Part III: Dissertation Forms and Graduation Procedures

The Educational and Organizational Learning and Leadership (EOLL) Program has instituted policies to help students with the forms and procedures required for the doctoral dissertation. These are outlined under the headings below and are intended to ease the process of completing forms correctly and obtaining official signatures.

Program Handbook

EOLL Student Handbook 2022-23

Dissertation Timeline

The Educational and Organizational Learning and Leadership Program requires students to submit a completed draft for committee review two weeks prior to scheduling the TDiLP proposal defense or TDiLP final defense. It is the student’s responsibility to ensure that all procedures are completed by their associated deadlines. 

Note that while Seattle University holds one graduate commencement ceremony each year, degrees can be conferred four times a year (Summer, Fall, Winter, Spring). 

Missed deadlines can delay a student’s graduation. If the student is not registered for other courses, they will be required to register for EOLL 6100 until the dissertation process is complete. 

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Dissertation Rubric

Below are the dissertation rubrics utilized to ensure that your dissertation meets the rigor and quality required of all doctoral dissertations at Seattle University.

Students are to ensure that they clearly read each specific criterion outlined and the information that is required for each section. This document will be utilized by Dissertation Chairs and Committee members in their review of the dissertation chapters and final manuscript.

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Dissertation Forms

The Educational and Organizational Learning and Leadership Program will process the following forms using DocuSign. The forms that will be available via DocuSign are:

  • Dissertation Committee Request Form
  • Dissertation Proposal Hearing Report Form
  • Dissertation Defense Scheduling Request Form
  • Report of the Final Dissertation Examination and Filing of the Dissertation Form
  • Dissertation Final Approval Form

How Does it Work?

Based on the dissertation process timeline, EOLL has developed workflow processes for each form. The Initiator represents the person who starts the process. If you are the Initiator, (1) click the link for the form you wish to complete, (2) complete the section requested of you on the form. Then, (3) click Submit, and the form will route to the next party. It’s that easy.

Except for the Dissertation Final Approval form, the Senior Program Administrator in the EOLL program will have a chance to review the form for accuracy before it routes to other parties.

How Do I Know if I Need to Sign Something?

You will receive an email to your SU email account. Once you receive an email, respond to the prompts, provide your initials or signatures (whichever is requested), and then continue.

I Want to Know More:

DocuSign has a robust Support Center.  You can watch a video to learn more about signing documents. There are also step-by-step instructions related to printing documents, accessing documents you previously signed, and other basic information.

What if I Have a Form That is the Old Version but is Routing Now?

We only accept DocuSign forms.

How Do I Access these forms?

Enrolled students can find dissertation forms here.

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Dissertation Format and ETD Submission Guidelines

These guidelines summarize the steps you will follow to prepare for, write and submit a dissertation in the College of Education. Students are responsible for the content of the dissertation, which must be original work, and for ensuring the document is appropriately referenced and in the correct format.  The content and format must be approved by your dissertation chair and committee. You will be responsible for uploading your approved dissertation to ScholarWorks and ETD.   Electronic Thesis and Dissertation (ETD) Submission Instructions

 

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Applying for Graduation

Doctoral Graduation Application Deadline

Doctoral students who are in the final year of their program are eligible to apply for graduation.  Students should apply for graduate by logging in MySeattleU and select Graduation Application. The registrar has established the following deadlines to apply for graduation:

  • Winter Quarter: October 1
  • Spring Quarter: November 1
  • Summer and Fall Quarter: February 1

If students need to change their graduation date, they change their anticipated graduation date by submitting a Graduation Update Notification form.

Details are available on the Seattle University Commencement website

Dissertation Forms and Graduation Procedures

The following information and deadlines apply to EOLL students who anticipate receiving their EdD degrees following the Seattle University Graduation cycles. 

Students looking towards their defense should have completed their degree requirements as outlined in the Seattle University Graduate Catalog, including the Comprehensive Examination in Leadership Practice and TDiLP.

When finishing a degree, students must be registered in the quarter in which the final degree requirements are completed.

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Graduation and Commencement Participation Eligibility

Doctoral (EOLL) candidates must have completed the doctoral project/dissertation, have secured the signatures of their committee and the chair and have turned the project/dissertation in to the program director by April 10th of the year in which they wish to participate in the commencement ceremony.

Doctoral students who participate in the commencement ceremony will not have their degree posted to the transcript in June unless the dissertation is signed off by the EOLL program director and the College of Education dean, and the dissertation and all other grades (including removal of all I and N grades) are received by the Office of the Registrar on the date final grades for the spring term are due as published in the University Academic Calendar.

Verification Procedure

Each year the EOLL Program is asked to verify graduates who will take part in commencement.  This procedure identifies the steps necessary to submit names and information to the Registrar for commencement purposes.

Procedure:

  1. The EOLL Program Director will serve as the verifying faculty member for purposes of submitting names to the Registrar for those students who are eligible to participate in commencement.
  2. In April of each year the Registrar will forward the names of students who have applied to graduate and participate in commencement and provide a deadline (usually the first week in May) for verification and submission.   Information needed from the program includes:  the name of the graduate, the official title of their dissertation, and the name of the dissertation chair.
  3. Students are eligible to participate if they have (a) successfully defended their dissertation, (b) have a signed and submitted Report of the Final Dissertation Examination and Filing of the Dissertation Form in the EOLL Program Office, and (c) have no more than six (6) credits of coursework remaining.  Care must be taken to submit only those names for students who are fully eligible to participate as verified by these criteria.
  4. The Program Director will work with the EOLL Administrative Assistant to identify those students who are eligible.  Initial information will be submitted by the deadline along with the names of those who applied to graduate but are not eligible.
  5. In some cases (e.g., scheduling of dissertation defense, emergency situation, or availability of dissertation committee members) a student may defend their dissertation early in May but after the initial deadline.  In this event the Registrar will continue to accept names of eligible students through May 15th or, in the event the 15th is on a weekend, the last working day prior to this date. The same information must be submitted for “late adds” as is called for in item 2, above. 

 

 

Thematic Dissertation in Leadership Practice (TDiLP) forms

Use these forms if you are a part of a thematic dissertation group