Digitalization of the graduation process at the Department of Software of the Zaporizhzhia Polytechnic National University based on cloud-based electronic communications technologies

Due to the introduction of quarantine at the university and in order to counteract the spread of coronavirus by reducing physical contact between students and teachers, the Department of Software has introduced digitalization of the graduation process using free cloud-based Internet services in an experimental mode for the period of quarantine with possible further use.

The file on the cloud Google Drive with information on the completion of the graduation stages (signing and receiving documents) is publicly available for reading, but its editing is allowed only to the relevant participants in the process and only to those cells that are assigned to them.

Participants in the graduation process (graduate students, supervisors, secretaries of examination committees (ECs) – standard controllers, reviewers, responsible for checking for plagiarism and the repository departments) are guided by the following procedure.

1. The student completes an explanatory note, which in its final form with all attachments (an editable doc file and an identical pdf file) is sent by e-mail to the assigned supervisor. The title page and assignment sheet can be submitted electronically without signatures. Signatures are affixed to the paper version.

2. The supervisor, if there are any comments, returns the work to the student for revision. If there are no comments, the supervisor makes a note of this by entering the date of signing in the row with the student’s last name in a specially designated column in the file with information on the completion of graduation stages on the cloud Google Drive (the corresponding cells are available for editing only by the respective supervisors) and sends an explanatory note and a scan (or photo) of the supervisor’s signed response to the standard controller – the secretary of the relevant EC and the student from his/her email address.

3. The secretary of the relevant EC-norm controller, if there are any comments, sends a letter by e-mail to the student and the supervisor with a description of the comments or assigning the student a date, time and means of communication for a voice conversation, after which the student finalizes the work materials, repeating p.1-p.2. In the absence of comments (consent to sign the explanatory note), the standard controller makes a note of this by putting the date of signing in the line with the student’s last name in a specially designated column in the file with information on the completion of the graduation stages on the cloud Google Drive (the corresponding cells are available for editing only by the corresponding standard controllers).

4. The student submits the work to the assigned reviewer by e-mail and receives a scan (or photo) of the signed review from him.

5. The student, whose work has been accepted by the head and secretary of the relevant EC standard controller and for which a review has been received, fills out the Google registration form on the cloud Google Drive, through which he uploads the final doc and pdf versions of the explanatory note (with attachments), as well as accompanying documentation (scan or photo of the signed declaration of academic integrity, scan or photo of a signed application for acceptance of an explanatory note to the repository, electronic version of the doc-file of the metadata of the explanatory note for submission to the repository, scans or photos of the supervisor’s feedback and reviewer’s review), and also answers the questions of the alumni survey questionnaire.

6. The person responsible for checking for plagiarism and maintaining the repository checks the documents under item 5. In case of their non-compliance, the person responsible for checking for plagiarism and the repository sends a notification by e-mail to the student / supervisor. If all documents under item 5 are available and meet the requirements, the person responsible for checking for plagiarism and the repository makes a note of this by entering the date of receipt of the documents in the line with the student’s last name in a specially designated column in the file with information on the completion of the graduation stages on the cloud Google Drive (the corresponding cells must be available for editing only by the person responsible for the repository).

7. The head of the software department checks the absence of academic debts of the student and the completeness and compliance with the requirements of clause 5. In the absence of academic debts and the correctness of the documents, the head of the software department conditionally admits the student to the defense, which is noted by putting the date of admission in the line with the student’s last name in a specially designated column in the file with information on the completion of the graduation stages on the cloud Google Drive (the corresponding cells are available for editing only by the head of the department). In case of any comments, the head of the department informs the student and/or other participants in the graduation process by e-mail.

8. After the end of the quarantine, the student submits to the secretary of the relevant EC a complete set of all documents (including the plagiarism check form), printed on paper and signed by him, the supervisor, the standard controller, and the reviewer, where provided for by the relevant document. The student also receives a submission from the dean’s office, signs it with the supervisor and submits it for signature to the head of the software department.

9. Only those students who have completed p.1-p.8 are allowed to defend (physically).

Current messages regarding the graduation process are published in the Telegram channel of the Department of Software: https://t.me/pz_zntu

Using this order of interaction of participants in the graduation process allows to eliminate physical contact between teachers and students during the quarantine period, significantly speed up the graduation process, save time, streamline and rationalize the interaction of participants in the process, make the graduation process publicly visible and reduce the workload of standard controllers and the person responsible for the repository, increase the controllability of the graduation process, etc.

Head of the Department of Software

S.O. Subbotin