Thesis advisors often need to collect drafts from multiple students at various stages. Managing this through email creates a tangled mess of versions, replies, and attachments.

A cleaner approach

Create a dedicated upload page for each collection round:

Each page has its own link and expiration date. Students upload their latest draft, you download everything at once.

Why this works for thesis management

Version clarity: Each upload page represents one collection round. No confusion about which version is the latest — whatever is on the newest page is the current draft.

Multiple files per submission: Students can upload their thesis document plus supporting materials (data appendices, figures, bibliography files) all at once.

Timestamps: You can see exactly when each student submitted, which helps with tracking progress and enforcing milestones.

Bulk download: Download all drafts as a ZIP and review them in your preferred tool.

For thesis committees

If multiple faculty need access to student drafts, share the dashboard link. Any faculty member with the link can view uploads and download files.

Quick workflow

  1. Create upload page with deadline as title
  2. Share link with your advisees
  3. Download ZIP after deadline
  4. Read and annotate in your preferred PDF reader
  5. Send feedback via email
  6. Create new upload page for next round

This keeps file collection separate from feedback, which is cleaner than trying to do both through email threads.