Helping departments collect signatures

[Jason Skoog]

Hello,

Before ETDs come to the archives, an admin assistant from each department is tasked with collecting signatures from research advisors.  They struggle with collecting them all, probably because some of adjunct and not on campus very often.  Some are in distant sites.  The admin assistants start collecting the signatures after the projects are completed at the end of the semester.

I don't have any involvement until the signatures are collected and delivered to me, but I'm wondering, has anyone found ways to make the signature collection process run smoother?

Thanks,

Jason Skoog

Archivist and Systems Librarian
Viterbo University, La Crosse, WI
608-796-3262

[Babcock, Renee E]

Hi Jason, our students are responsible for collecting the signatures on their signature page and they must turn that page in to our office when they submit their ETD. IN the past, they have often struggled to collect all their signatures, esp when they have committee members who are not on our campus, or from outside the country, and this situation can be exacerbated if the students defend close to our submission deadline. We have been trying for a few years to find ways to make the process easier for them, but we still required wet (ink) signatures in most cases.

We have a new policy now, effective this semester, where we will accept scanned signatures from all committee members on the signature page. So far, talking to the students who have already submitted their ETDs to our office, this has made collecting their signatures much easier. We warn them the scan has to be of a signature (not of a typed cursive looking font), and it has to be a good quality, since we image signature pages to our students’ permanent records after graduation. 

But so far, this seems to have made things easier for our students, and seems to be a popular change in our policy.

Renee

Renee E. Babcock, Ph.D. | Degree Plan Evaluator III | Graduate School | The University of Texas at Austin | (512) 232-3629

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