Staff Instructions
updated November 1, 2011
Pre-Defense
- Each School should establish their own ETD upload and paperwork deadlines in concert with the graduation certification date. Deadlines should be set at least three weeks prior to the graduatio
n certification deadline so staff have ample time to handle a significant number of ETDs submitted at the last minute. ALL DEADLINES SHOULD BE FINAL. You must set the date before the start of classes and email your dates no later than the first day of classes to etd feedback (etd-feedback@mail.pitt.edu).
- Send notices to students/departments/programs regarding deadlines for applying for graduation each term.
- When student applies for graduation, give student a "graduation packet."
(This packet should contain a blank copy of the ETD Approval form, information on creating keywords, copyright information, copyright permission letter instructions, dissertation publishing agreement form, survey of earned doctorate, deadline submission dates, relevant departmental graduation paperwork information, etc.)
Example of Arts and Science "graduation packet."
Post-Defense
- Student brings all necessary hard-copy documents to staff. Use the checklist on the last page of the ETD Approval form to verify that all necessary documents have been received or if school, program has added materials use school, program checklist. Check all paperwork to ensure that is filled out properly.
- If a student has submitted a patent pending form, verify that the student or faculty advisor has actually filed a patent. If these steps are complete, send the completed patent form to Vice Provost Sbragia (care of Stephanie Hoogendoorn in 801 CL) for approval. Vice Provost Sbragia will verify that an Invention Disclosure Form has been filed with the Office of Technology Management. You must have the patent approval signed by the Vice Provost for the submission of the ETD paperwork for the Registrar’s Office.
- Verify that the student has signed Part A on the second page of the ETD Approval Form, and that the student and the thesis advisor or dissertation director have signed Part B on the second page of the ETD Approval form.
- Log on to the ETD online system to review the record for the student's ETD.
a. Compare all of the student's vital information-name, e-mail, degree, program, and school-that appears on the ETD Approval form with what the student has entered in the online system
b. Compare the title of the thesis or dissertation as shown on the ETD Approval form with what the student has entered online. Make sure that the author’s name and title of the dissertation are entered in mixed case in the online database, rather than in all caps (even if the department’s convention is to use all caps in the uploaded full-text PDF). Make sure than any special characters included in the title, abstract or keywords display correctly in the online form.
c. Check the committee information—make sure that all the names that appear on the first page of the ETD Approval form also appear in the online record, and that each committee member has signed and dated the first page of the ETD Approval form.
d. Refer to the Staff Check List to make sure the ETD contains all the basic minimum requirements.
e. The ETD should conform to the ETD Format Guidelines Manual unless the field, department, or school dictates more specific requirements.
f. Compare the availability option chosen by the student online with the option selected on the second page of the ETD Approval form. DO NOT choose option 3 “Secure the ETD for patent and/or proprietary purposes for a period of one year” unless: 1) the student has filed a an Invention Disclosure Form with Office of Technology Management, 2) the student has filed a Request to Secure an ETD for One Year for Patent Purposes, and 3) the Request to Secure an ETD for One Year for Patent Purposes has been approved by the Office of the Provost.
g. Make sure that the file is not larger than 20MB. To check the file size, while viewing the document, click on 'View details about' in the 'Files' section of the view record screen. Verify that the number in the 'Size (bytes)' column no greater than 19999999. If the size is greater than 20 MB, send a note to etd-feedback@library.pitt.edu asking for a technical review of the document before approving it.
h. If there are any discrepancies send the student a detailed email listing every issue concerning items 7a-g. Ask the student to submit a new ETD and to notify you when it has been submitted. Review the corrected ETD again following the steps in section 7. Continue with this process until the ETD is correct. The final, corrected ETD and all supporting documents must be submitted prior to school submitting the final certification list to the Registrar’s Office for the degree. If the student does not complete the ETD and paperwork by the final deadline established by the school they must not be certified.
Graduation Certification and ETD Approval
- After reviewing the student records send to the Office of the Registrar the final certification list.
- Once certification has been confirmed start approving ETDs. ETDs must be approved and supporting documents sent to the Registrar’s Office by the deadline established by the Registrar’s Office each term.
a. If there are no discrepancies and all supporting materials have been received, click on the Approve link. You will be taken to a page with a summary of the ETD information. If everything is correct, click on the button that says Approve this ETD. The system will automatically generate an e-mail message to the student, the committee members, and anyone else whose e-mail address you have entered, indicating that the ETD has been approved. Once you click on the 'Approve this ETD' button, the ETD will be publicly accessible through its permanent URL according to the access option selected.
b. Print out a copy of the ETD Aprroval Confrimation sheet with ETD URL. 2 copies for MA/MS/HONOR’S College and 3 copies for PhD.
c. Send following forms to Registrar’s Office:
HONORS COLLEGE: copy of cost transfer showing payment to the Office of the Provost of $20 per student, List of names of students for whom the $20 processing fee was paid; copy of ETD approval confirmation sheet with ETD URL; title page; abstract (not initialed)
MA/MS: copy of ETD approval confirmation sheet with ETD URL; copy of receipt for $20 processing fee; title page and abstract with advisor’s initials in upper right-hand corner
PhD: copy of ETD approval confirmation sheet with ETD URL; copy of receipt for $85.00 processing fee with title page and abstract with advisor’s initials in upper right-hand corner attached; Proquest/UMI agreement form with title page and abstract with advisor’s initials in upper right-hand corner attached and any copy right permissions and certified checks or money orders for extra services (copyright and copies of bound dissertation), Survey of the Earned Doctorate
Students with an approved patent: ETD must be approved but all paperwork relating to the ETD remains in the school. A copy of the approved patent form initialed by Provost’s Office must be sent to the Registrar’s Office with the rest of that term’s graduates. Patents are only good for 1 year.
One year after the ETD approval date (or earlier, if requested by the author), release the ETD by logging on to the ETD system and choosing ‘Manage Withheld ETDs’. View the ETD to be released and click on the ‘Release’ link. From this point forward, you can access the ETD by choosing ‘Manage Available ETDs’. Double check that the access option (worldwide access vs. restricted to the Pitt Network for 5 years) is correctly set to the option indicated on the author’s ETD Approval Form. At this point, the MA/MS or PhD paperwork should be submitted to the Office of the Registrar in accordance with 9c.
d. If a student has multiple ETDs, for example both a master's and doctoral ETD or an ETD for two separate schools, the student must upload one ETD and it must be approved following the above guidelines. Once the first ETD has been approved then the student can upload the second ETD for approval. ETD representatives will have to coordinate the uploading of the ETDs if they are being filed in separate schools.
e. Schools/Programs should keep in the student’s departmental file the following documents: ETD approval form, initialed abstract, ETD approval confirmation form.
