...
Education, Psych, Design, Law, Physics, Philosophy, Biomedical Science.
...
Key findings
Use the Vic site for a very limited range of tasks: info on courses, staff profiles (largely for room numbers) and shortcuts to other tools.
Very low awareness of 'Current students'.
...
Expectations
What were their expectations prior to coming to uni?
...
- All of the students had found it easy to make new friends. "I enjoyed meeting so many people from all over New Zealand."
- Three students commented that the awhina programme had been wonderful to be involved in.
- However, the Masters student finds her current situation very lonely - see notes further down.
...
Choosing Victoria
Three students commented that the face-to-face contact they'd had with someone from Vic while at school had been influential in their choice (eg, outreach visit to school, info evening, 'Vic rep') .
"If someone talks about something and they are charismatic and they've got that energy then you want to go there."
Channels
Preferred channels (student could nominate more than one)
...
Vic website
Only one student had (ever?) made use of the 'Current students' hub - and this was because her boyfriend had prompted her to explore the info. , which she described as "Fantastic". get analytics
Students identified three tasks things they'd go to use the main Victoria website for:
- Finding information on courses
- Search for lecturers and find their offices
- shortcuts Shortcuts in header menu (eg, MyVic, Library, BB)
One 
student also said she'd use it to contact someone.
...
- Finding information on courses
- Searching for lecturers to find their room number (also useful is the pic of them - so they can tell who's who - and one student noted that the lecturer's research strengths are important when choosing a PG supervisor).
(Note that staff profiles live on F&S sites - there was a bit of greyness between the Vic site and F&S sites. there.)
Wants
Info on PG study requirements
Profiles from past students, perhaps covering what their expectations were and were they met? x2
Difficult to use
I would email someone, it's so much easier than using the website.
Only for school leavers
Difficult to use
Students felt the website was too complicated. did they?
General website: Very informative. You can find out everything about everything. But do you need to?
Vic site isn't for me?
One student commented that: "The homepage is geared heavily towards people who don't yet study at Vic. Some uni websites are exciting because they cover what stydents are doing. I like to see where people have been taken and what happens to them after graduation." x2"
The Masters student said the Vic site is for undergrads.
Content unreliable
Three students commented that they don't trust the website content to be accurate / up to date.
...
The Masters student commented that the student featured on the homepage of the School of Psychology site (Ben) left three years ago.
Faculty and schools sites
...
"If you do find something, then it may be outdated."
Information they'd find useful
Information on postgrad requirements
Profiles from past students: "I like to see where people have been taken and what happens to them after graduation".
Overview of where you're heading and what skills you'll have at the end.
Faculty and school sites
- Doesn't use the faculty site: 4 students
- Doesn't use the school site: inconclusive
Most had never looked at the F&S site homepages
...
: they found staff profiles via search.
Vic website, Faculty site, School site - Students generally didn't notice the transition to a different site.
One student commented that having a range of locations for information was really confusing. "Everything should be on the main site. Schools, faculties and Vic should all be one. We are all one university. I don't see why it can't all be the same thing. And it is all the same thing. We are one university and there is no reason why it can’t all be together."
Staff profiles
Used for:
- Room number
Research interests useful when choosing a supervisor if doing PG
Information needs
overview of where you're heading and what skills you'll have at the end.
Future planning - postgrad and jobs
Course finder
- Wish it was easier to get from Current Students to Course Finder. "Sometimes you have to pretend (online) that you don't go here to get information."
News and events
...
- Pic of the person
- Selecting supervisor for PG.
Course planning process
From three students.
- Look at core courses. Look at options. Use course finder. If not confident about the information or there's not enough information, may email someone.
- Write them down on paper. May put into Word or Excel.
- Then check timetables. One student uses MyVictoria for scheduling. "The lecture timetable is not good enough. It's not something you'd want to print out and stick on your wall. I make my own in excel and colour code it." Would love to be able to do this online.
The other students don't have to do much because their programmes are straightforward or they had a degree audit done (eg, by their faculty - two students) and it's all mapped out.
Course finder
Students need more detail about a course on the page - a stronger description of what it is about. This was a clear trend, and apparent in the testing with school students too.
Impact on student: One student said she has made lots of changes to course choices because she doesn't have enough info about what a course will cover: "You find out what they're about when you're into them". She has withdrawn from courses and changed courses, but the deadline is 2 weeks after they start. Sometimes she's had a fail recorded and incurred fees if she did it too late. Wants her GPA to be high and it is affected by this.
News
Interested in:
- Student politics (3)
- Big news about Victoria's achievements (2)
Research across the university (as well as in their area) (3).
(but do they go to the Vic website looking for this?)
Events
- Research - symposiums, colloquiums, talks relevant to their area (3)
Future plans
Thinking about career and employment
| School | 2-3 students. Because of influence of parent. |
| Year 2 at uni | 1 |
| Year 3 at uni | 2 "What next" |
Thinking about postgrad study
Two students were thinking about this in year 3 and made a determined effort to push up their grades.
Masters student
Talked about the Masters' experience: postgrad Masters students are isolated and lonely. They will be in their own office with maybe one other. Would like a hub or network or something.
...