Abstract:
Like elsewhere in the world, students’ use of social networking sites (SNSs) in higher education institutions in
Tanzania has dramatically increased in recent years – something which has called for policies and guidelines to
guide its proper usage. This study examined the effects of policies on the use of SNSs on postgraduate knowledge
sharing in the four northern Tanzanian higher education institutions that were chosen for the study. The purpose
was to examine the effect of such policies on students’ usage of SNSs, to assess students’ awareness of such
policies, and to determine whether they adhered to it. This study is important in addressing the role of policies on
the use of SNSs in knowledge and information sharing among postgraduates at higher education institutions in
Tanzania. In order to collect quantitative and qualitative data simultaneously, the study employed a convergent
mixed-methods approach. Thirty members of the academic staff who oversaw the instruction and supervision of
postgraduate students as well as a total of 171 postgraduate students participated in the study as survey re spondents, and eight heads of academic departments participated in interviews. According to the research, the
selected Tanzanian higher education institutions did not have any specific regulations on the usage of SNSs. The
use of SNSs had been included into other institutional guidelines and procedures. The study found that students
had a general awareness of the use of SNSs as stipulated in other national ICT and related policies but little
knowledge of the contents of those policies. Despite lacking in-depth knowledge of these policies, however,
students almost unknowingly adhered to them because they intuitively understood the repercussions of violating
the cyber laws as stated by the national authorities. Policies and guidelines may provide proper guidelines on the
use of SNSs on academic-related matters, which may in turn improve students’ academic performance. The
recommendation is that the government of Tanzania should revise its policies and direct higher education in stitutions in the country to comply by formulating stand-alone policies to guide the use of SNSs for knowledge
and information sharing among postgraduate students. This may safeguard users from any form of harm, protect
the image of the institutions, and help to ensure institutional competitiveness. A further recommendation is to
provide training for the purpose of raising awareness among postgraduates on the proper use of social
networking sites for knowledge and information sharing.
