UNE has obligations under NSW privacy legislation it must fulfil, which includes informing students about the collection of personal information required for learning and teaching activities. You can read more about these obligations via UNE’s Privacy Management Rule, the PPIP Act and the OIAC.
Exams are a major student learning activity at UNE, as exam conditions are a primary means by which academic areas meet their regulatory and accreditation requirements for identity verification and assessment integrity. Unfortunately, due to the rapid pivot to online learning by other institutions during the pandemic, rhetoric in the sector and mainstream media around online exams has been sensationalist and plagued with misinformation. This contributes to a range of misconceptions around online exams that cause unnecessary anxiety, particularly around the collection of personal information. As well as adversely impacting student experience, this has other impacts such as utilisation of alternative assessment beyond its intended use case as an accessibility provision.
To ensure the best possible experience, it’s critical that students have access to accurate information in clear and simple language. The previous collection notice for online exams relied on jargon and was not specific to UNE, which meant it wasn’t effectively serving this purpose. To address this, DigEd has worked in collaboration with Privacy and Legal to develop a new Privacy Notice that much more clearly and effectively communicates not just what information is collected, but how and why. It also ensures students are informed about the consequences of not consenting to the collection of information.
The new notice is framed around UNE’s purpose, rather than a particular provider, putting the focus on UNE’s need for exam conditions. It works in synergy with the new Assessment Policy to establish a landscape around assessment that supports student success, staff workload management and reduces regulatory and accreditation risks.
The new notice is available to students through existing locations in Moodle and on the UNE website, and from 2024 will be provided to students through the admissions process – this reinforces online as the norm for UNE across all its processes and practices. To support effective implementation of the new notice and to maximise benefits realisation, UNE staff can reinforce the messaging in the new notice and ensure students are aware and informed.