Status: 

Consultation notes

• We will speak to people by topic wherever possible - i.e people who know about architecture overall, not specialists in each of interior, landscape and history. (Where the topic-level information doesn't go into enough detail, we'll need to also speak to subject specialists.)
• We prefer to do interviews one-on-one. Anne and Sam may observe each other's interviews initially to make sure we're on the same page and to refine our process and messaging. 
• We'll need to record the interviews. 
• We will give them information about the interview in advance, including an overview of our questions. We will discuss the background to this work in person.
• We will give them homework after the meeting, including:
  • Related topic mapping to check
  • Programme mapping to check
  • Sourcing media or stories
• We will talk about the People and Stories items at the end of the interview, rather than throughout. We'll sum up the key points and ask them to think about or find stories to illustrate those points. If that seems too hard, we will ask them to collect all recent profiles and send them to us.

Consultation planning process 

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Interview and review process

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Checking and review process

We want this to be as simple as possible. We think the best way to achieve this is to be honest about problems and delays encountered in the past. We should also be clear about who has final sign off (should be the most senior person we deal with) and what that means at the beginning of the process. 

We'd like to receive feedback in one-on-one meetings.

Who we'll to speak to

• Head of the relevant school
• Another staff member with a strong vision and some authority: perhaps a Deputy HOS, Associate Dean, senior or leading academic staff or outreach staff member.
• We may talk to students if we're not getting strong enough information from staff.  

Background for interviewee

About the project

We're working to centralise and, in the process, improve information about subjects and programmes on Victoria's website.

Our research

We assessed existing subject information online. There isn't much - between a couple of sentences and a few paragraphs before it breaks into major rules, usually. Yet these constitute a hundreds of pages of Victoria's website. 

We talked to school leavers and have created a content strategy for presenting subject information that better meets their information needs and is designed to inspire them.

What's changing?

Some subjects are being grouped with other subjects into thematic pages we call 'topic' pages. On a topic page, subjects will be described alongside each another, contributing to a stronger marketing focus for this information. 

Information about degree and major rules will be moved to 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, engaging and powerful. 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.

• Anne Nelson (Unlicensed) wireframe screenschots

Post-interview homework

• Identify existing media related to key points discussed in the interview. 
• Identify existing profiles related to key points discussed in the interview. 
• Check programme mapping
• Check related topic mapping
• Engage with review process

Interview questions

As with our research with students, this can be much more conversational than it appears here.

Key questions to kick off our conversations are in bold. Prompts are beneath. 

About (general - topic level)

What is special about studying <X> at Victoria?

We aim to hear about 2-4 points of difference. 

• What does your school have to offer prospective students who are interested in <X>?
• What are the unique selling points of this area of study?
• What puts Victoria ahead of other universities, in relation to this area of study?
• Where are we headed in the future with this?

What we're looking for

Students liked these introductions to subjects from Standford University: 

• Chemists at Stanford imagine a world in which AIDS is a curable disease and the next generation of energy comes from sheets of matter no thicker than a single atom.
• Maths students at Stanford carry a problem out of the classroom and into their day, thinking about it in the library or their dorm rooms, scribbling on chalkboards and napkins as they work toward a solution.
• When is humanitarian intervention justified? What motivates foreign aid policies? Does democracy work? These are some of the questions Stanford political science students grapple with as they push beyond punditry and headlines to understand the complex political systems of our globalized world.

Other prompts

How about...

• the learning environment/location
• opportunities students will have to work with potential employers(real projects, networking, internship programmes, placements...)
• staff - anyone particularly awesome? 
• special events (eg. trips, competitions, exhibitions, productions) 
• accreditation or affiliations
• Wellington angle

Tell us about your students - what are they like?

• How do they behave? 
• What do they think about? 
• How do they experience studying <X>? 
• How does studying <X> change them? 
• What are some of the great comments you're always hearing from students about studying <X>

Subject level

About the subject

What is <X>? 

• eg the dictionary definition. <X> is the study of...

What is interesting about this subject?

• What does this subject include? 
• Are there any big misconceptions about this subject?

Victoria's strengths

What are Victoria's strengths in <X>?

• What is unique about <X> at Victoria?
• What do we have to offer students who enrol in this major?

Student experience

What's it like to study <X> at Victoria, from a student's perspective?

• Why would I choose to study <X>? / Why would I pick this over another major?
• What will I learn – as in understand? / What are the issues I’ll think about?
• What skills will I gain?

What kind of person might be interested in <X>?

• personality traits
• school subjects
• learning style
• hobbies they enjoy.

Note: try to avoid getting into discussions of dry, non-marketable content such as graduate attributes.

Careers

We don't need to cover this in detail, most information can be provided by the Careers team. 

What are the career opportunities like in this field? 

• What are the main roles people are going into at the moment? What do they do in these roles?
• Who are they working for (eg, government, firms...)
• What’s the market/workforce like at the moment? Are graduates getting relevant jobs?
• How do they become professionally registered/affiliated etc - what do they need to do?
• How are Victoria graduates regarded by employers? 
• Fun facts - if any spring to mind.

Note: try to avoid getting into discussions of dry, non-marketable content such as how students will learn teamwork skills. 

People and stories

• Student experiences
• Student work examples
• Alumni stories

Related: 

Topic page: Content strategy

Writing for Victoria's international audiences

In OneDrive

The topic pages are set up in a shared OneDrive area. There is a template document there (called Template) that you should review as it has helpful notes about writing the page, and some relevant content examples that you can re-use or modify.

Many topics have the Careers - and sometimes the subjects - pre-written from existing publications and other resources. Various people around the place have done this work to give us a head start - it helps a lot. You may need to modify this content a little after the interview - the interview is the authoritative version.

Setting up the interview

We are writing new content. To create this, we're carrying out one-to-one interviews with the main subject-matter expert (SME) in the relevant school.

Notify the comms advisor for the faculty that you will be carrying out interviews and make sure they know what the project is about. They will guide you on how to go about approaching people - they may advise you to ask the faculty or school manager for names of interviewees. Also let the comms advisor know that after the interview, you might get them to help with sourcing media or writing lecturer profiles.

Make sure you interview a senior academic person - programme director, senior lecturer or head of school - someone who has the authority to review and sign off the content later. (For complex topics, you may need to interview several people.) Don't interview a faculty or school administrator, such as a faculty or school manager - we need subject-matter experts. 

What you need from the SME:

• • Interview (book 1 hour).
  • Review the draft and provide feedback.
  • Approve the final version. 

Send the email below to the SME - then call them if there is no response. Book out a time in their calendar - you can usually meet in their office.

At the start of the interview

Spend a few minutes giving them an overview of the project, but don’t go into it in depth - that communication is happening alongside the interview process by Jane and Paul.

This is what I say: Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. I’m part of a project that is writing much better content for the Victoria website, for prospective undergraduate students who are thinking of studying here. [Show them current subject pages - three paras at the top - “we want to give you more space to market and explain what you teach”.] Show them the new Explore page and explain mega topics and topic groupings. Tell them the links will go to the new topic pages. Describe how a topic page works - describe each of the four tabs/pages and what it’s for.

Introduce the personas - Mattie and Henry. Stand one or both of them up on the desk - I tend to use Mattie. Throughout the interview, say to the academic: “Tell Mattie - talk to him” “How would you explain to Mattie what xxx is” (etc).

If you strike someone who is resistant or negative in some way, take time to explain the project and get them on board - you can always come back and do the interview another time. If that doesn’t work, politely leave, then inform Jane.

Ask if you can record the interview. Explain that you won’t be quoting them - it’s just so you don’t have to write notes. I use a laptop (the MS record feature) as my main method, and I use a dictaphone as a backup. Plug in the laptop when you first arrive and set it up while you chat about the project - otherwise you’ll be waiting for it to fire up.

Let them know that the draft will come to them for review. 

During the interview

Use the interview questions (below). Make sure you cover all areas, but don’t let the interview go on for too long. Think about what you need, to write the page.

Be positive and interested. 

Remind them to talk to Mattie (or Henry).

After the interview

Save the recording.

Thank them.

Transcribe the interview as soon as possible. I recommend putting the transcript in a separate document and saving that to the Topic page folder in OneDrive.

Use a copy of the transcript to write the page. Draw on the content from our publications if you need to - but the interview is the authoritative source.

Gathering media 

The comms advisor will be able to help you find student work examples and other media. They might be happy to interview a lecturer and create a lecturer profile.

• If they're creating a lecturer profile, don't forget to ask for a photo to go with it. 
• If they're providing student work examples, ask them to also provide an outline of the project, a caption for each image, and signed permission forms from the students.

Contacts:

Review and sign off

Flowchart showing the review process

Review email and checklist for SME:

Sign off email and checklist for SME: