper and Abstract approval and provides instructions for submitting the approved study for publication in ProQuest/UMI.
6t – Student: The Student submits the Final Project Paper for publication in ProQuest/UMI. Graduation will be notified only after when the document has been approved in ProQuest/UMI. It is important for the student to check on the status of their publication, to make sure any required revisions are made in a timely manner.
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