The Academic Commons supports the preservation, reuse, and public dissemination of digital content (text, image, audio, and video) produced by and for the Willamette University community. Formally recognized academic units of the University, such as departments, centers, institutes, and programs, are encouraged to establish Academic Commons collections.

Materials will be withdrawn only by Academic Commons staff at the request of the author or at the discretion of the University. For more information, see Withdrawing Materials from the Academic Commons.

Faculty Work

When choosing faculty research for submission to the Academic Commons, preference should be given to works that benefit a wide scholarly audience, preserve campus history, support teaching, or enable new types of research and scholarship. The Academic Commons is intended only for long-term access to and preservation of these materials.

Examples of faculty works suited for the Academic Commons:

• pre-prints and working papers
• conference papers and presentations
• articles or post-prints of published materials when permitted by the commercial publisher
• research materials supporting scholarly publications
• creative works
• datasets
• learning objects (e.g. case studies, games, workbooks)

 

Student Work

Only student works of distinguished academic merit will be made available to the public as part of the University student research collection. These works will be limited to the following:

• senior theses or capstone work (merit determined by department or program)
• papers or projects done through grants
• award or prize winning material
• journal of undergraduate research (remove from Web site)

Completion of a Permission to Use Student Work form will be required for any student work added to a public collection.

 

Collections of student work for instructional use

Collections of student work (text, audio, video) may also be created for instructional or departmental use. Access to this material is restricted to members of the Willamette Community. Completion of a Permission to Use Student work form is required before adding a student work to these collections.

For collections of student work that do not require permanent preservation and access, Academic Commons staff can recommend alternative solutions.

 

University Documents and Publications

The Academic Commons is ideal for providing longterm access to University documents and publications. Examples of materials suited for the Academic Commons are:

• audio files or transcripts of outside speakers, faculty talks, or special events
• materials that contribute to preserving the history of the university, e.g.: university strategic plans, architectural drawings of campus buildings, catalogs, annual reports
• formal university publications, e.g.: books and academic journals
• materials relating to the academic mission of the institution
• conference proceedings white papers, policy papers or other strategic documents, especially those from centers
• digital images, especially those for classroom use or from established campus collections, e.g. Hallie Ford Museum