Submission Guidelines
Introduction
West Chester University Digital commons, a service of WCU University Libraries, is an institutional repository and publication platform in which the scholarly and creative output of WCU faculty, students, staff, and affiliates is collected, preserved, and made accessible. This page outlines the guidelines for the inclusion of content within the repository. All contributors should familiarize themselves with the guidelines detailed below prior to submitting their work for inclusion in WCU Digital Commons.
Submission Criteria
Content adhering to the guidelines below may be included in WCU Digital Commons:
- Authors must be affiliated with West Chester University. This includes students, faculty, staff, and other demonstrated affiliates.
- Authors must be willing and able to share their work. Authors should either own the copyright to all aspects of their content or be able to demonstrate receipt of permission to make their content available in Digital Commons.
- Authors must be willing and able to grant WCU University Libraries with the non-exclusive right to manage and make accessible their digital objects. Authors will retain the copyright to their materials included in WCU Digital Commons.
- Submitted work must be original to the submitting author.
- Submitted work should be scholarly, creative, research-oriented, or have enduring significance to WCU University Libraries and WCU.
- Content should be digital. Many file formats are accepted; individuals with further questions about file formats should refer to the contact information at the bottom of this page.
Examples of content retained in the institutional repository includes:
- Content created on campus for WCU communication, projects, or events.
- Articles, books, and book chapters published by faculty, students, or staff.
- Theses, dissertations, and culminating projects of graduating students.
- Creative works include images or videos of art, productions, exhibits, and websites.
- Posters produced by students.
- Photographs.
- Reports.
- Conference proceedings.
- Datasets. (Please note that if a submitter wishes to publish a dataset on WCU Digital Commons in order to meet a grant requirement, they are asked to communicate those circumstances with the WCU Digital Commons site administrator to ensure all requirements can be fully met)
The following content cannot be included in WCU Digital Commons:
- Content containing sensitive information, such as that protected under FERPA or HIPAA or constituting personally identifiable information.
- Content that may not be published by either law or regulation.
- Content for which the submitter cannot demonstrate permission or ownership of copyright.
Further details regarding the criteria governing content included in WCU Digital Commons may be found in the current Collection Development Policy
Accessibility
WCU University Libraries is committed to ensuring the accessibility of websites and collections under their care in accordance with relevant legislation. While WCU Digital Commons administrators will check applicable content for accessibility under web content guidelines, contributors are responsible for ensuring that the materials they submit to WCU Digital Commons are compliant with Web Content Accessibility Guidelines 2.1 AA success criteria and are functional with the use of current assistive technology. For further information on the creation of accessible files, please see the resources provided by the WCU Office of Equal Opportunity and Compliance
While WCU University Libraries’ strives to be compliant with federal law by April 24th, 2026, remediation of relevant pre-existing files is an on-going process. If you discover a file in WCU Digital Commons that is inaccessible, please report it using the WCU Digital Commons Accessibility Form.
Author Rights
Authors who upload their content into WCU Digital Commons grant WCU University Libraries non-exclusive rights to manage and make accessible their work. The original author retains copyright for work submitted to WCU Digital Commons and is free to reuse their content with the expectation that they are knowledgeable of the terms and restrictions of any other publication agreements. The copyright owner of a work included in WCU Digital Commons may, at any time, contact the site administrator to request the removal, update, or embargo of their work.
How to submit a thesis, dissertation, or culminating project
- Create or login to your account.
- Navigate to the submission form using one of the following methods:
- On the home screen click the “Submit your Thesis or Dissertation” button.
- Navigate to the general submission screen using the “submit research” link located under the “author corner heading” on your “my account” or home page. Then click on the link for submitting your thesis provided at the end of the introductory text on the submission page.
- Follow the instructions provided in the form.
How to submit all other works
- Create or login to your account.
- Navigate to the submission screen using one of the following options:
- On the home screen click the “Submit your Work” button.
- Click the “Submit Research” link located under the “Author Corner” heading on either the “My Account” or Home page.
- Click on the series that most accurately reflects the content of your work or your status at WCU.
- Fill out the form to contact the administrators of the series you wish to submit to. The administrators will guide you through the remainder of the process.
For Further Information
For further information on policies relevant to WCU Digital Commons please see our Policy Library. For any further questions please consult the FAQ or reach out using the contact info provided below.
If you have any questions about the submission and publication process for your thesis or dissertation, please reach out to the Graduate School at .
For any questions regarding WCU Digital commons and its contents please reach out to the primary site administrator, Digital Initiatives Librarian Julia Doelling, by email at .
