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Thesis advisor Guidelines

Questions and Answers

Will I get a course release for serving as thesis advisor? Will I get a course release for serving as advisor for multiple students?

No. Advising a thesis is an Auxiliary Teaching activity.  

How does the thesis committee structure function? How does the role of thesis advisor differ from the roles of other committee members? What, exactly, is the relationship between student and advisor? How does the relationship between student and advisor differ from the student’s relationships with other committee members? How much influence might other committee members have on the student’s project? Are the answers to these questions clearly articulated to the student? How?

While there is no one perfect way to arrange the committee, the advisor should have final approval of the committee’s membership. The initiative for forming the committee should come from the student, but the advisor and student may determine between themselves who should approach the other potential committee members.

Committees will vary in their working methods, but several overall guidelines should be followed: a) materials should be seen by the advisor before they are seen by the other committee members, b) committee members should not be seeing sections of the thesis for the first time in the defense draft, and c) in the case of disputes between committee members, the advisor has precedence as the instructor of record for ENG 6030. Should a dispute become unmanageable, the Program Director is available to mediate, with further recourse to the Department Chair if necessary.

I need to get a thesis course listed on the department schedule; I also need to get my student or students enrolled in the course. What should I do?

You need to notify the Administrative Support Associate, Ms. Carolyn Price, and you will also need to notify the Department Chair and the Registrar. Be aware, however, that these are two separate issues.

To have the thesis course listed, provide Ms. Price with both the number and the title of the course as well as the number of students allowed to register for the course, their names and Banner ID numbers. Ms. Price can handle all communications with the Registrar, but you are responsible for checking the department schedule (online) and making sure that your request has been implemented. If the course does not appear on the schedule within a day or two, then follow up with Ms. Price.

Once the course is listed in Braveweb, Ms. Price will need to know the names and Banner ID numbers of individuals allowed to enroll in the course; she will then perform an override to allow students to register for a thesis course. Once this process is complete, students enrolling in a thesis course will then need to register online. If students have difficulty registering for the course (and the course is actually on the schedule), then they should contact Ms. Price directly for help. Should you encounter any problems with this process, contact the Program Director for help as well.

Must students take 6020 and 6030 in sequence?

Yes.

What happens if a student does not complete the six-credit thesis in the semester during which she takes ENG 6030, or the three-credit thesis in a single semester?

ENG 6020 always receives a grade of "T." You may assign the student the grade of T for ENG 6010 or ENG 6030. As the Graduate Studies section of the UNCP Catalog explains, "A grade of 'T' indicates grade pending and is issued only for thesis research and capstone courses and for the year-long internship in school administration." If "T" is not an option on the drop-down menu, then e-mail the Registrar (Sharon Kissick) directly; if you provide her with the student’s name and ID number and apprise her of the situation, she can assign the grade manually. The "T" grade does not automatically convert to an "F" after one semester as does an "I" grade. The professor must complete a Change of Grade Form for ENG 6020 following the student’s completion of thesis and thesis defense, and will also need to do so for ENG 6030 if the defense takes place after grades are due for the semester in which the student is enrolled in ENG 6030. A completed thesis receives a grade of "P" for both ENG 6020 and ENG 6030

The Graduate School specifies that the student must submit to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies a final copy of the thesis with corrections made “at least two weeks before the end of the semester in which the student expects to complete degree requirements.” Specifically when is the end of the semester?

The end of the semester refers to the day that grades must be submitted; the thesis, therefore, should be submitted to the Dean of the School of Graduate Studies no later than two weeks prior to the day that grades are due.

Nota bene: Thesis binding costs $20 per copy, and students are required to submit only one final copy of the thesis on special paper for binding purposes. All copies (including extra copies) presented for binding should be printed on special paper with original signature pages. Students must speak directly with June Mills at the library concerning the binding process following approval of the thesis by the Graduate School.

Students are also requested to provide a copy of the thesis to the Graduate Director for our program archive, though those do not need to be printed on the special paper.

Any further questions about the Thesis advising process may be directed to the Program Director. You can also find the directions for students here (Graduate Program in English) and here (School of Graduate Studies).

 

Updated: Friday, August 5, 2011

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