Intellectual Property, Mandatory ETDs, and Literary Works of Art

1
Intellectual Property, Mandatory ETDs, and
Literary Works of Art

• A case study of the Creative Writing Program at
  Bowling Green State University by
• Dr. Jude Edminster

2
Overview

• ETD pilot program at BGSU
• Ohio Learning Network grant
• Creative Writing Program at BGSU
• Program concerns about ETDs regarding
• student success
• impact on recruiting and retention
• graduate teaching mission
• Conclusions and recommendations

3
ETD Pilot Program at BGSU

• Formation of ad hoc university committee to study
  ETDs
• Submission of committee conclusions and
  recommendations to the Graduate College
• Commencement of one-year pilot program with
  participation of 3 departments
• Decision to require ETDs beginning in 2005

4
Ohio Learning Network Grant

• Collaboration of Rhetoric and Writing and
  Scientific and Technical Communication programs
  to submit proposal
• Award of 20,000 grant
• Implementation of proposed Digital Studio

5
Creative Writing Program at BGSU

• Creative Writing is a fine arts niche program
  (MFA) of high national standing dedicated to
  producing literary artists who publish.
• Students and graduates published 64 books in the
  last 5 years with literary and commercial presses
• Authors received numerous national literary
  prizes
• Program is home to the Mid-Atlantic Literary
  Review
• Program directors request to withdraw from the
  2004 ETD pilot program was granted by the
  Graduate College.
• Any continued exclusion from mandatory submission
  would require further petition in 2005.

6
Program Concerns About ETDsStudent Success

• Creative writers have special needs that differ
  substantially from those of scholars.
• Most literary and commercial publishers prize
  first right of publication above all, many
  including first electronic rights.
• ETDs require authors to relinquish first
  rights, thus precluding them from submitting to
  many publication venues.
• The current ETD publication delay policy of 2
  years is inadequate.
• No publication delay policy is workable for an
  MFA thesis.

7
Program Concerns About ETDsRecruitment and
Retention

• 21 out of 22 competing universities with MFA
  degrees do not mandate ETDs.
• If publication of their theses on the WWW
  significantly impedes their publication efforts,
  why would students choose to apply to BGSUs MFA
  program?

8
Program Concerns About ETDsGraduate Teaching
Mission

• The ethos of authorship in the creative writing
  community foregrounds the debatable existence of
  authors natural right to ownership of their
  texts.
• Requiring students to submit their artistic work
  as ETDs precludes faculty from teaching in ways
  that are consistent with the core ethics of their
  profession.

9
Conclusions and Recommendations

• Modify the ETD for creative writing programs
  special needs
• Abstract only option
• Password protection option
• Non-download option
• Paper only option
• Abstract plus excerpt option