Josh Brown and Kathy Sadler have self-archived Vision, Impact, Success: Mandating Electronic Theses in UCL Eprints.
Here's an excerpt:
These case studies form part of the ‘Influencing the Deposit of Electronic Theses in UK HE' project, commissioned by the JISC and led by UCL. They were designed to explore the practicalities of introducing and administering an institutional e-thesis mandate, and to draw out the benefits and challenges of mandates for the institutions that adopt them.
Each of the four institutions who made up the case studies was chosen because they offered a glimpse into the reality of a mandate at every stage.
- The University of Sussex has just introduced a mandate, and staff there offered the benefit of their experiences of creating the systems and processes that support the new policy.
- Aberystwyth University spent some time exploring what kind of mandate would be most effective, and their story shows how to get the best from the consultation process.
- Brunel University has been developing its e-theses collection since 2006, and has been reaping the rewards, both in terms of research impact and benefits to scholarship.
- The University of Glasgow was one of the earliest adopters of e-theses in the UK and its work showcases a mature service that is very much a part of the institution.
Each of these institutions had experiences in common, and each faced similar questions from students and supervisors. In highlighting different aspects of best practice in each case study, the aim is to demonstrate an effective approach to meeting the challenges of e-theses. While these challenges can seem daunting, these case studies show that they can be overcome by a combination of communication, education and balanced policies.
