Signing Docs Digitally

A Quick Note About Digital Signatures

While we understand and agree with your desire for electronic signatures, right now we can accept only these types of signatures for our Requirement Checklists and Site Agreements:

1. A wet signature on the original printed document and then digitized by scanning the document into a pdf format. Phone apps such as Adobe Scan, Scannable, and Genius Scan have been recommended by previous supervisors and students.

2. A wet signature that was drawn in ink and then digitized (for example, drawing your signature and taking a photo of it and placing that photo in the signature block).

3. A digital signature that was drawn with your hand using a pointing device (i.e., a stylus or Apple pencil) or a finger (like on a smartphone).

4. A digital certificate-based signature.

Unfortunately, we cannot accept signatures that are font-based, regardless of whether they are made to mimic a signature through the use of a cursive-style font.

Tools for Signing

• For #1 above - All apps recommended can scan the document as a PDF. However, if you unintentionally scan the document as pictures instead, Smallpdf.com can assist with converting picture files (e.g., jpeg, png) to a PDF and merge them into a single PDF document. (All pages will need to be placed in order prior to merging.) 2 free documents per day.

• For #2 - 4, the free version of Adobe Reader has the capability to do the last 3 options easily and without cost. A tutorial can be found here.

• For #2, simply insert your signature into the Word document as a picture and then print the document as a PDF for submission. Almost all programs - Word, Google Docs, Chrome, Safari, etc - can print to a PDF (select as a printer).