Student Work: Giving Permission
Barring any external funding received (thus possible shared or vacated rights), students are the legal holders of copyright for their school work.
Regarding theses for both Integral Honors and the College's graduate programs, the College may ask for limited rights to produce a set number of print copies of your thesis for deposit in the College. The right to distribute electronic copies of your work must also be obtained by the College.
If the College has as its policy of its degree programs that limited rights for a set number of print copies be required for matriculation, then the student must comply. A better word in this case is "license."
The granting by the student to the College of a non-exclusive license to publish a thesis online in the College's online repository is not an assignment of copyright. It is permission granted by the student, the copyright owner of the thesis, to the College to copy the student's thesis and make it available online.