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- Interview (book 1 hour).
- Review the draft and provide feedback.
- Approve the final version.
Because the person we work with will sign off the content, they need to be senior enough to be able to do this.
We'll record the interviews unobtrusively (but with consent).
Managing the review process
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- Past experience indicates that review works best when it’s carried out by just one or two people: when a document is circulated widely, successive layers of diverse input can increase the risk of the document losing its purpose and focus. Also, the timeframe and amount of negotiation required increases significantly. For those reasons, we’d prefer it if you could carry out the review - perhaps consulting with the comms advisor where necessary. (Please get in touch if you’d like to propose an alternative approach.)
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Interview questions
As with our research with students, this can be much more conversational than it appears here.The interview is conversational but needs to cover the content areas that appear in the topic page.
Interview script below: last updated 29 October 2015
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Post-interview tasks
| What | Who |
|---|---|
Identify existing media related to key points discussed in the interviewAdvise on media items (images, video) that might work well in the topic page. Gather those items. Record permissions, where necessary. | Comms advisor / website admin |
Identify existing features/stories related to key points discussed in the interviewHelp create any additional profiles that are needed (eg, lecturer profiles). | Comms advisor / website admin |
Check programme mapping Faculty | managerSubject-matter expert |
Check related topic mapping | Faculty managerSubject-matter expert |
Review | Subject-matter expert |
| Sign offHOS/SME | Subject-matter expert |
People and stories
Cover:
- Student experiencesStudent work examples
- Alumni stories
- Lecturer profiles
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Socialising the topic page concept
Before we start content work with faculties and schoolsthe interview with each SME, the WIP2 project manager will meet with them to explain email them background information that explains the broader project, topic groupings and the concept of the topic page. The notes below may help - please also see the topic page content strategy.
About the project
We're working to improve information about subjects and programmes on Victoria's website.
Our research
We assessed existing Subject pages on the Victoria website and in our publications, and noted the following:
- Most provide very little space (between a couple of sentences and a few paragraphs) to tell students why they should study that discipline at Victoria.
- There are over 140 subject pages that prospective students must look through.
We reviewed the websites of other universities to see how they approach discipline information online.
We talked to school leavers to understand what they want to know when they visit a university website.
We created a content strategy for online subject information that better meets their information needs and allows us to engage and inspire them.
What's changing?
Subjects are being grouped with other subjects into thematic pages we call 'topic' pages. These provide a compelling overview of what Victoria has to offer in the discipline, detail on each subject that sits within it, and information on careers.
The information about degree and major rules that is currently on subject pages will be moved to the relevant degree pages, so students don't need to be across multiple locations to figure out how their degree will work.
Topic pages will be simple and engaging. They will provide a clear information pathway to relevant degrees, or to course planning advice.
Topic pages with multiple subjects have four sections: A general 'About' section; a 'Subjects' section with information about each individual subject; 'Careers' (by subject); and 'People and stories'.
The subjects section may be omitted on topic pages that describe just one subject.