Student Services' Guide to using Social Media

Staff from UWA Student Services use a variety of web-based social media to engage students and to support them in their university learning experience.  This page provides guidelines to UWA students and staff.

Guidelines for students

• UWA Student Services use web-based social media tools to add to the wide range of programs we provide to students face-to-face and online. Some of the social media tools employed may be hosted externally and the University may have little or no control over the quality and availability of these services.
• However, we think that there are lots of benefits to using these tools and encourage you to use them to connect with fellow students and with the University.
• The University will continue to use official communications channels (face-to-face, University email accounts and the University’s website) to formally communicate with you on essential matters.
• If you are using your UWA student email address or a University owned computer to access the websites, you will need to adhere to UWA IT policies. Be sure to also adhere to the terms and conditions set out on the social media website itself and to take some time to understand the privacy policy and settings.
• Some UWA programs may use social media to create 'closed' groups for their participants only and your application to join will be administered by a staff member.  Entry to the online group will follow the same criteria for joining that program in real-life.
• We know that some of our students may require advice or assistance in using the tools, depending on their current level of experience, access and interest in social media. That help is available to UWA students accessing Survival Guides, attending Orientation sessions prior to Semester or contacting Student Services’ staff.

Guidelines for UWA Student Services staff

• Staff should remember that the principles behind using social media with students are sharing, connecting and interacting and there should be a focus on adding value to the face-to-face programs we already operate for students. 
• New media tools offer useful opportunities for enriching and broadening the student experience but they are not official UWA communication channels, so you shouldn’t rely solely on them to communicate with your students.
• You can link to social media websites from your UWA webpages, but you should use a ‘button’ designed by the UWA WebOffice and provide a link to this webpage underneath it (see example below)

Click here for usage guidelines

• Always consider the level of experience, skills, access and interest in social media of your students and consider all options when defining the purpose of your interactive media and choosing the tools you use.
• Further instructions and training in social media are available to Student Services staff under the Online Student Journey project.  Staff outside Student Services are welcome to join the UWA staff Web 2.0 Community, to contact Dr. Lisa Cluett for more information about the Online Student Journey Project or to contact the University Website Office. The project toolbox is also a good place to start when thinking about the ways social media can benefit your team.

This page has been created by Dr Lisa Cluett as part of the Online Student Journey Project in consultation with the Student Services Emerging Technologies Advisory Group.  Other users (within and outside) UWA may find it useful and are asked to acknowledge this page as the original source of the material.