Keywords
ETDs; Honors Theses; Honors Undergraduate Theses; format review
Abstract
Honors undergraduate theses are modeled after Master's theses, and formatting review is an important part of the process. The Office of Honors Research (OHR) at the University of Central Florida (UCF) has, in the last two years, worked with the UCF Libraries to streamline the format review process in its Honors Undergraduate Thesis (HUT) program by making use of Digital Commons, the online platform used for the publication of theses and dissertations. Format review was previously done in person, then via email. Since Digital Commons was originally developed for journal article submission, it allows for submission of manuscripts, the return of comments from an editor to the submitter, and the resubmission of a revised manuscript. In Spring 2019, the Office of Honors Research piloted the use of the platform to conduct thesis format review. The move to all-online format review was not without hiccups, both anticipated and unforeseen. However, after one full academic year, it appears to have been a resounding success. The greatest advantage to the all-online system is that it has eliminated the need to set up in-person appointments between the thesis editor and students, freeing up both students and editor to upload and edit at their leisure (during prescribed windows that are pre-decided and communicated to all parties by OHR). A second advantage is that it allows students to set up an account and become familiar with the platform and submission system well before the final upload of their completed thesis is due, virtually eliminating the slew of panicked calls and emails right before the final upload deadline. A third advantage, to the thesis editor, is that the system can be pre-programmed with certain responses that are then selected for each submission. Finally, because the online submission sends automated email notifications, OHR can instantly verify as well as keep a record of who has submitted their thesis for format review. This presentation will discuss the process of implementation and subsequent tweaks, the role of each partner (OHR, libraries, editor), and lessons learned in the streamlining of format review for Honors Undergraduate Theses at UCF.
Publication Date
9-23-2020
Document Type
Conference Presentation
Language
English
Copyright Status
Author retained
Rights
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
STARS Citation
Bottorff, Kerri; Coopamah Waldron, Padmini Dr.; and Ammirati, Amanda, "Streamlining the Format Review Process: Best Practices and Lessons Learned" (2020). Faculty Scholarship and Creative Works. 916.
https://stars.library.ucf.edu/ucfscholar/916