RULES ON DIPLOMA AND MASTER'S THESES

Transcription

1 University of Ljubljana Faculty of Administration The Senate of the Faculty of Administration of the University of Ljubljana, on the basis of the Statutes of the University of Ljubljana (OG RS, No. 8/05, 118/05, 72/06 (76/06-corr.), 59/07 (82/07-corr.), 81/07, 5/08, 42/08, 62/08, 14/09, 38/09, 48/09, 55/09, 3/10, 47/10, 18/11, 26/11, 26/12, 38/12, 50/12, 56/12) and the Rules of the Faculty of Administration, issues the following RULES ON DIPLOMA AND MASTER'S THESES I. GENERAL PROVISIONS Article 1 (subject matter and scope of validity of the Rules) (1) These Rules govern the conditions and the procedure of the application of the thesis, selection of mentor, the approval, making, delivery, defence and evaluation of the diploma and master's theses for students at the first and second cycle of study programmes (undergraduate higher education, and university and postgraduate master's programmes) carried out by the Faculty of Administration (hereinafter: Faculty) of the University of Ljubljana. (2) The provisions of these Rules apply equally to the diploma or master's theses (hereinafter: thesis), unless stipulated otherwise for an individual type of thesis by these Rules. (3) These Rules apply mutatis mutandis to diploma, specialist and master's theses of students at non-bologna study programmes. Article 2 (purpose and level of the diploma or master's theses) (1) The diploma or master's thesis is an independent professional work with which the student, depending on the cycle of the programme, displays a certain level of knowledge 1

2 and ability to use the theoretical and practical knowledge, and professional and scientific literature and sources. (2) The master's thesis must be the result of independent and individual research work of a student, with which the student displays mastery of the researched field and the methods of the scientific-research work. The master's thesis must contain an international comparison either with one or several foreign countries; when applying the topic of the master's thesis, the international comparison must be evident from at least one of the proposed hypotheses. (3) By writing and successfully defending the thesis, the student proves to be capable of an independent written and oral discussion of the set professional or research problem at a specific cycle of study. II. APPLICATION AND APPROVAL OF THE TOPIC AND TITLE OF THE THESIS, AND SELECTION OF A MENTOR Article 3 (conditions for the application of the thesis) A student can apply the thesis when he/she is missing a maximum of 40 credits (including the final work) in order to finish the study, unless the student is: - in a non-bologna study programme then he/she can apply the thesis, when he/she is missing a maximum of two study requirements in order to finish the study; - enrolled according to the criteria for transitions to the 2nd cycle master's study programme in Administration then he/she can apply the thesis, when he/she is missing the master's thesis and a maximum of 7 credits in order to finish the study. Article 4 (selection of the topic and title of the thesis) (1) The student selects the topic of the thesis from the listed topics or proposes it himself/herself in consultation with the mentor. The list of topics for an individual mentor is adopted by the Senate of the Faculty during the preparation of the Annual Action Plan. (2) The candidate selects the title of the thesis under the approved topic in consultation with the mentor. The title of the thesis has to be defined as precisely as possible. Article 5 (application of the title of the thesis) (1) The student applies the title of the thesis in consultation with the mentor on a form that is an annex to these Rules. (2) The mentor suggests (on the form from the previous paragraph of this Article) the president, and in the case of the master's thesis also the other member of the Thesis Defence Examining Board. The president and the members of the Thesis Defence 2

3 Examining Board have to meet the conditions for a mentor at a specific study programme. (3) The mandatory attachments of the application form are the biography in Europass format and the outline of the thesis. The outline and the biography are used to assess the professional suitability of the student's proposal and to approve the topic to the student (or in the event of several candidates with the same topic to select the best candidate), depending on one's work experience and demonstrated knowledge in the field. (4) If the student, in consultation with the mentor, judges on reasonable grounds that the public publication of the prepared thesis would not be appropriate or would be contrary to regulations, this must be asserted when applying the thesis by including an explanation. (5) The outline of the diploma thesis includes: - the working title of the diploma thesis, including the English title of the thesis, - an explanation of the topic and the problem (appointed assignment), - the purpose and objectives of the diploma thesis, - the determination of a descriptive thesis, can also include the hypotheses, and the work methodology (research methods), - the structure of the thesis, - the core literature and sources, at least 10 units, of which at least a fifth are in a foreign language, - the anticipated time frame of the writing of the diploma thesis. (6) The outline of the master's thesis includes: - the working title of the master's thesis, including the English title of the thesis, - an explanation of the topic and the research problem, - the purpose and objectives of research, - the evaluation of research conducted so far, - the determination of hypotheses and research methods (an international comparison must be evident in at least one of the set hypotheses), - the expected results and the contribution of research, especially the usefulness and contribution of the results to the profession or science, - a summed-up description by estimated chapters and the structure of the thesis, - the core literature and sources, to the extent of at least 50 units, of which at least a fifth are in a foreign language, - the anticipated time frame of the writing of the master's thesis. (7) These conditions and the completeness of the application of the thesis are checked by the Professional Service of the Faculty, which, in the event of irregularities, notifies the student and the mentor by . The student is required to submit the application in accordance with these Rules within one month, otherwise the application is rejected. The Professional Service passes a formally complete application with the certificate of completed obligations of the student to the competent committee for consideration. 3

4 Article 6 (approval of the applied title) (1) The title is accepted and approved when the competent committee approves the selected title and names a mentor or co-mentor and the Thesis Defence Examining Board. The themes are approved at least once a month. The student is notified via e-transcript, and the members of the Thesis Defence Examining Board via . (2) If the competent committee considers the suggested title or the content of the outline or the mentor or the suggested co-mentor, based on the suggested title, content or cycle of the study programme, inappropriate, it notifies the mentor and the student through the competent services via , giving them a 15-day deadline for the correction or readjustment of the title or content of the application, depending on the habilitation field of the mentor and the study programme of the student. (3) If the application is not in line with the identified content shortcomings in the time given, the silence is considered as a withdrawal of the application without the issuance of a decision on the termination of the procedure. The mentor or the student can contradict the findings of the competent committee in the same deadline as determined for the correction of the application, on which the Senate of the Faculty then decides. If the competent committee evaluates that the proposal of the mentor regarding the president and the member of the Thesis Defence Examining Board is not in accordance with the rules of these Rules, it selects another president or members. (4) The already appointed president or member of the Thesis Defence Examining Board can exceptionally be replaced during the process of the defence with another or others by the Professional Service of the Faculty, considering especially the provisions of Article 11 of these Rules. The student and mentor are informed of this. Article 7 (language of the thesis) (1) The thesis is generally applied and written in Slovenian. (2) Based on a special proposal by the student, which is submitted when applying the title of the thesis in consultation with the mentor, the competent committee can approve the writing of the thesis in English if the programme or part of the programme was carried out in this language and there are justified reasons for it (a foreign mentor or member of the Board, the possibility of publication in book form with a foreign publisher, etc.). In this case, the student has to prepare a longer summary in Slovenian, for the diploma thesis from 5 to 8 pages, or for the master's thesis from 10 to 15 pages. 4

5 Article 8 (time extension and change of the applied topic, title or mentor) (1) The approved topic is valid for one year (12 months) from the approval. At the proposal of the student, which includes the mentor's approval and has to be submitted before the end of the initial period, the competent committee can extend the deadline for the writing of the approved thesis by six months at the most. If the candidate does not submit the thesis to the process for the defence, another topic (the same or a new one) must be applied. (2) The change of the topic, title or mentor is allowed according to the same procedure as the application of the title of the thesis and the selection of the mentor, on a form that is attached to these Rules; but not more than once within an individual study programme, wherein the opinion of the current mentor has to be given. (3) The change of mentor can be requested also by the mentor who has to justify the proposal. Article 9 (selection of mentor and co-mentor) (1) Before the application of the thesis, the student selects a mentor. The mentor must be habilitated at least as a lecturer at a university study programme at the first cycle and as at least an assistant professor at a master's programme of the second cycle. The selected mentor must be habilitated for the field of the selected topic of the thesis. (2) If the topic of the thesis relates to several professional or scientific fields, then in addition to the mentor another habilitated full-time professor or associate of the Faculty is selected as a co-mentor, one from each of the fields in question. The comentor must meet the same criteria as the mentor. (3) The mentors have a limited number of mentorships. In the period from 1st October to 31st March of the current year, a mentor can accept up to 15 students of the first and up to 6 students of the second cycle, and if he/she participates only in the programmes of one cycle, up to 20 students of that cycle. In the period from 1st April to 30th September of the current year, a mentor can accept up to 15 students of the first cycle and up to 6 students of the second cycle, and if he/she participates only in the programmes of one cycle, up to 20 students of that cycle. A mentor who is not employed at the Faculty can accept 10 mentorships in the first period and 10 mentorships in the second period, wherein he/she can accept the mentorships for the current year and at the most one year after the participation in the study programme. Places which have not been taken in the first period are not transferred to the second period. The mentor can follow the updated status of the accepted mentorships via the information system that is maintained by the Professional Service, including the deletion of mentorships for which the validity of the theme has expired or has not been extended. The Professional Service informs the competent committee about reaching the upper limit of the number of mentorships. At the assessment of the competent committee, an individual mentor, with his/her approval, can be granted a higher number of mentorships than specified in this paragraph. 5

6 Article 10 (writing the thesis abroad in the context of an international exchange) (1) Upon return from abroad, the student acquaints the mentor of the thesis with the thesis and the draft or the written work which has been prepared, collected and elaborated at a foreign higher education institution. (2) The thesis, which the students prepared abroad as part of their international exchange, must contain a summary in English equalling 10% of the pages. Article 11 (composition of the Thesis Defence Examining Board) The Thesis Defence Examining Board for the diploma thesis consists of at least the president of the Board and the mentor or co-mentor as a member/s, and for the master s thesis an additional member of the Board. The Thesis Defence Examining Board's president can be from a different department than the mentor or at least from a different field in the same department, wherein he/she must meet the criteria for a mentor. III. WRITING AND SUBMITTING THE THESIS Article 12 (mentor's assignments) (1) The mentor, as well as a possible co-mentor, must work with the student throughout the preparation of the thesis, while ensuring the student's independent work. (2) At the beginning of writing, the mentor must present the student with the demanded criteria regarding content and methodology for an adequate approach to the defence of the work and the evaluation standards of the thesis according to these Rules. (3) The student must observe the mentor's instructions and submit the thesis for final inspection within the deadlines and in the manner agreed upon with the mentor. When the student submits the draft of the thesis (or a part of it as agreed with the mentor) for inspection, the mentor must carefully read the text and the results, and direct the student towards eliminating the possible content, formal, or technical deficiencies or errors. At the same time the student must as a rule present the results to the mentor orally as well. (4) The complete submitted thesis must be reviewed by the mentor within one month from submission (excluding the period from 15th July to 15th August). Article 13 6

7 (structure and form of the thesis) (1) The structure, technical aspects, methods used for citations of the used literature and sources, etc. are defined in the Instructions for Writing a Diploma and Master's Thesis that are attached to these Rules. (2) Before the approval of the adequacy of the thesis for its defence, the mentor is obliged to ensure compliance of the content part of the instructions under the previous paragraph of this Article. (3) The author must equip the quoted and summarised parts of the text with a list of references, wherein summarising is preferred to literal quoting. Literal quoting (quotations marked with quotes) is allowed in the extent of up to one tenth of the entire thesis. The authorship of the thesis is checked with appropriate software upon submitting the thesis for defence. Article 14 (technical and content review of the thesis) (1) The student submits the thesis in electronic form in one document, arranged in a format that is compatible with the standard or generally available software for word processing (e.g. doc, docx), usually by to the Professional Service, when the mentor confirms that the content of the thesis is suitable and that the student may defend it. The Certificate of Content Suitability is passed to the Student Office by the mentor before the technical review. (2) The Professional Service of the Faculty checks if the thesis is prepared according to the Instructions from the previous Article or the annex to these Rules from the formal and technical aspects. If deficiencies are found during the review, the student and mentor are informed about it via . The student must, in agreement with the mentor, rectify the deficiencies within one month of notification. (3) The Professional Service reviews the thesis twice at the most; if the student does not rectify the deficiencies, the thesis application process must start from the beginning. If the student does not submit the thesis to the process for defence, the technical review has to be performed again. Article 15 (content review of the master's thesis) (1) The Professional Service forwards the formally and technically adequate master's thesis via to the president and members of the Thesis Defence Examining Board (and to the student for his/her information) for review; they can submit their comments within 15 days and pass them to the student, mentor and Professional Service. (2) The student is, in agreement with the mentor, obliged to take potential comments into account. The student must again send the corrected thesis to the Board for review. 7

8 Article 16 (report on the review, evaluation and presentation of the master's thesis) (1) The Professional Service of the Faculty forwards the electronically submitted master's thesis to the mentor, who within 15 days of receipt prepares a report for the Thesis Defence Examining Board. The basic information in the report on the review and evaluation of the thesis is prepared by the Professional Service in cooperation with the student. (2) The report must include: - information about the candidate, topic and mentorship (personal information, previous education, average mark, approved topic and mentorship), - formal characteristics of the thesis (adequacy of the title or topic, scope of the text and structure by chapters, scope and suitability of the entire used literature and sources), - content characteristics of the thesis (evaluation of the achieved purpose and objectives of research, confirmation or rejection of the set hypotheses and their applicability, and contribution to the profession or science), - an evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the thesis (the final evaluation of the thesis and a proposal to the Board for the continuation or termination of the process for the defence of the thesis), - a short presentation of the thesis (for the purpose of a presentation of the graduate and his/her thesis at the ceremony in the scope of 8 to 12 lines). Formal information from the first two indents of this paragraph is prepared by the Professional Service in cooperation with the student. The report on the review and the evaluation of the thesis must be written transparently and clearly. Special attention in the report must be placed on the contribution of the thesis to the profession and science. (3) After the submission of the mentor's report, the Professional Service calls upon the student to submit the documentation for defence. Article 17 (determining the originality of the text) Upon submitting the thesis for technical review, the technical assistant checks the thesis also with the software for detecting similarities of the text with other texts (plagiarism). In the event that the report on the matching with other texts shows: - a match of 25% or less for the 1st cycle or 20% or less for the 2nd cycle, the thesis is suitable for defence; - a match of 26% to 40% for the 1st cycle or 21% to 35% for the 2nd cycle (technically unsuitable thesis), the technical assistant must send a report on unoriginality (matching with other texts) via to the mentor and the candidate. The candidate must correct the thesis within a reasonable time and eliminate any deficiencies (misquotation, summarising, removal of copied paragraphs, etc.), and resubmit the thesis to the technical assistant for technical review, who checks the thesis again. In 8

9 the event that the thesis is once again unsuitable from the point of view of matching with other texts, the technical assistant notifies the mentor and the Deputy Dean for Student Affairs, who take appropriate actions; - a match of 41% or more for the 1st cycle or 36% or more for the 2nd cycle, the technical assistant must notify the mentor and the Deputy Dean for Student Affairs, who take appropriate actions. Article 18 (submission of the documentation for the defence) (1) The student submits the reviewed and coordinated thesis, technically and content-wise, to the Professional Service at the 1st cycle in one hardback copy (two in the case of comentorship) and one paperback copy, and at the 2nd cycle in one hardback copy (two in the case of co-mentorship) and two paperback copies. (2) The hardback thesis is submitted according to the Instructions for Writing a Thesis which is an annex to these Rules. In addition, the student submits the transcript and the student identity card (if they were issued to the student) and a certificate of settled obligations in the Faculty library. When submitting the thesis, the student signs the minutes of the thesis defence; on the day of submitting the documentation, he/she has to submit the thesis in electronic form, arranged in a format that is compatible with the standard or generally available software for word processing (doc or docx). The electronic version of the thesis must be identical to the printed version. (3) The Professional Service enters the date of the submission of the thesis into the student's transcript. (4) The Professional Service of the Faculty submits one copy to each member of the Thesis Defence Examining Board after the date of the defence is set. IV. DEFENCE OF THE DIPLOMA OR MASTER'S THESES Article 19 (call for the date of the defence of the thesis) (1) The Professional Service, in cooperation with the Thesis Defence Examining Board, sets the date of the defence of the diploma or master's theses. The defence is usually set in the same month if the student submits the documentation for the defence by the 5th of the month. The defences are not carried out between 15th July and 15th August. (2) The Professional Service notifies the student and the Thesis Defence Examining Board of the dates of the thesis defence via e-transcript or by or phone; afterwards it publishes the name of the student and mentor, the topic of the thesis and the date and location of the defence on the website of the Faculty, as a rule at least 3 days before the defence. 9

10 (3) If a student fails to attend the set defence without a justifiable cause, it is considered that the defence has not been successfully passed. In this case, the student is guaranteed a maximum of one more take, otherwise the theme must be applied again. Article 20 (introduction to the course of the defence of the thesis) (1) The defence of the thesis is performed before a Thesis Defence Examining Board in its entirety. The defence is headed by the president of the Thesis Defence Examining Board. (2) The student must publicly defend the thesis. Exceptionally, by the decision of the Thesis Defence Examining Board, the public is excluded due to the confidentiality of the information. (3) The defence is in Slovenian. Exceptionally, the defence can be held in another language if the thesis is written in that language. (4) During the part of the defence that is closed to the public, the Thesis Defence Examining Board determines whether all conditions for performing the defence were fulfilled by the student. The president of the Board begins the defence by presenting the student and the finding that the student has completed all study requirements as determined by the programme. The Board then explains the procedure of the defence and announces the topic of the thesis. Article 21 (defence of the diploma thesis) (1) After the introductory presentation by the president of the Thesis Defence Examining Board, the student independently, without notes, by heart and concisely, possibly supported by a multimedia presentation in consultation with the mentor, presents the motives for the selection of the topic, the basic problems discussed and solved, the methods used and the most important findings and proposals arising from the discussion of the topic. The student's presentation of the diploma thesis generally lasts from 8 to 10 minutes. (2) After the presentation each of the members of the Board asks the student from one to three questions in the context of the diploma thesis. (3) After the student's defence, the Thesis Defence Examining Board, during the part closed to the public, evaluates the quality of the diploma thesis, the student's presentation of the diploma thesis, and the quality of answers to the set questions. Based on these evaluations, the Board evaluates the diploma thesis and the defence with a joint mark, bearing in mind the standards for the evaluation of the diploma thesis determined in these Rules. 10

11 (4) The president of the Board communicates the mark publicly and orally immediately after the defence, together with the proclamation of the acquired title of the graduate. The president of the Board enters the mark in the minutes of the defence of the diploma thesis, which are signed by all members of the Board. (5) One paperback copy of the diploma thesis belongs to the mentor or co-mentor, and the signed copy is handed by the president of the Board to the student, who submits it to the Student Office together with the data carrier and the minutes of the defence (and the transcript if it was issued). (6) The Professional Service issues a Certificate of Graduation to the student immediately after the successfully passed defence. The certificate is temporary and is valid until the diploma document is issued. Article 22 (defence of the master's thesis) (1) After the introductory presentation by the president of the Thesis Defence Examining Board, the student independently presents the thesis, generally in up to 15 minutes. The student must prepare a multimedia supported presentation on 6 to 10 transparencies. (2) In the defence, the student must focus on: - the explanation for the reasons and motives for the selection of the topic, - the explanation of the problem and the subject of the research by presenting the hypotheses, - the presentation of the limiting factors and possible problems during the research, - a clear and systemic presentation of the most important research results, findings, laws, models, theories, recognised facts, with which the problem and the subject of the research was solved, the purpose and objectives of the research realised and the set hypotheses proved, - the contribution of the thesis to the profession and science, - when and how the results presented in the master's thesis can be applied. (3) After the presentation, the mentor gives a summary of his/her report. (4) The members of the Thesis Defence Examining Board ask the student a maximum of three written question each. If the student wishes, the president of the Thesis Defence Examining Board gives him/her 15 minutes to prepare the answers. The student answers the received questions in the order set by himself/herself. The student answers also the supplementary oral questions, wherein the defence lasts up to 30 minutes. 11

12 (5) After the student's defence, the Thesis Defence Examining Board, during the part closed to the public, evaluates the quality of the thesis, the student's presentation of the thesis, and the quality of the answers to the set questions; based on these evaluations, the Board evaluates the thesis and the defence with a joint mark, bearing in mind the standards for the evaluation of the thesis determined in these Rules. (6) The president of the Board communicates the evaluation publicly and orally immediately after the defence, together with the proclamation of the acquired title of the graduate. The president of the Board enters the mark in the minutes of the defence of the master's thesis, which are signed by all members of the Board. (7) One paperback copy of the thesis belongs to the mentor or co-mentor, one paperback copy to the president of the Board, and the hardback copy to the Faculty library. (8) The Professional Service issues the student a Certificate of Graduation immediately after the successful defence, wherein the date of the defence counts as the date of the acquisition of the professional title. The certificate is temporary and valid until the diploma document is issued. Article 23 (obligations and options of the student at the issuing of the certificate) (1) Upon issuance of the certificate of graduation or of the certificate of successful defence of the thesis, the graduate submits his/her current personal information (name, address, employment, contact information) to the Professional Service and may fill out a questionnaire by the Faculty regarding the implementation of the study programme just finished. (2) The Professional Service of the Faculty invites the graduate to become a member of the Alumni Club. V. EVALUATION OF THE THESIS Article 24 (subject of evaluation) (1) The thesis is evaluated as a unit, bearing in mind the written paper and the oral defence. (2) During evaluation, the Board considers the quality of the thesis and the complexity of the discussed topic, the creative contribution of the student and the applicability for the organisation in question, the quality of the answers to the posed questions and the extent of the management of the knowledge covered by the programme the student is finishing, and the mentor's report. (3) The thesis is evaluated independently, so that other marks or the mark average of the obligations completed up to the defence do not affect the calculation of the mark. 12

13 Article 25 (evaluation scale) (1) During evaluation, the range of marks from 1 to 10 is considered. (2) The Thesis Defence Examining Board evaluates the thesis according to the following evaluation scale, considering the type and cycle of the programme in which the student carries out the final thesis: - Excellent (10, %, A Excellent): The thesis is excellently discussed content-wise, adequately justified by theory and the domestic and foreign practice. The student has proved his/her contribution to the science or profession. The theses in the introduction are clearly defined. In the core, the arguments are presented with the student's definition. The selection of sources is extensive and includes current and foreign sources. The defence generally includes a multimedia presentation, which is prepared in such a way that the Board learns new information based on the facts, which is confidently presented, explained and commented by the student. The student answers the Board's questions perfectly. The thesis is distinctively distinguished from other theses by students of the same programme as above average. - Very good (9; 85-94%, B Very good): The thesis is very well discussed content-wise, adequately justified by theory and practice. The theses are defined in the introduction, and answered in the conclusion. The selection of sources is extensive, and includes also foreign sources. At the defence, the student has proved that he/she masters the terminology, the concepts and a more than just basic knowledge of the discussed topic. The student's answers to the Board's questions are good. The thesis is distinguished from other theses by the students of the same programme as above average. - Very good (8; 75-84%, C Good): The thesis is well discussed content-wise; the content includes the student's comments, supported with examples from practice. The selection of sources is extensive, but may lack foreign sources. The student performs well at the defence but without providing additional value to the content discussed in the thesis. The student's answers to the Board's questions are good. - Good (7; 65-74%, D Satisfactory): The thesis is solidly built, content-wise. The student used the descriptive method with few own arguments and comments. It is clear from the defence that the student masters the terminology fairly well. The student mostly answers the Board's questions, but only partially correctly or insufficiently. - Adequate (6; 55-64%, E Sufficient): The thesis meets the minimal criteria, contentwise. The student used the descriptive method without own arguments and comments. The collection of sources is modest. It is clear from the defence that the student poorly masters the terminology, exhibits only a basic knowledge and 13

14 understanding of the basic terminology. The student answers the Board's questions only partially correctly or insufficiently. - Inadequate (5; 45-54%, F Fail, 4; 35 44%, 3; 25 34%, 2; 15 24% 1; 0 14%): The thesis does not meet the minimal criteria, content-wise. The student used only the descriptive method without own arguments and comments. The selection of sources is modest. It is clear from the defence that the student does not master the discussed topic. The student s answers to the Board's questions are only partially correct or insufficient, or entirely wrong. (3) Additionally, the condition for the mark excellent (10) for a master's thesis is that prior to the date of the defence of the thesis the student publishes or submits a certificate of acceptance of an article on the topic of the thesis for publication in a journal with a review procedure, or in a collection of papers of a conference organised by the Faculty. (4) The members of the Board must reach a consensus about the final mark. If there is no consensus about the mark, the president of the Board draws up minutes in which the reasons for the disparity regarding the mark are explained. The president of the Committee for Undergraduate Study or Committee for Postgraduate Study, together with the president of the Thesis Defence Examining Board, decides on the continuation of the defence of the thesis no later than in eight days. (5) If the Board evaluates the thesis as inadequate, the defence can be repeated once at the most, otherwise the student must re-apply the same or new topic. (6) If the student/graduate does not agree with the mark obtained at the defence, he/she can lodge a complaint to the Senate of the Faculty in three days from the defence of the thesis. VI. PUBLICATION OF ACQUIRED TITLES AND PLAGIARISM Article 26 (publication of theses and the acquired professional titles) (1) The names of new graduates, together with the listing of the professional title, the titles of the theses and the mentors are published by the Faculty on the website. (2) The theses which have been evaluated positively are published in the digital collection of the Faculty (Digital Collection of the FA) in a protected read-only format; unless the competent committee, upon application and proposal of the student, approved of the thesis not being published. The Professional Service of the Faculty enables inspection also to applicants outside the Faculty for the purpose of assessing plagiarism. (3) If the thesis is especially interesting and successful, the author can, on a proposal by the mentor, also present the results of the research and the final thesis with the objectives, content and results after the successful defence at the research forum of the Faculty, to which he/she applies through the Research Centre of the Faculty. 14

15 Article 27 (exclusion of the thesis and revocation of the professional title) (1) If during the process of submitting or defending the thesis it is determined that the student excessively used parts of other texts or sources (which would otherwise be marked as citations) literally or almost literally without clearly marking and indicating the source, the Thesis Defence Examining Board eliminates the thesis from further process. The student can appeal to the Senate of the Faculty against the decision of the Board in three days from the notification. (2) A breach of the preceding paragraph is dealt with in a disciplinary proceeding. (3) If the situation under Paragraph 1 of this Article is determined after the performed defence and the awarded mark and the acquisition of the professional title, the competent committee revokes the title with a reasoned decision. The decision on the revocation of the title can be disputed within eight days from being served by appealing to the Senate of the Faculty. VII. TRANSITIONAL AND FINAL PROVISIONS Article 28 Rules amending the Rules on Diploma and Master's Theses of 29th February 2012 contain the following final provision: (1) These Rules, adopted on 29th February 2012, are published on the intranet of the Faculty of Administration on 2nd March 2012 and enter into force on 5th March (2) On the day these Rules enter into force, the Rules on Diploma and Master's Theses of 23rd February 2011 shall cease to be valid. Rules amending the Rules on Diploma and Master's Theses of 24th October 2012 contain the following final provision: (1) These Rules, adopted on 24th October 2012, are published on the information portal for employees on 30th October 2012 and enter into force on 2nd November (2) On the day these Rules enter into force, the Rules on Diploma and Master's Theses of 29th February 2012 shall cease to be valid. Dr. Stanka Setnikar Cankar, full professor Dean 15

16 Number: / th October 2012 Annexes: 1. Application of the Title of the Diploma/Master's Thesis Form 22/ Request for Extension of the Deadline for Writing the Diploma/Master's Thesis Form 23/ Change of the Topic of the Diploma/Master's Thesis or Mentor of the Thesis Form 24/ Mentor s Certificate about the Content Suitability of the Diploma Thesis/Master's Thesis Form 25/ Instructions for Writing a Diploma and Master's Thesis 6. Report on the Master's Thesis Date of publication on the intranet: 30th October

17 University of Ljubljana Faculty of Administration APPLICATION OF THE TITLE OF THE DIPLOMA THESIS / MASTER S THESIS Form 22/2012 Professional Study Programme in Administration 1st Cycle University Study Programme in Administration 1st Cycle University Study Programme in Administrative Information Science 1st Cycle Master's Study Programme in Administration 2nd Cycle Master's Study Programme in Administration Management 2nd Cycle Master's Study Programme in Administration other (tick the appropriate programme) 1. INFORMATION ON STUDENT (filled out by student) Enrolment number: Last and first name: Address: 17 Location, Post Code: Phone: Mobile: 2. INFORMATION ON THE TOPIC AND TITLE OF THE DIPLOMA / MASTER'S THESIS (filled out by student) Topic: Title of the thesis: English title of the thesis: Mentor: Co-mentor: Signature of the student: 3. CONSENT OF THE MENTOR AND CO-MENTOR AND THE PROPOSAL OF THE MENTOR FOR THE THESIS DEFENCE EXAMINING BOARD (filled out by mentor) Mentor: Co-mentor: For a member of the Board I propose (only master's programme): For the president of the Board I propose: 4. PROFESSIONAL SERVICE Signature of the mentor: Signature of the co-mentor: We certify that the student fulfils the conditions for the application of the title of the diploma/master's thesis. Note: 5. BOARD The Board on for mentor: for co-mentor: meeting, for the president of the Board: for member of the Board (only master's): 6. OBLIGATORY ATTACHMENTS Signature: on 201_ accepted/rejected the proposed title and appointed Signature of the president of the Board:

18 a) curriculum vitae (CV, biography) in the Europass model b) outline of the thesis University of Ljubljana Faculty of Administration Form 23/2012 REQUEST FOR EXTENSION OF THE DEADLINE FOR WRITING THE DIPLOMA THESIS / MASTER'S THESIS Professional Study Programme in Administration 1st Cycle University Study Programme in Administration 1st Cycle University Study Programme in Administrative Information Science 1st Cycle Master's Study Programme in Administration 2nd Cycle Master's Study Programme in Administration Management 2nd Cycle Master's Study Programme in Administration other 1. INFORMATION ON THE STUDENT (filled out by student) (tick the appropriate programme) Enrolment number: Last and first name: Address: Location, Post Code: Phone: Mobile: 2. INFORMATION ON THE TOPIC AND TITLE OF THE DIPLOMA / MASTER'S THESIS (filled out by student) Title of the thesis: English title of the thesis: Mentor: Co-mentor: 3. CONSENT OF THE MENTOR TO THE EXTENSION OF THE DEADLINE FOR ELABORATING THE DIPLOMA THESIS Signature of the mentor: 4. REASONS FOR EXTENSION (filled out by student) Signature of the student: Signature of the mentor: 5. BOARD The Board on meeting, on accepted/rejected the extension of the topic. Extension for the period: Signature of the president of the Board: Note: At the request of the student the Board can extend the deadline for the writing of the approved thesis for 6 months at the most. If the candidate does not submit the thesis to the procedure for the defence in that time, another (new) topic has to be applied (Article 8 of the Rules on Diploma and Master's Theses). 18

19 University of Ljubljana Faculty of Administration CHANGE OF THE TOPIC, TITLE OR MENTOR OF THE DIPLOMA THESIS / MASTER'S THESIS Form 24/2012 Professional Study Programme in Administration 1st Cycle University Study Programme in Administration 1st Cycle University Study Programme in Administrative Information Science 1st Cycle Master's Study Programme in Administration 2nd Cycle Master's Study Programme in Administration Management 2nd Cycle Master's Study Programme in Administration other (tick the appropriate programme) 1. INFORMATION ON STUDENT (filled out by student) Enrolment number: Last and first name: Address: Location: Phone: Mobile: 2. INFORMATION ON THE TOPIC AND TITLE OF THE DIPLOMA / MASTER'S THESIS (filled out by student) Topic: Title of the thesis: English title of the thesis: Co-mentor: 3. REASONS FOR THE CHANGE OF TOPIC, TITLE OR MENTOR (filled out by student) Signature of the student: 4. OPINION OF PREVIOUS MENTOR ON THE RESIGNATION OF THE TOPIC, TITLE OR MENTORSHIP I agree with the student's proposal. (mark) I do not agree with the student's proposal because Mentor: Signature: 5. MENTOR'S PROPOSAL FOR THE THESIS DEFENCE EXAMINING BOARD Mentor: Co-mentor: For the president of the Board I propose (and the member only master's): Signature of the mentor: Signature of the co-mentor: 6. PROFESSIONAL SERVICE We certify that the student fulfils the conditions for the application of the title of the diploma/master's thesis. 7. BOARD The Board on for co-mentor: meeting 19 Signature: on 201_ accepted/rejected the proposed title and appointed for the president of the Board (and member, only master's): Signature of the president of the Board: 8. OBLIGATORY ATTACHMENT when changing topics a) curriculum vitae (biography) in the Europass model, and

20 b) outline of the thesis University of Ljubljana Faculty of Administration Form 25/2012 MENTOR S CERTIFICATE ABOUT THE CONTENT SUITABILITY OF THE DIPLOMA THESIS / MASTER'S THESIS Professional Study Programme in Administration 1st Cycle University Study Programme in Administration 1st Cycle University Study Programme in Administrative Information Science 1st Cycle Master's Study Programme in Administration 2nd Cycle Master's Study Programme in Administration Management 2nd Cycle Master's Study Programme in Administration other (tick the appropriate programme) 1. INFORMATION ON THE STUDENT (filled out by student) Enrolment number: Last and first name: Address: Location: Phone: Mobile: 2. INFORMATION ON THE TITLE OF THE DIPLOMA / MASTER'S THESIS (filled out by student) Title of the thesis: English title of the thesis: Mentor: Co-mentor: 3. MENTOR S CONSENT ABOUT THE CONTENT SUITABILITY OF THE TOPIC By signing I confirm that the diploma/master's thesis (mark) has been examined as regards content and is suitable for defence. Signature: 20

21 REPORT University of Ljubljana Faculty of Administration Gosarjeva ulica 5, SI-1000 Ljubljana Phone: Fax: on the master's thesis submitted by state the name and surname, student of the master's study programme state the name of the programme, enrolment number state the enrolment number with the title state the title of the thesis. Short Presentation of the Candidate (filled out by the candidate) Biography (personal information, previous education, average mark of the study). Scope: up to 5 lines. Formal Characteristics of the Thesis (filled out by the candidate) The approved topic and mentorship, the adequacy of the title or topic, the scope of the text and the structure by chapters, scope and suitability of the entire used literature and sources. Scope: up to 10 lines. Short Presentation of the Thesis (Summary of the Thesis) (filled out by the candidate) For the purpose of a potential presentation of the graduate and his/her thesis. Scope: from 8 to 12 lines. Content Characteristics of the Thesis (filled out by the mentor) The evaluation of the achieved purpose and objectives of the research, confirmation or rejection of the set hypotheses, suitability of the used research methods, achieved results of the research and their applicability, and the contribution to the profession or science. The mentor states also the evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of the thesis. Scope: up to 10 lines. 21

22 Evaluation of the master's thesis and the final finding (filled out by the mentor) Topicality of the issues; Composition of the thesis (structure, content, concept); Knowledge of and compliance with the sources in Slovenian and foreign languages; Treatment of the topic (analysis of the thesis by objectives, research questions and hypotheses); Linguistic suitability (writing style, terminology); Share of matches with other works; a comment on the share of matches from the programme for checking plagiarism; Bearing in mind the Faculty instructions for writing a master's thesis; A total of up to 15 lines. Final finding (filled out by the mentor) Based on the abovementioned, I assess that the master's thesis state the candidate and the title of the thesis meets the criteria and standards that apply to works at state the programme of the Faculty of Administration of the University of Ljubljana; therefore I propose to the Committee for Master's Study Programmes to allow the candidate a public defence. Ljubljana,... Mentor:... 22