In view of the prolonged state of the epidemic and the restriction of direct education at the Lodz University of Technology, the possibility of conducting diploma examinations using distance learning methods and techniques only upon a justified request of the student concerned and in agreement with the student is introduced for the period of suspension of direct education. The examination can be conducted in this form only with the use of the Teams cloud tool from the MS Office 365 package of the Lodz University of Technology and with the use of official and student accounts of the Lodz University of Technology system. The diploma examination conducted in this form should be carried out according to the following procedure:
- A student applying for a diploma examination using distance learning methods and techniques shall submit an application for admission to the examination containing a request to conduct a diploma examination in this form to the Vice-Dean for Student Affairs, competent for that student, through the supervisor of the diploma paper. In the application submitted, the student should unequivocally confirm that he/she has access to a computer equipped with a microphone and a camera, connected to fast, fixed-line Internet and access to the Teams service of the Lodz University of Technology and declare his/her familiarity with using this service. A necessary condition for examining such an application and deciding on admission to the diploma examination is the fulfilment of all the conditions specified in the Study Regulations of the Lodz University of Technology.
- The application referred to in section 1 is submitted by the student to the supervisor. After filling in the appropriate fields, the supervisor signs the application and passes the scan to the appropriate Dean's office. A designated employee of the Dean's Office, after verifying the documents, passes them on to the Vice-Dean for Student Affairs. If the Vice-Dean for Student Affairs agrees to conduct the diploma examination using distance learning methods and techniques, he or she sets a date for the diploma examination, which may take place provided that the review of the diploma paper prepared by the designated reviewer is positive and is passed on to the student and all members of the Diploma Examination Committee at least two days before the set date for the diploma examination. The Vice-Dean for Student Affairs shall forward a signed application to the appropriate Dean's Office.
- A designated employee of the Dean's Office responsible for the student prepares the necessary documents or scans thereof and submits them to the Chairperson of the Diploma Examination Committee.
- On the day of the examination, the Chairman of the Diploma Examination Committee organizes a group conversation ("chat") via the Teams tool and calls the members of the Diploma Examination Committee and the student taking the examination together. It is prohibited to register the course of the Diploma Examination, both in the service through the Teams tool and by other technical means. The Chairperson of the Commission blocks the possibility of registering a session of the Diploma Examination in the Teams service.
- During the examination, the cameras and microphones of all persons participating in the examination (the student and three members of the Commission) must be switched on. The student makes the entire desktop of his computer available to the members of the Committee. The shared desktop should contain only the presentation of the diploma thesis covering at least 90% of the screen area. During the whole examination, only the presentation of the thesis and any applications related to it may be displayed on the student's computer desktop. It is not allowed for the student to run applications during the examination to facilitate answers to questions. The desktop displayed during the presentation should be the only screen available to the student during the examination. The student who takes the exam should sit in front of the camera so that his or her face covers at least 40% of the area covered by the camera. He should also look towards the screen at all times during the exam.
- The diploma examination is conducted under the provisions of § 41 of the Study Regulations of the Lodz University of Technology, with the Chairman of the Diploma Examination Committee being obliged to prepare a protocol of the diploma examination. The protocol shall record the remote examination procedure. If the student's answers during the examination require a written form, it is written down by the student on a piece of paper and presented to the camera.
- After all the stipulated parts of the diploma examination are completed, the student is disconnected. The committee determines the grade for the diploma paper, the grade for the diploma examination and, in the case of a positive result, the final result of the studies.
- After reconnecting the student, the Chairperson of the Diploma Examination Committee announces the evaluation of the diploma paper and the result of the diploma examination as determined by the Committee. In the event of a positive result of the diploma examination, the Chairperson of the Examination Committee shall announce the result of the studies and announce the decision to award the appropriate degree.
- The scan of the prepared protocol is sent electronically by the Chairperson of the Diploma Examination Committee to the selected member of the Committee, who after signing scans the document again and sends it to the next member. The signing procedure is repeated and the scan with signatures of all members is sent to the Chairperson, who after signing sends the scanned document again to the relevant Dean's Office. The members of the Commission shall send the originals of the printed and signed partial protocols to the Dean's Office to be stored in the student's file after the end of the restrictions in the functioning of the University.
- In the case of diploma examinations concluding second-cycle studies, the condition for the consent of the Vice-Dean for Student Affairs to conduct a diploma examination using the methods and techniques of distance learning is the submission of a statement by the student applying for such an examination, together with an application for admission to the diploma examination, in which the student undertakes not to use his/her student ID card upon defending his/her diploma paper and passing the examination. The Student's ID card must be sent by registered mail to the Dean's Office, appropriate for his/her program of study, immediately after the diploma examination.
According to the announcement of the Vice-Rector for Education of 27 March 2020, until further notice, the only form of document transfer in the described graduation process is by electronic means.
Prof. Krzysztof Jóźwik, DSc, PhD, MSc,
Vice Rector for Education
Head of the TUL Crisis Management Centre