1. What is the research study about?
Australian universities have responded to the COVID-19 pandemic through a range of measures that have disrupted ‘business as usual’.  Campus closures have led to online learning and other modes of online service delivery, workplace re-arrangements and shifts in resourcing.

This study intends to address the effects of COVID-necessitated online learning for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Migrant and/or Refugee (CALDMR) students and the responses of universities. We define CALDMR students as domestic and international students enrolled in a program of study in an Australian university. Online learning encompasses any form of remote teaching and learning (a/synchronous) that is not delivered face-to-face.

The research study aims to:
1. To explore how CALDMR students in higher education have experienced the shift to online learning;
2. To explore university educators’ experiences of teaching online, and their understandings and awareness of the needs of CALDMR students;
3. To identify the support needs of CALDMR students through engagement with ‘frontline’ university support staff;
4. To explore the awareness and understandings of educational developers of the links between culture and intercultural pedagogy as universities move courses online;
5. To examine the policy landscape to see whether universities update their equity policies post-Covid 19; and
6. To produce a strengths-based, research-informed toolkit that outlines good practice teaching and learning strategies.
 
2. Who is conducting this research?
The study is being carried out by the following researchers:

1. Dr Sally Baker (CI), University of New South Wales
2. Dr Clemence Due, University of Adelaide
3. Dr Rachel Burke (University of Newcastle)
4. Dr Joel Anderson (Australian Catholic University)
5. Associate Professor Loshini Naidoo (Western Sydney University)
6. Dr Lisa Hartley (Curtin University)
7.  Dr William Mude (Central Queensland University)
8. Carolina Morison (Macquarie University)
9. Dr Teresa De Fazio (Victoria University)
10. Associate Professor Ravinder Sidhu (University of Queensland)
11. Dr Tebeje Molla (Deakin University)

Research Funder: This research project has received funding from the National Centre for Student Equity in Higher Education (NCSEHE).

3. Inclusion/Exclusion Criteria
Before you decide to participate in this research study, we need to ensure that it is ok for you to take part. The research study is looking to recruit people who meet the following criteria:
  * Students from Culturally and Linguistically Diverse (CALD) migrant backgrounds (including international and refugee/ asylum seeker students) who are over the age of 18 and are currently enrolled in a program of study at an Australian university
  * (enabling, undergraduate or postgraduate)
 
4. Do I have to take part in this research study?
Participation in this research study is voluntary. If you do not want to take part, you do not have to. If you decide to take part and later change your mind, you are free to withdraw from the study at any stage.
If you decide you want to take part in the research study, you will be asked to:
  * Read the information carefully (ask questions if necessary);
  * Read the information carefully (ask questions if necessary); and
  * Complete the online questionnaire.
 
 

5. What does participation in this research require, and are there any risks involved?
If you decide to take part in the research study, we will ask you to complete the survey. At the end of the survey we will ask you if you are interested in participating in a PhotoVoice exercise, where you will be asked to take photographs of your experiences and then discuss these with a researcher in a photo-mediated interview (that is, we will use your photographs as a basis for discussion, as well as a few questions).

If you participate in the PhotoVoice component, the photo-mediated interview should take approximately 60 minutes to complete. To ensure that we collect your responses accurately, we seek your permission to digitally record the interview using an audio recorder. If you would like to participate but do not wish to be recorded, you will need to discuss the options for your participation with the research team.

We don’t expect the questions to cause any harm or discomfort; however, we acknowledge that the content could be potentially triggering. We will therefore advise students to contact their state-based refugee/ trauma-specific counselling service if they experience feelings of distress as a result of participation in this study. If you experience feelings of distress as a result of participation in this study you can let the research team know and they will provide you with assistance:
 

•    * NSW: Service for the Treatment and Rehabilitation of Torture and Trauma Survivors (STARTTS), (02) 9646 6700
•    * VIC: Victorian Foundation for Survivors of Torture (Foundation House) (03) 9388 0022
•    * QLD: Queensland Program of Assistance to Survivors of Torture and Trauma QPASTT, (07) 3391 6677
•    * SA: STTARS (Survivors of Torture and Trauma Assistance and Rehabilitation Service), (08) 8206 8900
•    * WA: Association for Services to Torture and Trauma Survivors (ASeTTS, (08) 9227 2700

We hope to use information from this research study to benefit CALDMR students, as well as university educators, equity practitioners and educational designers. Drawing on the experiences of students, university educators, equity practitioners and educational designers, we seek to develop a research-informed ‘good practice’ toolkit, and to make recommendations for policy and practice directed at the institutional, sector and federal levels, as well as broader academic and professional communities.
 

7. What will happen to information about me?
By signing the consent form and completing the survey, you consent to the research team collecting and using information about you for the research study. The research team will store the deidentified data collected from you for this research project for a minimum of 5 years after the publication of the research results. 

The information about you will be stored in a re-identifiable format where any identifiers such as your name and university will be replaced with a unique code. Any information that individually identifies you will be removed, and a code will be assigned to your record. Only the research team will have access to the link between the code and your identity, and all electronic files will be password protected. Password-encrypted files may be shared only between the research team members. We will also use the data collected for external dissemination via academic channels, such as publications, conference presentations or workshops. Any reporting of data collected via the interviews will ensure that no identifying information is conveyed.

   * Information collected from you in an electronic format stored on a UNSW password-protected OneDrive only accessible to the approved research investigators. 
   * Information collected from you using paper-based measures will be stored in the following: G30, Morven Brown, UNSW and only the approved research investigators will have access to this information.
   * Audio or video recordings will be stored on a UNSW password protected OneDrive only accessible to the approved research investigators and will be made available to a professional transcription service. Recordings will only be made available after a confidentiality agreement has been signed.

The information you provide is personal information for the purposes of the Privacy and Personal Information Protection Act 1998 (NSW).  You have the right of access to personal information held about you by the University, the right to request correction and amendment of it, and the right to make a complaint about a breach of the Information Protection Principles as contained in the PPIP Act.  Further information on how the University protects personal information is available in the UNSW Privacy Management Plan.


8. How and when will I find out what the results of the research study are?
The research team intend to publish and/ report the results of the research study in a variety of ways. All information published will be done in a way that will not identify you. If you would like to receive a copy of the results you can let the research team know by emailing the Chief Investigator on sally.baker@unsw.edu.au. We will only use these details to send you the results of the research. 

9. What if I want to withdraw from the research study?
If you do consent to participate, you may withdraw at any time. Your decision not to participate or to withdraw from the study will not affect your relationship with UNSW Sydney or any of the other partner universities. You can do this by closing the questionnaire. If you withdraw from the research, we will destroy any information that has already been collected. Once you have submitted the questionnaire however, we will not be able to withdraw your responses as the questionnaire is anonymous.
 

10. What should I do if I have further questions about my involvement in the research study?
The person you may need to contact will depend on the nature of your query. If you require further information regarding this study or if you have any problems, which may be related to your involvement in the study, you can contact the following member/s of the research team:

Research Team Contact Details

Name	Dr Sally Baker
Position	Chief Investigator
Email	sally.baker@unsw.edu.au

What if I have a complaint or any concerns about the research study?
If you have a complaint regarding any aspect of the study or the way it is being conducted, please contact the UNSW Human Ethics Coordinator:

Complaints Contact

Position	UNSW Human Research Ethics Coordinator
Telephone	+ 61 2 9385 6222
Email	humanethics@unsw.edu.au
HC Reference Number	HC200694

By clicking ‘next’, you give consent for your responses to be included as part of the data collected for this project.