Submission Process

Overview
Document Conversion
ETD Submission Steps
ETD Signature Form
Survey of Earned Doctorates
ProQuest (UMI) Agreement Form

OVERVIEW

The following is an outline which details the process of submitting your thesis or dissertation. For your convenience, separate submission checklists for thesis and dissertation electronic and paper (ETD Exempt) formats, have been provided.

The student should contact his or her graduate coordinator (college/school and department levels), regarding final requirements and deadlines to be completed for graduation. The student should also consult the latest edition of the WVU Graduate Catalog for any details not addressed in this guide.
Students should explore the potential multimedia aspects of the final thesis or dissertation early in the planning stages.
Copies of the printed draft of the thesis or dissertation should be presented to all committee members at least one month before the final examination (oral defense).
The Oral Defense should be publicly announced at least one week prior to the scheduled defense date as follows:
- WVU Online Calendar system: see http://calendar.wvu.edu/Suggest/
- WVU Spirit: Spirit@mail.wvu.edu
In the semester of expected graduation, the student must obtain a packet of submission forms from the Submission Forms page, and shuttle sheets from his or her college graduate prior to submitting the thesis or dissertation.
After the oral examination is passed and the thesis or dissertation is accepted by the department, the student must submit the final copy of the thesis or dissertation.

DOCUMENT CONVERSION

The student produces the final electronic copy for online submission.
- After you complete the word-processed ETD, you should create one or more PDF or other approved electronic files. Find a computer with your word processor and Adobe Acrobat 3.0 or higher version installed. The Adobe Acrobat software includes drivers to print word processor documents to a Portable Document Format (PDF) file.
Access to software and assistance:
- Technical assistance and training materials for file conversion or other special needs is available from the Office of Information Technology.
- The following OIT handouts may be helpful:
  - MS Word Tips for ETD Preparation
    
    http://oit.wvu.edu/training/etd/wordETD.pdf
  - Creating ETDs at WVU
    
    http://oit.wvu.edu/training/etd/createETD.pdf
- Adobe Acrobat is available in the various computer labs across the WVU campus.
- Check with your college, school or department to see if they have a local copy of Adobe Acrobat available.
- You can buy your own copy of Adobe Acrobat at an academic discount price from the WVU Bookstore or from Software Express (choose Faculty Specials).
- Adobe.com offers limited free trial and fee based document conversion services.
- Inzone Software offers a free trial download of PDF conversion software.
- NLM DocMorph offers free document conversion to PDF sponsored by the National Library of Medicine.
- Open Office offers a shareware word processing program that converts files to the pdf format. Versions are available for Windows, Linux and Apple platforms.
- PDFzone offers a plethora of links to freeware and commercial software to convert to the PDF format.
- PDF995 offers a free version of this pdf conversion software.
- A share-ware version of the PDF conversion script called "Aladdin Ghost Script" is available at http://www.cs.wisc.edu/~ghost/. However, students should be cautioned that conversion problems may be encountered when using this software, and that there are no editing tools available as indicated in the above Adobe Acrobat product.
- Also consult the How to Create an ETD section.
- Note: The WVU Office of Information Technology only provides pdf support for the Adobe Acrobat platform.

STEPS OF THE ELECTRONIC SUBMISSION PROCESS

Collect all the files you need to submit.

Put all the files for your ETD in the same directory. All files should have a distinct name with an appropriate standard prefix and suffix. We recommend the following convention: "Lastname_Firstname_thesis.pdf" or "Lastname_Firstname_dissertation.pdf"; you may substitute the word "thesis" or "dissertation" for "ETD".
Name any other file according to the convention for its type (e.g., name other PDF files with the ".pdf" suffix, name GIFs with a ".gif" suffix, name JPEGs with the ".jpg" suffix, etc.).
Link "etd.pdf" (title page, etc.) to all the other files using the hyperlink feature of Adobe Acrobat.
Multimedia Submissions: If you are using a multiple file and/or directory structure to accommodate interactive multiple file submissions, you may want to "zip" the entire set of directories and respective files before submitting online. You can access the zip freeware from the following links:
- WinZip (for PC platform)
- 7-Zip (for PC or MAC platforms)
- ZipIt (for MAC platform)

Submit Online

Preferred Web Browsers:

Netscape Navigator 4.78 (Download for Windows | MacOS | UNIX/Linux )
Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 (Download IE 6.0 for Microsoft Windows | Download IE 5 for MacOS)
Safari (Mac): Note - this browser is not yet supported by WVU OIT

Preliminary Steps to Submission

Go to the online to the WVU Electronic Institutional Document Repository at http://eidr.wvu.edu/
A Handout with complete instructions for online filing is available at http://oit.wvu.edu/training/etd/submitETD.pdf
- Note: A Central ID is required to login to the eTD system for submissions; to activate see http://centralid.wvu.edu/
Once you have activated your Central ID, you may login from the WVU Electronic Institutional Document Repository by selecting the "eIDR Login" link, then select the "eTD" link at https://eidr.wvu.edu/eidr/subLogin.jsp.
Once you have successfully completed the login step, you may verify and update your personal information by clicking the "Profile" link at the top of the screen.
- Preferences: You may update your last name, first and middle name or initial, alternate last name, name suffix, email address and screen viewing preferences. Once your submission is approved, this information will display to the public from your "Document Data" screen. We encourage students to use a non-WVU email address of their choice to enhance post-graduation contacts for promotional opportunities such as jobs, research, publishing and conferences.
Then select the "Prepare and Submit ETD(s)" link.
- Note: If you are resubmitting your document(s) and/or need to edit your submission information, please select the "Update/Review ETD(s) link.

The online submission form has four steps:

1) Enter your document data:

With the completion of each step in the eTD submission process you will notice with each new screen that the "Submission Steps" bar along the top of the screen will become filled in with the color blue to note your progress. Select the appropriate menu items from all pull-down lists.
Personal URL: You may input a Web link (URL) in this field. This is intended to link to your personal professional Web page where you may post information such as your current Curriculum Vitae or Resume, updates, addenda and corrigenda to your thesis or dissertation document, publication lists, etc. Be sure to include the entire Web address, starting with http://...
Copy and paste your document title and the body of your abstract from your word-processed, PDF, etc. file.

For the abstract portion, paste only the abstract body from your text file (exclude header). Although you may enter special symbol characters, you may want to avoid the use of non-standard symbols (i.e. use plain English equivalents) as this may affect the search access of your document. Most special characters will display properly and may be accessed by a search command.

Keep in mind that title and abstract information input into the document data screen become searchable keywords in order to access the document information.

Double check the title and abstract text from the document data screen to verify that all characters were properly inserted.

Note: You may need to retype special characters manually if not properly captured.

Keywords: Use discipline specific keywords, some of which may be contained in the title and/or abstract information, and others which may exist in your field of study. There are no limits regarding the number of keywords provided; the average is between five and 10 keywords. Keywords may be included at the bottom of the title page as indicated on our sample title page. For assistance in determining proper keywords see the keyword thesauri listing.
Select the level of access for your document. Detailed information about Web distribution of your eTD, publishing implications and advice on which option to choose is available online from our Intellectual Property section.
The "Post Embargo State" section applies to the Campus-Encrypted and No Access options, the system will automatically change your document access level to the selected post embargo access level once the default embargo period has expired.
After completing all fields on the document data screen, click the "Save" button.

2) Enter your committee members:

Click the "Committee Member" link at the bottom of the Document Data screen.
Use the "Browse" buttons provided to select committee members; if the committee member is not from WVU then you may manually enter the information.
After entering the details of the committee members, click the "Save" button.

3) Upload your file(s):

Click the "Upload Files" button at the bottom of the Document Data screen.
You will be prompted to install and run "Persists Software JUpload Applet", choose yes to activate the upload menu in order to transmit your files to us via the Internet.
If you do not have the required Java plug-in software installed on your computer, you may download and install the freeware version from http://www.java.com
Use the menu provided to browse and select folders and/or file(s) from your hard drive to upload to the system.
Click the "Upload Files" button to complete the upload.

4) Document Summary - Complete your eTD submission:

Make sure the information you provided is correct (including spelling!)
Click the "Press to Complete Submission" button to finish the submission.
The system will then generate automatic emails to notify the Library Administrator, the Committee Chair, the College/School Coordinator and the graduate student of the pending submission.
Be sure to logout when you are finished by clicking on the "Logout" link at the top of the screen.

Submit your eTD Submission Forms and Fee(s)

In addition to the electronic filing of your thesis or dissertation, a completed ETD Submission Packet (forms and fees) must be forwarded in person or by mail to the University Libraries.
Submission details can be found on the Submission Checklist pages.
When your ETD is approved, you will be notified by email from the University Libraries.
The student should also check with the college/school and department to determine whether additional printed and bound copies are required by them.
Submissions should arrive not later than the official deadline date or as indicated by his or her graduate coordinator for the semester in which graduation is anticipated.

Review Process

The library administrator will normally contact you by email within 24 hours after submission regarding the status of the document review.
The committee director/chair has the option to review the document data and file(s) submitted, and is given up to 5 days to review the document submitted. After 5 days the submission is assumed approved and the record will be updated accordingly.
Resubmissions: You may update your document data and/or file(s) at any time during the review process by logging back into the system. Resubmissions may be completed only up until the time the submission is approved.
Your document and select biographical information will be published in the WVU eTD collection once your submission has been approved. The library administrator will send an email notification of the approval to the student, committee director/chair and the college coordinator. The approval email will list the URL (Web address) of your eTD. You may also access your eTD by searching or browsing the WVU eTD collection.

Technical Problems:To report technical problems with the WVU eTD system and to receive assistance, contact the Office of Information Technology help desk at (304) 293-4444, ext. 1.

Submission Process Questions:For questions not addressed here you may contact the library administrator at (304) 293-4040, ext. 4025.

Helpful submission hints

Have you included your Curriculum Vitae or Resume? (Note: Inclusion of a CV is optional)
Have you checked your PDF file for missing pages, poor font translation, and other anomalies?
Are all internal and external multimedia objects and files present when you submit?
Have you included a Table of Contents and a list of each multimedia object type?
Have you checked that all your pages are numbered correctly?
Keywords

List four to six keywords or short key phrases to aid the cataloging librarian who will provide bibliographic subject access to your document through MountainLynx, the local online library catalog and OCLC WorldCat, an international catalog database. These words will be indexed in addition to all the words that appear in your title and abstract.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT REQUIRED FORMS

ProQuest (formerly UMI) Agreement Form

UMI offers abstract, copyright, microfilming, and publishing services.

All master's and doctoral students who submit an electronic thesis or dissertation are required to participate in the UMI Abstract publishing program (participation for Project Reports is optional).
For more information see the Intellectual Property page.
For publication purposes, a printed copy of the abstract must also be submitted in addition to the abstract included in the thesis or dissertation manuscript (see the sample Abstract and the Abstract section in the Arrangement of Contents page).
- Header: Must contain the word "Abstract", document title and author's name.
- Page(s) should not be numbered.
- Use single spacing.
- Word limits: 350 words for dissertations, 150 words for theses (excluding words in the header). Note: the word limit pertains only to the printed version to accompany the ProQuest (UMI) Agreement form for abstract publication in "Master's Thesis and Dissertation Abstracts International". If desired, students may include a longer version of the abstract within the final thesis or dissertation document to be submitted as well as for the WVU ETD system document data (online submission form abstract field).
The additional copy of the abstract will be computer scanned by UMI, so bear in mind that the appearance of your abstract submission will remain exactly the same when published. The use of figures in your abstract entry is acceptable, but remember that keyword searching is useful only with text.
For publication purposes, a printed copy of the title page which cites the names of the committee chair (advisor) and committee members must also be submitted; this will serve as the header for the microfilm copy (see the sample Title Page).

ETD Signature Form

Required for all ETD submissions.
Student indicates Web distribution choice.
Student and faculty committee members must sign.

Survey of Earned Doctorates (SED)

Doctoral Students Only: A completed questionnaire entitled "Survey of Earned Doctorates" should be presented to the University Libraries when the dissertation is submitted. For more information about the survey, see National Science Foundation Web site.

Note about compliance: While the surveys are voluntary, the level of federal funding designated for public institutions such as WVU is dependent on the aggregate information provided by these questionnaires. Student responses are held in complete confidence and no individuals are identified in university reports of findings. For additional information regarding the confidentiality of the Survey of Earned Doctorates please consult the SED Brochure.
Please note, beginning with the 1997-98 edition, the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago has been awarded the federal contract for conducting this survey. You should use the edition corresponding to the current academic year. Copies are available online or from the University Libraries.

Revised 7 December, 2007