Help manual for STUDENTS

 Access is via the URL that is shown on the webpage: http://www.usal.es/webusal/node/43015

 

1 Type in the Usal user login (used for email)

2 Click on the tab ACCESS AS A STUDENT

3 Click on the code for the doctoral programme that you wish to access:

From this page, students can access different tabs that allow them to register and view academic information concerning the doctoral programme, their activities document, their research plan and the history of their evaluations. The tabs displayed are:

 

3.1 PERSONAL INFORMATION AND QUALIFICATION TAB

This tab shows the student’s academic and personal details in the doctoral programme record

- First and last names of the student

- First and last names of the tutor and thesis supervisor

- Thesis title and registration date (date of approval of the research plan by the Academic Committee for the doctoral programme)

- Date of deposit of the thesis (if notification of this date has already been given, the recorded activities and research plan cannot be edited)

- Deadline for deposit of thesis (the system calculates 3 or 5 years from the completion date of the matriculation process, based on whether the student’s attendance mode is full time or part time)

 

3.2 DOCUMENT TAB

To register a new activity, press on the icon “insert record.” A screen will open, in which the user indicates the type of activity and the academic year in which it was undertaken. It is also obligatory to provide a description of the activity. The process is completed by clicking on the “create” button if the user wants to register the document, or the “cancel” button if the user wants to return to the initial screen. The document is created with a status of “registered.”

To view activities, click on the + sign next to the academic year. To edit activities in order to complete the required information, move the cursor to the activity and click on the “edit activity” button. The editing screen will then open and show the text fields that can be edited.

The editable fields are:

• Activity. Records the description of the activity that the student previously provided.

• State. Dropdown list of options. So that the tutor/supervisor can evaluate the activity, students must change the status from “registered” to “under review” when the activity is ready for correction. Once the activity has changed to “under review” it can no longer be edited by the student.

• Observation on the change of state. Free text. This text will accompany the change of status for the evaluator; it allows a dialogue to be established through the exchange of opinions between student and evaluator

• Details. The student may indicate the date of completion, upload a document with the content of the activity etc. (as appropriate).

The fields that are updated automatically but are not editable by the user are: evaluator, evaluation date and academic year.

Once all information has been entered, to save the changes the user must click on the icon ; to go back and exit the editing window without saving any changes, the user must click on the icon

To confirm that the information has uploaded correctly, click on the + sign that appears next to the new activity entered. The details column will contain the document that has been uploaded.

 

3.3 PLAN TAB

To register the research plan, it is necessary to click on the “insert record” icon. The student’s research plan will automatically be generated. To edit the plan, move the cursor over the text RESEARCH PLAN and click on the “edit plan” button. The editing screen will then open and show the text fields that can be edited. The editable fields are:

• State. Dropdown list of options So that the tutor/supervisor can evaluate the research plan, students must change the status from “registered” to “under review” when the research plan is ready for correction. Once the activity has changed to “under review” it can no longer be edited by the student.

• Observation on the change of state. Free text This text will accompany the change of status for the evaluator; it allows a dialogue to be established through the exchange of opinions between student and evaluator

• Details. The student can upload the document with the content of the research plan.

 

The fields that are updated automatically but are not editable by the user are: evaluator and evaluation date.

Once all information has been entered, to save the changes the user must click on the icon ; to go back and exit the editing window without saving any changes, the user must click on the icon

To verify that the document has uploaded correctly, the user must click on the + sign that appears next to the research plan. The details column will contain the document that has been uploaded.

 

IMPORTANT: Students must keep in mind that it is only possible to generate a single research plan. The annual updates that must be carried out are incorporated by registering a new activity categorized under “thesis progress report” in the Activities Document.

3.4 REPORTS TAB

Under this tab, the student can view the reports that his or her tutor and/or thesis supervisor must complete each year.

The reports are shown grouped by year. To view and download reports, the student must display the information by clicking on the + sign next to the academic year.

 

3.5 EVALUATION TAB

Under this tab, the student can review his or her evaluation history. The information is shown grouped by academic year.