Annual programs

General Regulation for the Preparation of Postgraduate Diploma Theses in PSP with Term-long T.U.

The present regulation prescribes the framework for the preparation of Post-graduate Diploma Theses (DT) in the Post-graduate Studies Programs of the Hellenic Open University that have term-long Thematic Units, as follows:

1. The General Regulation

The General Regulation is applicable as is for the Post-graduate Studies Programs (P.S.P.) of the Hellenic Open University that have term-long Thematic Units. Each P.S.P. may, following a decision by the competent academic bodies of the S.P., further specify the requirements for the preparation of DT in Special Regulations, provided that these Special Regulations do not contradict the present Regulation. These Special Regulations are drafted by the competent academic body of the P.S., submitted to the relevant Dean’s Office for approval and, following ratification by the H.O.U. Senate, are considered supplementary texts to the basic regulatory framework. The administrative bodies of the P.S.P. are required to post the Special Regulation on the P.S.P. website.

2. Changes and improvements

Changes and improvements to the General DT Regulation will enter into force starting in the next Academic Term following their approval by the Senate, for post-graduate students to be informed in a timely manner.

3. Objective and Outcomes of successful completion.

The DT is meant to combine and utilize the knowledge students have acquired over the course of their studies.

4. DT Subjects.

The general categories for DT subjects are defined by the S.P. Director after consultation with the T.U. Coordinators, and are posted on the H.O.U. website by 28 February. The S.P. Director is required to post instructions regarding issues of scientific methodology in DT preparation on the T.U. website.

5. DT Form and Extent.

The thesis – whether theoretical, applied, or experimental – may be presented in written form, together with the necessary figures, diagrams, photographs, and images. The text must include a brief description of the thesis subject, a description of the conclusions-results of the work, the methodology, assumptions, bibliography and any other necessary supporting or explanatory material as Appendixes. Each DT must be accompanied by a brief, 300-word abstract in both Greek and one of the main languages of the E.U. Programs may publish guidelines on the indicative number of words in the DT. The text must be written in accordance with the H.O.U. DT template. In certain P.S.P., DTs may be prepared in a different form, such as figures (either natural or digital), or multimedia format that combines text, figures, sound, and moving images. Such DTs must be accompanied by a brief, detailed report.

Each DT must be appended by the following text, in addition to the student’s signature: “I declare that, in accordance with the provisions of article 8 of Law 1599/1986, the present thesis is exclusively a product of my own, personal work, and does not violate any form of intellectual property rights, personality and personal data of third parties, does not contain works/contributions of third parties for which permission of the authors/owners is required and has not been copied either in part or in full, and the sources used are limited to bibliographical references only, and meet the standards of scientific citation”.

6. Submission of proposals.

Students submit proposals for thesis subjects of their interest (title, objective, and expected results) electronically, through a special educational portal. Group theses are not permitted, unless otherwise provided for by Senate-approved School decision. Guidelines for such group theses must delineate the responsibilities and requirements of each member of the group.

7. Proposal submission deadline.

The DT proposal submission period begins on 1 June  and ends on 15 July.

8. DT and T.U. Correspondence:

For Students who enrolled in post-graduate programs in academic term 2015-2016 and before, the DT grade corresponds to 1-2 T.U., depending on the requirements of the P.S.P. as described in the detailed “Diploma Thesis Preparation Instructions”, defined by the S.P. Director. For students who enrolled in post-graduate programs from academic term 2016-2016 onwards, the DT grade is defined on the basis of its corresponding ECTS. Tuition fees are defined by Senate decision.

9. DT initiation.

The S.P. Director (or the T.U. Coordinator, if authorized by the Director), drafts groups of related subjects, on the basis of which students submit thesis proposals. The S.P. Director (or the T.U. Coordinator, as above) appoints a member of the teaching staff as supervisor (1^st supervisor) and a second member of the Examination Committee for each submitted DT proposal, if the basic academic prerequisites have been met. The 1^st Supervisor, in collaboration with the students, confirms the subject and basic contents of the DT and posts the relevant information on the digital learning portal within the first month of writing, and also gives final approval.

Thesis subjects may be changed within the first month of writing. In such a case, the relevant request is submitted for approval to the S.P. Director, together with the necessary documentation, by the 1^st Supervisor, with notification to the second member of the Examination Committee. In case of approval, the relevant administrative body must be informed.

The preparation period for the DT begins on 1^st October, provided that students have paid the tuition fees for the DT in accordance with the relevant provisions.

Finally, students may begin preparing their DT, while submitting (see article 16) their final subject proposal electronically through the special educational portal 1) up to one month before the final DT submission date or 2) up to the day of the DT presentation upon the request of the examination committee, if the title has been changed.

10. DT preparation period.

The DT preparation period is one academic term.

11. DT Evaluation and Completion

DT presentations take place during the: (a) May, and (b) September exams periods.

The presentations may be held exclusively during the September period upon the recommendation of the Director of the P.G.P. and the relevant approval of the School’s Dean’s Office.

May Exams Period:

Students must submit their thesis to the Examination Committee by 28 February. Upon completion of the necessary corrections/improvements according to the observations and comments expressed by the Board, students must submit their final thesis by uploading it to the educational portal by 20 March. If approved, the DT is presented/defended in May.

September Exams Period:

Students must submit their thesis to the Examination Committee by 31 May. Upon completion of the necessary corrections/improvements according to the observations and comments expressed by the Board, students must submit their final thesis by uploading it to the educational portal by 30 June. If approved, the DT is presented/defended in September.

Students who wish to orally present and defend their DT must have obtained approval from the Examination Committee and successfully completed the required T.U./T.L.U./P.T.M. in their Study Program. In case of disagreement between the two members of the Examination Committee, a third examiner, either the S.P. Director or another member appointed by them, shall participate in the examination process.

If the DT is approved by the Examination Committee, but the student has not completed the required T.U./T.L.U./P.T.M., they may not orally support their DT, and the examination is postponed until the next exams period, under the same conditions. No further tuition fees are required in such a case.

• If the DT is approved but the student fails their oral presentation and defense, they must repeat the DT preparation process and pay the full tuition fee again.
• If the DT is not completed by the 1^st exams period (May), students may receive an extension and repeat the process within a three-month period with the same Supervisor – improving the thesis according to the observations of the Examination Committee – in the 2^nd exams period (September), without additional tuition fees.

The aforementioned process may be repeated up to two more times. If the DT has not been completed and defended orally by the third time as described above, the student is removed from the PSP. Should the DT be completed, the tuition fee must be paid, while there are no additional fees for the extensions.

Students who discontinue their studies without having completed their DT must, on their next registration, repeat the DT proposal submission process and pay the relevant tuition fees in full.

12. Examination Committees.

Examination Committees are made up of the 1^st and 2^nd Supervisors, in addition to the Director (or the T.U. Coordinator, if authorized by the Director). The latter only participates in the oral presentation, and thus in the final grade, whenever and wherever it is deemed necessary. Other Faculty Members or H.O.U. Teaching Staff or researchers may be present at the oral presentation as external observers, and may express their opinion.

13. DT Examination – Presentation.

Upon Examination Committee approval of the thesis, an oral presentation date is set. Prior to the oral presentation, students must send a copy of their DT to each member of the Examination Committee.

The length and extent of the oral examination depend on the form in which the thesis is presented. The thesis must be presented in a language accepted by the study program or in the language in which it has been written.

The student and the members of the Examination Committee participate in the oral presentation on the basis of the relevant decisions of the H.O.U. academic bodies, and are obligated in all cases to ensure the integrity of the presentation process. The relevant administrative body drafts the DT oral presentation program in cooperation with the S.P. Director (or the T.U. Coordinator, if authorized by the Director).

DTs are presented and examined in two periods in accordance with the provisions of paragraph 11:

(a) May (b) September.

Upon completion of the presentation the student steps out, and the Examination Committee evaluates the DT as a whole (written thesis and oral presentation). The 1^st Supervisor then uploads the final DT grade to the Digital Education Portal.

If the final score of the DT is not passable, or if the DT is rejected during the oral presentation, the Examination Committee must explain in writing the reasons for the failure of the DT.

14. DT Grading.

In order to ensure uniform evaluation of DTs, the final grade of the Examination Committee is based on the evaluation of both the written thesis and the oral presentation. The following grading guide is provided as an example:

15. DT Copies.

Students must, after successfully presenting/defending their diploma thesis and incorporating any corrections or additions, even appendices that were indicated to them by the Examination Committee, upload it to the H.O.U. repository (apothesis.eap.gr).

The thesis is the intellectual property of the student. However, in accordance with the H.O.U. open access policy, students grant the H.O.U. a non-exclusive license to reproduce, adapt, lend publicly, present to the public and disseminate their thesis internationally through digital means, in electronic form as well as any other medium, for educational and research purposes, free of charge and for the entire duration of the intellectual property rights. Open study and reading access to the full thesis text in no way implies the granting of intellectual property rights of the author/creator, nor does it allow reproduction, republication, copying, storage, sale, commercial use, transmission, distribution, publication, editing, performance, downloading, uploading, translation, partial or total modification in any way, of the work without the express prior written consent of the author/creator. Creators retain all their moral and property rights.

Within the framework of the H.O.U. open access policy for Degree/Diploma Theses, the H.O.U. proposes the optional management of the intellectual property rights of the works with Creative Commons licenses (https://creativecommons.org/licenses). Students who select this management method must indicate clearly in their work the specific license under which they are providing it. Implementation of Creative Commons licenses does not affect open access to the full thesis text, but defines the relationship between the uploader of the work and the reading public.

Students, upon request to the Library Department, have the right to postpone the publication of their Thesis in the Repository for up to 3 years, in the following cases:

• They wish to submit sections of their work for publication in scholarly or scientific publications (e.g., journals) or conferences.
• They have submitted part of their work to a patenting procedure.
• They are currently in negotiations for the commercial exploitation of part of their work.
• They have another valid reason, stated in their request.

Until the end of this period, only the thesis description will be posted at the Repository, while the full text of the thesis will be published after 3 years.

16. Administrative Issues

• DT Proposal submission period: from 1/6 to 15/7 each academic term
• DT proposal submission and payment of the relevant tuition within the new T.U. selection period.
• Immediately following proposal, right of students to prepare their DT is verified
• Access to the submitted proposals given to the Directors
• Right to change DT subject within first month of preparation
• Right to change DT title 1) up to one month before the final DT submission date or 2) up to the day of the DT presentation upon the request of the examination committee, if the title has been changed.
• Announcement of final grade through publication on the educational portal and, in case of non-passing grade, publication of the reasons.

17. Copying/Plagiarism.

Copying and plagiarism are improper academic practices and are therefore punishable. Textual similarity checks are carried out at all stages of DT submission. In cases of textual similarity/identity, students must immediately comply with the supervisor’s instructions for adherence to correct academic practice. In exceptional cases the matter may be referred to the Dean’s Office of the School, which may, after a recommendation by the Supervisor or the DT Examination Committee, recommend to the H.O.U. Steering Committee the removal of the offending student from the PSP.

18. DT Preperation Process Diagram