Speaking their language: a student-centered approach to translating university policies into interactive practice

Abstract

How can university policies and procedures dealing with academic integrity be successfully translated into an interactive online environment? In 2012 an institutional online academic integrity course was developed at The University of Auckland to transform University academic integrity policies into interactive student practise. Over 10,000 students are enrolled in the course in 2013 and it will be compulsory for all new students (approximately 10,000) from 2014. The course was designed by the University Library in collaboration with subject matter experts. A key outcome was the contextualisation of institutional policies, rules, and procedures for a student audience. This paper describes the process undertaken to achieve this. At the start of the project, relevant University of Auckland documents were identified, analysed, and organised into five sections based upon common themes. Subject matter experts were consulted in order to validate content and ensure the accuracy of assessment questions. This was then translated into a paper prototype before being converted into an online environment. Five rounds of student usability testing were conducted to inform the online course design. Key findings from usability testing include students‘ preference for ‗learning by doing‘, multimedia, and interactivity, rather than large sections of text. Based on these findings, text-heavy content was replaced by interactive online activities, scenarios, and multimedia. For example, interactive exercises were designed for students to understand the university graduate attributes and a comic strip was used to explain third party copyright. The course was piloted in Semester Two of 2012. Feedback from the survey and focus groups was very positive. Students found the course to be an informative, engaging and fun way to learn about University policies and what is expected of them as university students. Our experience demonstrates that policies can successfully be translated into practice in an online environment using a student-centred approach. Furthermore, collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders had the added benefit of initiating conversations on the subject of academic integrity across the University.