Your student will be submitting their thesis or dissertation to you online for your approval. If you, the committee, or your department have requirements such as formatting or providing a certain number of paper copies, please be sure to let your advisee know.
Your role in the approval process includes several steps:
- Your advisee will submit their ETD online in WPI’s ETD Submission system. You will receive a notice of their request for approval, via your WPI email address.
- Approving the thesis or dissertation online: You will review the thesis or dissertation to be sure the final version has been submitted to you. If you note any changes needed for approval, you will be able to return the thesis to your advisee via the online system, to make those changes.
- Please note that the thesis or dissertation should be submitted according to the guidance provided to the student.
Key elements of that guidance are as follows:
- The thesis or dissertation must be submitted as a single PDF (preferably PDF/A) document. Supplemental files may be added, such as data files or images, but the thesis or dissertation file should be complete without these.
- The title/cover page should be included as the first page of the file. To protect the privacy of the committee members online, this page will NOT include signatures.
- The default for access to the thesis or dissertation should be immediate open access. If you and your advisee agree that they have reasons why access should be restricted to WPI only for 1-3 years, or restricted to any viewer for 1-3 years, your advisee can select one of these options in their submission. After an embargo or restriction period expires, the thesis will be made available openly online.
- Indefinite restrictions: Any thesis or dissertation that you agree should be restricted indefinitely for confidentiality or security reasons, should be revised and redacted after your approval. The redacted or revised version should replace the originally approved thesis or dissertation.
- You, your advisee, and the Registrar will be notified when you have completed your approval online.
- Questions?
Registrar’s office:
Email: registrar@wpi.edu
Office: Daniels Hall
After receiving notice of faculty approval online, the Registrar will then release the ETD in the online system. Once released, the thesis or dissertation will be made available online in WPI’s ETD database, unless embargoed.
