Electronic Publishing Services

Electronic Publishing Services is responsible for publishing study materials and examinations for oncampus, external and online students. There is no direct cost from LRD to faculties for this service.

About 3000 sets of master copies of learning packages are produced each year. Most master copies are fully electronic, enabling digital storage and easy file transfer across campus and elsewhere. This also provides the platform for transfer to CD-ROM, the Internet and on-demand printing.

Most courses of study have three items in each learning package: introductory material; study material; and selected reading material. Many learning packages also include other items such as computer managed assessment (CMA), audio or videotapes, solutions and computer disks.

The Production Process

Planning and Scheduling

Scheduling begins a year in advance of the actual teaching period. Submission dates are determined by the change cycle (new, major, minor or no change) and method of delivery. Tracking information is available on a campus-wide materials database which covers learning packages from the planning phase to the despatch phase.

Processing

Manuscripts generally arrive from course teams in electronic form - on disc, via email or FTP, or via the Internet. Some are provided as annotated materials from the previous offer or tracked changes on electronic files. Computer Publishing (CP) work is scheduled and allocated by the Coordinator and weekly management reports are prepared to show progress. CP operators discuss the details of their work with Materials Development Officers (MDOs) and academic staff as the need arises.

Proofing and Quality Checks

Materials routinely receive three proofs. They are checked for academic content and instructional design by the course team. In addition, consistency, copyright, spelling, format, pagination etc are checked by the MDO and CP operator. A checklist is used to do a final quality check before the files are electronically sent to the USQ Printery.

Production

Printing takes place at the USQ Printery and CD replication takes places at Distribution Services. LRD is networked to three Xerox Docutech high-speed copiers and most printing is done electronically. 

Contact Information

Mary-Ann Lambert