...
- The faculty areas and school areas will have a new design that is engaging and appealing, utilising Squiz responsive templates either utilising an appropriate presentation layer technology (e.g. we used Angular JS for Topics and Degrtees) or, if this doesn't pan out using responsive templates in Squiz (similar to Homesite).
Content improvement
- Most of the content that is currently on faculty and school sites will be moved pretty much as is, with some trimming and some rewriting as resource allows. Attention should be given to the needs of the target audiences and therefore the writing should be in plain language, formatted for online readers, have more visual elements and be more engaging.
- 'Features' (eg, student experience and project profiles) will be rationalised: We will consider carefully what they cover, align them more closely with News, include more multimedia, reuse those used on topic pages where possible, and ensure they're always recent.
- Guidance will be provided to faculties and schools to help them address some of the content management issues they mentioned at the workshops. This will include advice on content planning, and tools and techniques for keeping content current. It will draw on effective practices identified in the workshops, and expertise and prior experience within the web team.
- Findings will be shared from user sessions where Victoria students were asked which channels they prefer for getting information and updates from faculties and schools.
...
- Provide a profile of the school and its activities, demonstrating its strengths and relevance to the key audience groups (see table below).
- Surface Homesite content as appropriate in a school setting.
- Provide a base for school-specific study and research material and information for current students . (Longer longer term, this may live in a student learning area of Homesite.)).
- Surface Homesite content as appropriate in a school setting.
Audiences
Audience | Information needs |
|---|---|
| Current students - both coursework and research | Study and research material and information that is distinct to the school/programme. |
Prospective students, including international and postgraduate students, and their influencers | Understand the strengths and features of the school. Why would I choose to study here? What would it be like being a student here? |
Prospective staff | Is this somewhere I'd like to work? What do they do? Who else works here? |
| Prospective research partners (industry and business, government (central, local), other universities) | Understand the strengths and features of the school. Why would I work with them? Who are their people? What are their areas of expertise? |
...
| Introduction | Brief intro block, linking to Introduction page in About Us section |
| Our services | Overview of services school offers (what is taught (via a topics/subjects widget) and what is researched (content or a filtered search result?)), with rest on About Us section. |
| Our people | People finder widget for academic and general staff, as well as research-focused PG students |
| Contact us | Block with key contact details, including any social media accounts. |
| News | Research projects, student achievements etc. Surfacing from Homesite based on tags |
| Events | Seminars, conferences, careers events, lectures etc. Surfacing from Homesite based on tags |
...
| Introduction | Strengths, unique features. Vibrant, exciting, makes an emotional connection. Like a walk down Cuba St? Include a video tour? Consider including a 1-minute video from HOS. | ||
| Our services | A fuller version of what is in the Home section/page.Link to Homesite content when ever possible (eg: Subjects/topics; UG Degrees and PG programmes; Research projects; Centres, institutes and chairs). May be a series of visual 'promo' links. Could have a course widget to show courses taught by the school (or staff in the school). | ||
| Location and facilities | Link to Our campuses on the homesite. Retain info about facilities, building/floor access, health and safety, and similar (although potentially this should be located in 'Current students'), but maybe have an overview here and the detail in the Student Information section | ||
| Students | A small collection of features covering the university experience of recent students. Are these stories? Projects? | ||
| Alumni | Medium term plan is to move much/all alumni information to the new 'engagement hub' and link to it. However, a short-medium term solution might be required to retain it on the new school site. | ||
| Positions | Appointments and important positions outside the normal management chart (e.g. Academic Visitors' Programme, Fellows, Curator in Residence (School of Art History). | ||
| Partners | Accreditation, affiliations, professional bodies, industry associations and partnerships, sponsors, donors. | ||
| Forms | If any. | Publications | Links to Could be improved (to be online forms) and moved to Current Students in future |
| Publications | Links to core publications (e.g. School Prospectus, Faculty Handbook) Does this include research reports/publications (that are not by an individual (therefore in staff profiles) or a centre/institute/chair (therefore in Research hub) if they can't go to the library? |
...
| Facilities | Details behind overview in About Us section above. Includes:
|
| Resources | Study and research resources - eg: databases, software, online written resources. Example: School of Linguistics |
| Study groups | Student study groups. Is this also where we put research groups (even though it seems buried)? |
| Work experience and internships | (Amend nav label as relevant to the content) Will only be required by a few schools - eg, ECS |
...
(A tentative list) | Areas of study (topics, degrees, postgrad programmes): Although this might need a smarter widget if we wanted to surface them in the school site, rather than link away. Centres, Institutes and Chairs: Research information - including : Research projects (in Research expertise?) and Research reports ( in Librarymaybe cared for by the Library?) 'Current students' - eg: Student services and support / New students / Wellbeing / Clubs
Centres, Institutes and Chairs - if located elsewhere
| Social media sites (eg, Facebook) |
Questions
- Is Student Information better labelled Supporting students in study and research?
- Is Resources different or does it include Publications? Facilities? Forms?
- What do we do when facilities are not necessarily for teaching/students but either for research or available to industry (e.g. specialised equipment)?
- Where do we plan to put outputs from (historic) research funding?
- Publications and forms seem to fit as well in Student Information as in About Us. Are there a subset there and others on About Us? references?
...
- Provide a profile of the faculty demonstrating its strengths and relevance to the key audience groups (see table below)
- Present the value add functions the faculty offers, both on behalf of its activities, including composite schools and in activities that cross school boundaries. This includes responsibilities, structure (i.e. schools) and affiliations.Could aggregate some of the content of its
- Surface Homesite content as appropriate in a school setting.
- Surface school content as appropriate (e.g. an aggregation of some content from composite schools (e.g. news, events, staff)
- Enable staff in different roles at the faculty to be easily identified and contacted.
Audiences
Audience | Information needs |
|---|---|
| Current students - both coursework and research | Find out about Student and Academic Services - what they can help with, how to contact them. |
| Industry/external stakeholders | Building channels for research and funding We heard this but how true is it? |
Prospective staff | Understand the strengths and features of the faculty. Is this somewhere I'd like to work? Who else works here? |
...
| Introduction | Intro block - brief. Linking to main intro in 'About us'. | ||
Our services | Overview of services faculty offers (what is administered and managed 'Quicklinks' to schools. 'Quicklinks' to research centres, institutes and chairs. Do we (via widgets and filtered search results) also show what is taught and researched by the schools in the faculty? Could save user time searching, but would it be misleading? | ||
| Our people | People finder widget for academic and general staff , as well as. Could have option to expand search to cover all staff and research-focused PG students . Covers both faculty and schools within | Who to contact | Contact block. Include in the composite schools. |
| Contact Us | Contact block, including Student and Academic Services. | ||
| News | Research projects, student achievements etc. Surfacing from Homesite based on tags Could include items created by the composite schools, especially if cross-school (and maybe engagement or alumni) focused? | ||
| Events | Seminars, conferences, careers events, lectures etc. Surfacing from Homesite based on tags Could include items created by the composite schools, especially if cross-school (and maybe engagement or alumni) focused? |
Content
The content outline below represents a general example of what a school area might contain. While some content will be in all school areas (eg, Introduction, What we do), other content won't be required by all schools - and some schools may have additional content needs.
About Us
| About us | Purpose and role of faculty. Strategic objectives. Strengths and features. Org Introduction | More official/prestigious (than school), covering purpose/role., strategic objectives, strengths and features. Maybe organisation chart. | |
| Location and facilities | Link to Our campuses. | Forms | As on faculty sites now - large number of downloads. (May move to 'Current students' in the future.) Include faculty-specific Retain info about facilities if necessary. |
| Staff / Faculty staff | People finder tool? All staff associated with the school. Not presented in a table. Student and Academic Services - who, what, when (counter hours), where. | ||
, building/floor access, health and safety, and similar (although potentially this should be located in 'Current students'), but maybe have an overview here and the detail in the Student Information section. | |||
| Mission, vision and values | If required | ||
| Committees and boards | If required. Complex information needs to be simplified or 'flattened' out - (i.e. not nested too deeply). | ||
| AffiliationsPartners | Accreditation, affiliations, professional bodies, industry associations and partnerships, sponsors, donors. If relevant at faculty level (rather than school level) | ||
Dean's list | Dean's list, Dean's award. | Publications | Link to mainsite for relevant publications - eg: School Prospectus, Faculty Handbook.s list, Dean's award. |
| Forms | As on faculty sites now (where there are large number) Could be improved (to be online forms) and moved to Current Students in future | ||
| Publications | Links to core publications (e.g. School Prospectus, Faculty Handbook) Does this include research reports/publications (that are not by an individual (therefore in staff profiles) or a centre/institute/chair (therefore in Research hub) if they can't go to the library? |
Links
| (A tentative list) | Areas of study (topics, degrees, postgrad programmes) Research Centres, institutes and chairs (if located elsewhere) |
| Social media sites (eg, Facebook) |
...