The Graduate School - Electronic Documents (Faculty/Staff)

In an effort to reduce paper use, we strongly encourage students and advisors to submit documents via email, if possible. Below you will find instructions to sign documents electronically and where to submit them after they have been signed.

Electronic Signature Instructions for Faculty/Staff

1. Locate and download your form here. You must download the form. You cannot complete the form inside an internet browser. When opening the document, be sure to open it in Adobe Acrobat or Reader. (You cannot complete the form in Previewer, which is the default program for PDFs for many Apple users. For additional information on how to properly open this document if you are using an Apple computer, please click here.)
2. Fill in the appropriate information on the form.
3. Click on the "Advisor Signature" field.
4. A pop-up will ask you to select a digital ID if you already have one created. If you already have a digital ID, skip to step 15.
5. If you do not have one created, the pop-up screen will give you an option to sign the document using “A new digital ID that I want to create now.”
6. Select this option and click “Next”
7. Select New PKCS#12 Digital ID File, and click “Next”
8. Type your name, email address, and select your country/region. The organizational unit and organization name is not required for the creation of your digital ID. When you certify or sign a document, the name appears in the Signatures panel and in the signature field.
9. Optional: To use Unicode values for extended characters (i.e. #, &, ^, etc.), select “Enable Unicode Support,” and then specify the Unicode values in the appropriate boxes that appear next to the first set of boxes.
10. From the Key Algorithm menu, choose 1024-bit RSA
11. From the Use Digital ID For menu, choose Digital Signatures and Data Encryption. Click “Next”
12. Specify a filename and location for the digital ID file
13. Type a password; passwords are case-sensitive, must contain at least six characters, and may not contain double quotation marks or the following characters: ! @ # $ % ^ & * , | \ ; < > _. Type the same password in both the Password and Confirm Password boxes.
14. Click “Finish”
15. Save a copy of the form and send it to the Graduate School or to the next advisor or administrator that needs to approve the document. 

Important: Make a backup copy of your digital ID file. If your digital ID file is lost or corrupted, or if you forget your password, you cannot use that profile to add or validate signatures.

Additional help on creating a self-signed digital ID is available here.

 

Submitting Electronic Documents

If the form needs to be sent to the Graduate School for final approval, you should send it to the following individuals:

Form	To whom document should be sent
Course Change (except for student's seeking teacher certification)	Graduate Records
Program of Study (except for student's seeking teacher certification)	Graduate Records
Graduate Certificate Form	Graduate Records
Graduate Faculty Applications	Graduate Records
UG Enrollment in GR Courses	Graduate Records

Any student that is seeking teaching certification must have their document approved by Teacher Certification prior to it being sent to the Graduate School. Failure to have Teacher Certification will result in a delay of processing the paperwork.