The Delay of Final Document form is used to request a temporary embargo on the public release of your final thesis or dissertation via OhioLINK. This allows students to delay online publication for reasons such as pending patents, publisher requirements, or sensitive research.
Important Notes:
- This form should be submitted after you upload your final document to OhioLINK.
- The embargo period may be requested for up to five years.
- The form must be approved by your advisor before being reviewed by the Graduate School. This will be processed after graduation and applied to your OhioLINK record.
- Once the embargo period ends, the document will be automatically released to the public via OhioLINK. If a PhD or DMA student, your document will be sent to ProQuest once the OhioLINK embargo expires.
Submission Instructions:
Step 1: Log in to GradForms.
Step 2: Go to Forms > Graduation/Examination.
Step 3: Click Create New next to Delay of Final Document.
Step 4: Student Information:
- This section is for informational purposes only. Consult Buckeyelink for the most up to date information about your academic record. If the “Missing Grades” field shows “Yes”, review your advising report on Buckeyelink.
Step 5: Graduation Level: Choose the appropriate level from the dropdown menu.
Step 6: Advisor Information: Begin typing the last name of your advisor and the name should be displayed for selection.
Step 7: Delay Request Information: Type in your OhioLINK accession number from your OhioLINK submission. This number will start with “osu”. Provide a brief reason for the request and select the duration of the embargo up to five years. You may consult with your advisor and any potential publishers before deciding on the embargo length.
Step 8: Disclosure Confirmation: Confirm your understanding of the processes impacting your document once published. These questions will need to be answered before the request can be reviewed.
Step 9: Once all information is entered:
- Click Save if you'd like to return later, or
- Click Submit to initiate the approval process.
Approval Workflow:
- Initial Review: Sent to your Advisor for review and approval.
- Grad School Review: Reviewed by the Graduate School.
- Once fully approved, the embargo will be applied to your document when the Graduate School publishes the document submission on OhioLINK. This will occur sometime after the student graduates. When publishing the document submission on OhioLINK with a delay of publication, only the information entered by the student on the submission pages including the abstract would be available for public access. The full document would not be available for public access until the delay expires
After Submission:
- You can view the form’s status on the Home page or via Search > Forms.
- Use the History tab to track the approval process. Reach out to the advisor, if you identify an approval is missing and is not at the final review stage with the Graduate School.
- PhD documents will be forwarded to ProQuest once the OhioLINK delay expires for availability of the dissertation on their website.
GRADFORMS Support
GRADFORMS Help Page
Alternatively, you can reach out to:
The Ohio State University Graduate School
250 University Hall, 230 N Oval Mall, Columbus OH 43210
Phone: 614-292-6031 | Fax: 614-292-3656
Graduation Services Email: Grad-SchoolGraduationServices@osu.edu
Registration Services Email: Grad-SchoolRegistrationServices@osu.edu