What are the roles of the supervisor, co-supervisor, and GPD in myThesis?
A supervisor’s role is to approve the examiner nominations, indicate the preferred examiner, and approve the initial thesis submission on myThesis.
Co-supervisors are copied on the notification sent to the primary supervisor when the Intent to Submit Thesis page is completed. They also approve the initial thesis submission on myThesis.
A GPD’s role is to approve the examiner nominations, send invitations to desired examiners, and approve the initial thesis submission on myThesis.
An examiner is having trouble accepting their invitation on myThesis. Would GPS be able to accept on their behalf?
GPS cannot accept an invitation on behalf of an internal examiner, and in rare cases, GPS can accept invitations on behalf of external examiners.
If an examiner is having trouble accepting their invitation, they can consult guidelines here: https://mcgill.service-now.com/itportal?id=kb_article_view&sysparm_article=KB0012223 . They can also reach out to thesis.gps [at] mcgill.ca.
A student’s co-supervisor is outside of McGill. Can you approve the student’s thesis on their behalf?
If the student’s co-supervisor (with no McGill credentials) is outside of McGill, GPS can approve the thesis on their behalf. The Thesis Office must receive an email at thesis.gps [at] mcgill.ca from the co-supervisor where they state that they approve the thesis.
Can the student or supervisor communicate with the examiner?
Communication between the student or supervisor with the examiner is highly encouraged if it is for the purpose of securing the examiner. Discussing the content of the thesis however would constitute a conflict of interest, a new examiner would have to be selected for the student.
I am a GPD and I just approved the Nomination of Examiners page. Does myThesis automatically invite the examiner?
No, you must also invite the examiner. On the same page, click on the envelope icon in the row belonging to the desired examiner. For doctoral students, an invitation must be sent to an internal and external examiner.
Select ‘Yes’ when the system asks you for your confirmation. A notification will appear at the top of the page advising you that the invitation was emailed to the examiner.
To view whether the invitation was sent, you must see “Contacting” in the status column of the appropriate row. You will also see a date in the ‘Sent on’ column.
Can a GPD send an invitation to several examiners at once?
No. For Masters students, only one examiner should be invited at one time. For Doctoral students, only one internal examiner and one external examiner should be invited at a time.
The GPD is trying to approve the Nomination of Examiners page and invite the examiner(s), but they keep receiving an error message.
Please check the student’s Intent to Submit page to see if there is a Yes indicated next to the Confidentiality statement. Please note that if the student has indicated that the thesis is confidential, the thesis will be processed outside of myThesis and no further action will be required from the GPD, student, or supervisor on myThesis. If you attempt to take action on a confidential thesis on myThesis, you will likely receive an error message.
If the student has not indicated that the thesis is confidential, and they are still unable to approve the Nomination of Examiners page and/or invite the examiner(s), please contact the thesis office at thesis.gps [at] mcgill.ca
I am the GPD of my department, and the student’s examiner or supervisor. Can I still approve the student’s Nomination of Examiners or initial thesis submission as GPD?
No. GPS has given security access to Department Chairs and Faculty ADs for backup in these situations.
Can a backup receive notifications on myThesis?
No, backups do not receive notifications from the system. If a backup needs to be used for a student record on myThesis, the backup will have to monitor the record on myThesis to know when action is required from them.
Can a GPC act as GPD on myThesis?
No, only the GPD and the backups have the necessary permissions to do this on myThesis.
A student is in time limitation and they are not currently registered at McGill. Can they use myThesis?
The student must fill out a webform for readmission. Once the department approves this webform, Enrolment Services will process the request for readmission so that the student may register and access myThesis. Students should complete the webform as soon as they are ready to submit their Intent to Submit Thesis page, which is usually done six to eight (6-8) weeks prior to their expected initial thesis submission date.
Can departments continue to reach out to examiners outside myThesis?
Yes. However, the GPD must still send the formal invitation through myThesis and the examiner must accept the invitation through the link included in their myThesis notification email.
What does R&R mean?
This means that the student initially received a grade of “fail” on their initial thesis, and they are in the process of revising and re-submitting their thesis.
All the examiners listed in the student’s Nomination of Examiners page have declined. What happens next?
If all the examiners listed in myThesis decline the invitation, the GPD can select “request changes” on the Nomination of Examiners page. The student will then be able to additional examiners to their record.
What is the meaning of each status in Thesis Records on the myThesis platform?
The status and their meaning are posted below. On the Thesis Records page in myThesis, the status date reflects when the last action was taken on the platform. If the status of a student’s file has not moved in 5 days or more, and action is required, we encourage GPCs to follow up with the supervisor or GPD (depending on the status). Please note that if an examiner has not responded to their invitation after 5 days, they will receive a reminder to do so from myThesis.
| Status in myThesis | What does the status mean? |
|---|---|
|
Intent Submitted (IS) |
The student submitted their intent to submit their thesis. The supervisor and co-supervisor were notified. *For unit: It is advised that the Unit does the degree audit at this time. |
|
Examiners Proposed (EP) |
The student submitted their Nomination of Examiners page. The supervisor was notified that their approval is required. |
|
Examiners Approved by Sup. (ES) |
The supervisor approved the Notification of Examiners page. The GPD was notified that their action is required: approving the page and inviting the examiner. |
|
Examiners Apprvd / Contacting (ED) |
The GPD has approved the Nomination of Examiners page and should have invited the examiner. *For unit: To confirm whether the invitation was sent, the GPD must see “Contacting” in the status column of the appropriate row. GPDs will get notifications when the examiner has declined the invitation or not responded. They can return to the Nomination of Examiners page to select the next person. If all the examiners listed in myThesis decline the invitation, GPS will request additional examiners names from the student and supervisor. The thesis unit will enter the new names in myThesis and advise the GPD when they can invite the examiner through the platform. |
|
Examiners Accepted Invitation (EA) |
The student can now submit their initial thesis when they are ready. |
|
Thesis Package Submitted (PS) |
The student submitted their initial thesis in PDF format. Their supervisor and co-supervisor were notified that their approval is required. |
|
Eval. Authorized by Sup. (AS) |
The initial thesis package was approved by the supervisor and co-supervisor. The GPD was notified that their approval is required. |
|
Eval. Authorized by GPD (AD) |
The initial thesis package was approved by the GPD. GPS was notified that their approval is required. |
|
Thesis submitted to GPS (SU) |
GPS has received and approved thesis package for examination. At this point in time, myThesis statuses will no longer update. |
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