ETDs in the 21st Century | EDUCAUSE

"Electronic theses/dissertations (ETDs) have been required at higher education institutions for twenty years. Although numerous goals have been realized, the majority of ETDs have not been transformed into new media....

While I celebrate the anniversary of the ETD requirement at Virginia Tech, I know that other colleges and universities are still wondering when, not if, they will require ETDs. Unfortunately, the issues surrounding ETDs continue to be more about an institution's political climate than about its technical expertise. I'm still longing for the "innovative" ETDs to evolve into the "typical" ETDs, though I do enjoy referring to Timur Oral's 1997 ETD, in which he incorporated digital video (accessible, though primitive) and lovely color illustrations.8 Although progress is slow, I'm anticipating a time when the norm for a graduate student's legacy will be a demonstration of the research, not just words describing it."