Social media

There are a range of social media platforms and tools that may be useful for interactive learning.

Using social media for teaching

Wherever possible, staff should use Enterprise Tools and Platforms (such as Teams) endorsed by Griffith University for teaching. Such tools are typically accessible by a student’s number and password. Using approved tools creates a consistent student learning experience across programs, embeds security protection for personal information, and avoids issues with copyright compliance.

Most social media platforms are not typically included in course design due to the quality assurance risks associated with data being stored outside Griffith's servers. However, if the use of a social media platform or tool is deemed essential for achieving specific learning outcomes within a course, the course convenor can obtain approval from the relevant Head of School.

When using social media platforms and tools outside of the Enterprise Virtual Learning Environment (VLE), for the purpose of equity and access, all course content and announcements should be dual posted within Learning@Griffith and/or O365.  Additionally, staff should ensure that all content is copyright compliant.

Interactions with students

Staff must exercise careful judgment when interacting with students on social media sites, taking particular care that their postings are courteous and disagreements are not pursued in inappropriate, personal or heated ways.  Care must also be taken not to share confidential information about students.

The guiding principles are the same as for relationships with students in the non-online world. Importantly, staff must not ever exert undue influence on a student (or give the perception of exerting undue influence, or make a student feel like they are being influenced).

To maintain professional responsibilities towards students, staff should not accept requests from students to follow their social media accounts or networks unless the network platform is professional in nature (such as LinkedIn) and the purpose of the request is to enable professional development, mentoring, and enhance employability.  An exception is where a particular profession typically networks on a platform that is normally non-professional (for example Facebook).  In this instance, relevant staff may accept requests from students to follow their social media account or network that is used for strictly professional purposes only.

Staff should also not accept requests to join student social media groups as they cannot control or monitor the content.

Griffith logo and branding

Generally, these are not used for learning or teaching interactions. The Griffith logo and brand must only be used on official, approved, Griffith University social media accounts.

Encourage suitable student behaviours

Staff are encouraged to direct students to view Griffith’s Social Media Etiquette guide so they can understand some basic ground-rules for suitable online behaviours.  Students should be reminded that the Student Charter Framework expects them to communicate with other students and staff with courtesy and respect, and that the Student Misconduct Policy covers behaviours on Social Media tools used in the Griffith learning and teaching space.

Encourage student discernment with social media content

Given the rapid rise of ‘fake news’, staff are encouraged to advise students to be wary of false or misleading information on social media sites. Students should check the authenticity of stories and if in doubt, not use them as trusted resources in their studies.

Advise students of the professional consequences

Staff must advise students who are taking a course which results in a professional qualification (eg teaching, medicine or law) that they have to meet standards of behaviour set by the professional accrediting body.

These standards generally expect students to uphold the reputation of the profession, and often cover a very broad range of conduct, including online conduct. Content posted on social media could result in a student being in breach of these rules, and if serious, could result in that student losing opportunities to pursue their chosen profession.

Manage student content

When questionable comments or material are posted online by students, the basic rule is to “allow the good and the bad but not the ugly”. Content is ‘ugly’ and should be removed if it is:

• offensive (culturally, politically or socially);
• denigrating, insulting, discriminatory, or threatening;
• illegal (eg breaches privacy, copyright, intellectual property, or platforms terms of use);
• criminal in nature (such as hate speech, child exploitation, stalking, sexual harassment or bullying);
• promoting the sale of products or commercial ventures; or
• out of context (eg inappropriate for some age groups).

If in doubt, staff should contact their Head of Element.

Support

Contact Digital Solutions for advice on technology platforms and integrating social media with other digital tools.

Students who are feeling uncomfortable, harassed or bullied by other people’s social media behaviour, can be referred to Griffith’s Harassment and Discrimination Contact Officer Network and/or Griffith University Counselling Service.

Students subject to social media abuse external to the University (including image-based abuse and illegal or harmful content), can be referred to the eSafety commissioner for assistance.

For further information regarding this guide, contact the Copyright and Information Policy Officer.

Griffith University promotes academic freedom and personal expression.

Social Media is part of our daily lives both personally and professionally.  Social Media is any Internet-based technology that facilitates the sharing of ideas, thoughts, and information through the building of virtual networks and communities.  These include personal and professional profiles, research blogs and online communities discussing higher education.  We use social media to promote our achievements and Griffith’s research, develop professional networks and future employment opportunities, as well as to express our professional and personal views.

Think before posting

When you use social media, you need to mindful to not bring yourself or the University into disrepute. Our digital footprint can be tracked across platforms, and comments intended for a private audience can end up in the public domain.

You need to remain thoughtful, as words posted with innocent intent can be misconstrued and interpreted without the intended nuance.

It is also important to never share confidential, private or sensitive information about yourself or others. Doing so could expose you to both personal and professional consequences, especially if you reveal confidential information you became aware of in the course of your employment.

Protect yourself

Take the time to set your privacy settings. Be careful with publishing personal information, as it can be used maliciously by others.

Carefully consider any legal implications when posting online, bearing mind that even after posts are deleted, they can often be retrieved. Social media posts can be defamatory or infringe copyright. In some cases they can constitute a criminal offence (such as with stalking or harassment).

Protect students

Exercise careful judgment when interacting with students on social media sites. The guiding principles are the same as those in your relationships with students in the non-online world.  Do not exert, or give the perception of exerting, undue influence on your students or make a student feel like they are being influenced or pressured in any way.

To maintain your professional responsibilities towards students, you should not accept requests from them to follow your personal social media accounts or networks unless the network platform is professional in nature (such as LinkedIn) and the purpose of the request is to enable professional development, mentoring, and enhance employability.  An exception is where a particular profession typically networks on a platform that is normally non-professional (for example Facebook).   In this instance, relevant staff may accept requests from students to follow their social media account or network that is used for strictly professional purposes only.

Protect the University

Be mindful of your responsibilities as a Griffith staff member, as any content you post can be taken as reflecting on the University.  Griffith policies and employment terms apply to social media usage.  This applies equally when staff use social media in an official capacity on behalf of the University and when using University resources for personal activity.  They may also apply where social media profiles note an affiliation with the University, for example on professional sites (such as LinkedIn), or even on personal sites (such as Facebook) which show a connection between you and Griffith.

Acting in an official University capacity

Just as you need authority to speak on behalf of the University to the media or outside entities, you need authority to speak as a University representative on social media sites.  If an issue relates to your University role and you are commenting on it, you should identify yourself and your connection to the University.

You should reach out to others across the University who are maintaining social media sites or posts, especially when they are targeting the same audience. This will ensure that by working together a consistent approach and tone is maintained and will keep the relevant people informed about your social media posting.

Acting in a private capacity

When expressing your personal views on an area outside your specialist expertise, consider including the disclaimer: “These are my personal views and not those of Griffith University”.

Griffith logo and branding

The Griffith logo and brand must only be used on official, approved, Griffith University social media accounts. Unauthorised use of the Griffith University logo on unofficial sites is prohibited.

Using social media for research

Make sure you get Ethics approval prior to any research via social media. You will also need to adhere to copyright law.

If questionable comments are made by others on your research social media site, see the Marketing guide tab above (Official Griffith Social Media) for assistance.

Need help

You can seek advice on issues relating to your professional accounts and networks from your supervisor, Academic Advisor or Marketing and Communications , as appropriate.

To understand more about your responsibilities and obligations in using social media, see the IT Code of Practice and IT Acceptable Use Guidelines.

When you see material posted that could affect personal safety, be a security threat, constitutes illegal or hate speech, or impacts the University’s reputation, immediately contact the Head of Media and Communications. You can also report concerning behaviour to Griffith.

To report behaviours (such as image-based abuse, cyber abuse, cyber bullying, and harmful or illegal content) and for help removing content not captured under Griffith policies contact the eSafety commissioner.

For further information regarding this guide, contact the Copyright and Information Policy Officer.

This Guide applies to Griffith social media accounts listed in the Griffith social media directory (below). These accounts are either at a Corporate or Element level, and support marketing and communications activity or help promote the University’s activities and achievements.

Corporate accounts

The primary corporate accounts (on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Instagram and YouTube) represent Griffith University as a whole.  They are managed by Marketing and Communications (M&C), and activity on these channels is based around three core objectives:

• building reputation,
• driving student recruitment, and
• fostering community

In addition, these channels are used to respond to enquiries, identify and monitor issues, and communicate essential information in the event of a crisis.

Element accounts

Each element or department is responsible for creating and moderating the content on their respective social media accounts. Additionally, various elements such as Griffith International, Student Services, academic groups, research centres and institutes, as well as student clubs and associations, are responsible for managing and moderating their own independent social media accounts. All of these accounts must adhere to the established guidelines, including Griffith's brand and identity guidelines, for content creation and moderation.

Establishing a Griffith social media account

Requests for new Griffith University social media accounts must be submitted to M&C for review. New accounts must have a clear purpose that aligns with the University’s strategic priorities. It is essential that social media accounts have adequate resourcing to ensure they are well maintained and regularly updated. Requests for new social media accounts should nominate a primary and secondary account manager and provide details of how the account is intended to be used and promoted.

Griffith logo and branding

We aim to maintain consistency in brand representation across all social media platforms and to distinguish ourselves from other educational institutions.

The Griffith logo and brand must only be used on official, approved, Griffith University social media accounts. Unauthorised use of the Griffith University logo on unofficial sites is prohibited. See the Visual identity guidelines (login required) for information about correct usage of the logo and Griffith brand.

Review and update

Incomplete pages and profiles on social media channels look unprofessional and invite distrust. It’s important that Griffith social media accounts are well maintained and are regularly updated with appropriate content. It's recommended that social media account managers regularly review engagement with the content shared to optimise the performance of the social media account. The Social media playbook provides an overview of best practices to help improve your social media content.

Community guidelines

When creating a Facebook page in particular, establish a set of community guidelines so that fans, followers and members are made aware of the ‘rules of engagement’ within the community and how unacceptable behaviour will be managed. Consider using or adapting the Griffith University Facebook page community guidelines.

Monitor and moderate

Engagement should be encouraged on social media sites, but must also be monitored and moderated to ensure it is appropriate and respectful. We also require our students and staff to embrace the Griffith University Student Charter Framework and Code of Conduct when posting on social media.

Each element must monitor and moderate their own social media accounts. Comments and messages on social media should be addressed promptly. A lack of engagement and openness may reflect poorly on the brand of Griffith University. Positive comments should be acknowledged with a thank you message or 'like'. Complaints and feedback should be addressed with further information and may be referred or escalated off platform to the relevant Griffith element.

Account managers must promptly remove any comments that:

• harass or abuse others
• could be considered discriminatory, offensive or otherwise inappropriate, including comments that denigrate or offend an individual based on any characteristic protected at law
• may be defamatory
• use offensive language or profanity
• share private information, such as a person’s contact details
• share copyrighted information where the poster is not the owner of the copyright
• promote selling products or commercial ventures
• could be considered spam
• are off topic or out of context and may be intended to agitate and offend (what could be considered trolling)
• engage in any form of online abuse, including stalking, harassment, bullying, hate speech, child exploitation, or sexual harassment (this includes any sharing of sexually explicit material or commentary)

All content and posts will also be bound by the social media platform’s terms of use and guidelines.  Offensive and concerning posts can be reported directly to the social media platform, and users who post such content can be banned or blocked from posting to the page. You can also report concerning behaviourto Griffith.

When material posted could affect personal safety, be a security threat, or impact the University’s reputation, immediately contact the Head of Media and Communications.

Images and video of people

Before posting photos or videos containing identifiable images of students or others, make sure you have their consent. Do not post content that might be embarrassing to an individual or that could be construed as placing an individual in a negative or false light.

Video containing music

When posting Griffith or student videos containing music, firstly check that the music used fits within Griffith’s Music licence.

Sharing content from other users

Social media platforms often encourage the sharing of content across accounts. If sharing content, ensure that it is from a public account. It is recommended that account managers ask permission before sharing and ensure that content is appropriately attributed.

Legal and compliance

Written permission is required if using blog comments, assignments and other materials students created. Be careful with posting personal information. Ensure compliance with laws such as defamation and copyright as well as University policies.

Support

Contact your Marketing and Communications Business Partner in M&C for support and enquiries about social media management.

Risk mitigation

For further information regarding this guide, contact the Copyright and Information Policy Officer.