While theses and dissertations go through a rigorous review process prior to submission, occasionally an error may be discovered that warrants resubmitting the manuscript. Since the published work appears in ProQuest's Theses & Dissertations Global database, the library catalog, and the digital commons, it is a costly and labor intensive effort across multiple entities to remove and replace an ETD from the various repositories.
Manuscripts will only be considered for withdrawal if the Graduate Office determines the errors are of a significant nature. It is also important to note that there are student fees associated with resubmitting a thesis or dissertation.
The following provides the list of steps required for removing and resubmitting a thesis or dissertation:
- The student contacts the Graduate Office and alerts them of the specific error and its location in the manuscript.
- If the Graduate Office approves the withdrawal, they will prepare a letter of authorization as required by ProQuest and inform the student of their decision.
- The student will supply a complete, corrected .pdf of the dissertation to the Graduate Office.
- Once the revision(s) are approved, the Graduate Office will forward the .pdf to the library's ETD Administrator along with the letter of authorization.
- The student will pay a reprocessing fee of $100 with a check payable to the James E. Tobin library.
- The library ETD Administrator will open a support ticket with ProQuest, supply the letter of authorization and the corrected manuscript, and alert them that a withdrawal fee is forthcoming. The student will be copied on the email.
- ProQuest will respond and provide the student with the publication number of the dissertation to be replaced.
- The student will contact ProQuest Author Relations at 800-521-0600, provide the publication number and pay a correction fee of $47.*
- Once the fee to ProQuest has been made, they will replace the current entry in the Dissertations and Theses Global database with the corrected manuscript and update the support ticket once that process has been completed.
- The library ETD Administrator will also send the corrected .pdf to the JET library's cataloging department and the digital commons curator. In both cases, the existing manuscript will be removed and the corrected version will be processed and republished.
*This fee is subject to change by ProQuest without notice. Students may also wish to replace any physical copies that they've ordered. If so, they can advise ProQuest Author Relations when the withdrawal fee is paid or at a later time via the contact information indicated above. Note, for dissertations, it is not required that the student replace the print copies previously ordered for the institution.
