Purpose of the Graduate Research Management System
The Graduate Research Management System provides a centralized process for managing master's capstone and master's thesis research topics, student selections, faculty mentorship, and administrative reporting within the Department of Computer Science.
Each graduate student is identified as either Capstone or Thesis. The designation is stored with the student record and appears throughout the system in the form John Doe (Capstone-CYB) or Jane Smith (Thesis-CS). Students may select an available faculty-proposed topic or propose an original research topic and wait for a faculty member to accept mentorship. Faculty members may publish multiple topics and configure the maximum number of graduate students they are willing to mentor concurrently. Administrators maintain the graduate-student roster and program type, manage assignments, edit topics, and generate reports.
Graduate Students
Participate as a Master's Capstone or Master's Thesis student, select an available faculty topic or propose an original research topic, and retrieve the recorded assignment using the Student ID.
Faculty
Publish research topics, review student-proposed topics, accept students as mentees, and view all assigned students/topics.
Administrators
Maintain students and their graduate research designation designations, topics, mentorship assignments, and consolidated reports in CSV or PDF-ready format.
Core Assignment Rules
One topic per student. A graduate student may have only one active graduate research topic on record at a time.
Each student is designated as Capstone-CYB, Capstone-CS, Thesis-CYB, Thesis-CS, or Other. Administrators assign the student type when adding the student record. Throughout the system, names are displayed in the form John Doe (Capstone-CYB) or Jane Smith (Thesis-CS).
One student per topic. A graduate research topic may be associated with only one graduate student.
One faculty mentor per student/topic pair. A graduate research assignment may have only one faculty mentor.
Faculty mentoring capacity is configurable. Each faculty member sets the maximum number of graduate students they are willing to mentor concurrently. A value of 0 means the faculty member is not accepting new mentees. Faculty may publish any number of topics, but new student assignments are blocked when the mentoring maximum has been reached.
Student proposals are reserved immediately. A topic created by a student belongs only to that student and is never offered for another student to claim.
Faculty verification is required. Faculty actions require a faculty name and a matching faculty code from csdb.users.code.
Faculty-proposed topics are first-come, first-served. The first valid student submission claims the topic.
Administrative changes override normal public workflow. Authorized administrators may correct student records, reassign topics, clear selections, and edit topic information when necessary.
Choosing or Proposing a Graduate Research Topic
Open Student Selection from the main navigation. The student page supports both Capstone-CYB, Capstone-CS, Thesis-CYB, Thesis-CS, and Other students and presents two mutually exclusive topic-selection paths. Use only one path.
Select a Faculty-Proposed Topic
- Select your name from the Student Name dropdown.
- Enter your Student ID # exactly as it is stored in the graduate-student roster.
- Select an available research topic. Only active, unclaimed faculty-proposed topics are shown.
- Read the Research Topic Details panel. The panel displays the selected title, full description, and faculty advisor before submission.
- Click “Save Faculty Topic.” If the student ID matches and the topic is still available, the system records the assignment.
- The student is redirected to the retrieval page, where the recorded assignment can be reviewed.
Propose Your Own Topic
- Select your name from the student dropdown.
- Enter your Student ID # for identity verification.
- Enter a proposed topic title. Use a focused research title rather than a broad subject area.
- Enter a meaningful description. The description is required and should summarize the problem, proposed approach, scope, and intended outcome.
- Submit the proposal. The topic is immediately reserved for that student.
- The assignment is recorded with the status Awaiting Faculty Mentor until a faculty member accepts the student/topic pair.
What Students Should Do Before Submitting
- Confirm that your name is correct in the dropdown.
- Enter your official Student ID carefully.
- Read the complete topic description before claiming a faculty-proposed topic.
- For an original proposal, write a sufficiently specific title and description for a faculty member to assess.
- Do not submit a second topic after an assignment is already on record; use Retrieve Selection instead.
Managing Capacity, Publishing Topics, Accepting Mentees, and Viewing Assignments
Open Faculty Topics from the main navigation. Faculty identity is verified against the departmental csdb.users table. The selected faculty name and entered faculty code must belong to the same record.
Set or Update Your Mentoring Capacity
- Select your faculty name.
- Enter the matching faculty code from
csdb.users.code. - Enter the maximum number of Capstone and/or Thesis students you are willing to mentor concurrently.
- Click Save / Update Mentoring Maximum.
Publish a Research Topic
- Select your faculty name.
- Enter your faculty code. The code must match
csdb.users.code. - Enter the research topic/title.
- Optionally enter a description containing project scope, goals, expected methods, prerequisites, or other useful guidance.
- Click Publish Topic.
Published faculty topics become available to eligible students until a student claims them. A faculty member may publish any number of topics.
Accept a Student-Proposed Topic for Mentorship
- Review the list of pending student-proposed topics.
- Select a student/topic pair. Review the student name, topic title, and description before accepting.
- Select your faculty name and enter your matching faculty code.
- Choose the appropriate pending student/topic and submit the mentorship action.
- Once accepted, the faculty member becomes the recorded mentor for that student/topic pair.
View Your Selected Students and Topics
- Select your faculty name.
- Enter the matching faculty code.
- Use the view function on the faculty page.
- The system displays the topics associated with that faculty member, including the student name, topic information, topic origin, and relevant selection/mentor dates.
This view includes students who selected faculty-proposed topics as well as student-proposed projects that the faculty member later accepted for mentorship.
Retrieve an Existing Graduate Research Selection
Students do not need to make a second selection to check their status. Open Retrieve Selection from the main navigation and enter the Student ID #.
When a record exists, the retrieval page presents the student's graduate research designation designation together with the graduate research topic, topic description, topic origin, and current faculty mentor status.
Managing the Graduate Research System
The administrator area is password protected. Use the Admin link from the main navigation and sign in with an authorized administrator account.
Dashboard
Provides a high-level summary of graduate students, research topics, assignments, and current graduate research activity. It also supports administrative assignment of an available student to a faculty/topic and assignment of an available faculty mentor to a student-proposed student/topic pair.
Students
Add new graduate students or edit an existing student's full name, Student ID, email, graduate research designation designation, and active/inactive status.
Deactivation preserves the student's existing data while removing the student from public selection lists.
Selections
Assign or change a student's topic and clear an existing assignment when correction is required.
The system continues to enforce one topic per student and one student per topic. Student-proposed topics remain associated with the student who originally proposed them.
Topics
Edit a topic title, description, or active status. The page also identifies whether the topic originated with a faculty member or student and shows the current faculty mentor.
Report
View the consolidated graduate graduate research assignment report containing student, topic, topic origin, faculty mentor, and status information.
Use Export CSV for spreadsheet analysis or Print / Save PDF for a formatted report.
Sign Out
Always use the administrator sign-out function when administrative work is complete, especially on shared or departmental computers.
Administrative Correction Scenarios
| Scenario | Recommended Admin Action |
|---|---|
| Student name, ID, email, or graduate research designation designation is incorrect | Open Students, edit the student record (including Program Type when necessary), and save the correction. |
| Student chose the wrong faculty topic | Open Selections and assign an appropriate available topic, or clear the selection first if necessary. |
| Student-proposed topic title/description needs revision | Open Topics, edit the topic text, and preserve its student origin. |
| Student should no longer appear in public lists | Deactivate the student in Students. Historical records are preserved. |
| Topic should no longer be offered | Set the topic to inactive in Topics. |
| Department needs a current assignment list | Open Report and export CSV or print/save the report as PDF. |
Status and Terminology Guide
A master's student completing the graduate capstone pathway. The student name is displayed with (Capstone).
A master's student completing the master's thesis pathway. The student name is displayed with (Thesis).
A research topic created by a verified faculty member and made available for an eligible student to claim.
An original topic created by a graduate student. It is immediately reserved for that student.
An active faculty-proposed topic that has not yet been selected by a student.
A topic that is already associated with a student and therefore cannot be selected by another student.
A student-proposed topic that is reserved for the student but has not yet been accepted by a faculty mentor.
A faculty member is formally associated with the student/topic pair.
A graduate student eligible to participate in the current graduate research selection process.
A student retained in the database for historical purposes but removed from public selection lists.
Identity Verification and Data Practices
- Student verification: the entered Student ID must match the selected student record before a topic can be saved.
- Faculty verification: the entered faculty code must match the selected faculty record in
csdb.users.code. - Administrator authentication: administrator functions require a password-protected administrator account.
- Duplicate prevention: database and application checks prevent a topic from being assigned to multiple students and prevent a student from holding multiple topics.
- Faculty capacity: a verified faculty member may mentor multiple Capstone-CYB, Capstone-CS, Thesis-CYB, Thesis-CS, and Other students up to the maximum that faculty member has configured. A maximum of 0 means no new mentees are accepted.
- Administrative auditability: administrator actions are recorded by the application's audit mechanism where implemented.
- Data stewardship: student IDs and faculty codes should be treated as controlled institutional information and should not be shared unnecessarily.
Common Issues and What They Mean
My name does not appear in the student dropdown.
The student may already have a graduate research topic on record, may be inactive, or may not yet be in the graduate-student roster. Student names also include the graduate research designation designation. First use Retrieve Selection. If no record is found, contact the administrator.
A topic I saw earlier is no longer available.
Another student may have claimed the topic, or an administrator may have made it inactive. Faculty-proposed topics disappear from the public list once assigned.
The system says my Student ID does not match.
Confirm that the correct student name is selected and enter the Student ID exactly as stored in the system. If the stored ID is incorrect, an administrator must edit the student record.
Faculty verification failed.
The selected faculty member and entered faculty code do not match the same active record in csdb.users. Re-enter the code carefully and confirm the correct faculty name is selected.
A student-proposed topic is no longer in the pending mentorship list.
Another faculty member may already have accepted the student/topic pair, or an administrator may have changed its status. Each student/topic pair can have only one faculty mentor.
I need to change a submitted topic or assignment.
Public student/faculty pages intentionally restrict reassignment to protect assignment integrity. Contact an authorized administrator to make the correction through the administrative tools.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do “Capstone” and “Thesis” beside a student name mean?
They identify the student's master's completion pathway. Administrators set and may correct this designation in the student record.
Can a student select two topics?
No. The system permits one graduate research topic per student.
Can two students share one topic?
No. A topic may be assigned to only one student.
Can a faculty member mentor several students?
Yes. Faculty may mentor multiple Capstone-CYB, Capstone-CS, Thesis-CYB, Thesis-CS, and Other students, but new assignments are limited by the mentoring maximum that the faculty member has configured.
Can two faculty members mentor the same student/topic in the system?
No. The system records one faculty mentor for each student/topic pair.
Does a student-proposed topic appear for other students?
No. It is immediately reserved for the student who created it.
Must faculty enter the faculty code every time?
Yes, for protected faculty actions such as publishing topics, accepting mentorship, or viewing faculty-specific assignments.
Can the administrator correct an assignment?
Yes. Authorized administrators can manage students, selections, and topics.
How can a student confirm the current mentor?
Use Retrieve Selection and enter the Student ID.
Exporting This Guide to PDF
This web guide is formatted for both screen and print. To create a PDF copy, use the Print / Save as PDF button at the top of the guide.
- Click Print / Save as PDF.
- In the browser's print dialog, select Save as PDF or the equivalent PDF printer.
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- For the cleanest result, enable background graphics if your browser provides that option.
- Save the PDF with an institutional filename such as
NSU_Graduate_Capstone_Thesis_System_User_Guide.pdf.
Department of Computer Science • Norfolk State University
For corrections to student records, graduate research designation designations, graduate research assignments, or system access, contact the authorized graduate research system administrator.