Date: 13 August 2015 

Minor revision: 16 October 2015

Topic groupings

What?

Topic groupings are a new concept that has been developed by the WIP2 project team. 

The goal of topic groupings is to reduce the number of separate subject pages on the Victoria website (currently 140), helping users find their area of interest much faster and making it easier for them to explore related areas.

Where?

Topic groupings and the associated topic pages will be located in Future students.

When?

Topic groupings and new topic pages are a key output of the 'Courses, subjects and programmes' work in WIP2, which is currently in the Discovery phase.

Why?

There are currently a high number of subject pages (140). These are not user focused and have no clear relationship with one another or call to action.

How?

Topic groupings provide a starting point from which prospective undergraduate students can explore areas of study. They are organised under about 15 master topics (also called 'mega topics') for ease of navigation and so that Victoria's offerings can be taken in at a glance. 

From a master topic, a prospective student can follow a 'funnel' through a relevant topic page to a relevant programme page - then to Apply/

When the work is finished, subject pages will no longer exist separately on the Victoria website. 

Information about programmes that is currently in subject pages will be amalgamated into new undergraduate programme pages.

Content strategy: Topic page

Purpose

• Topic pages are a primary tool for online 'discipline' marketing at Victoria.
• Created for prospective undergraduate students, they demonstrate what Victoria has to offer in relation to the discipline and why it is the university they should choose.

Alignment with strategic priorities

Topic pages will help Victoria:

• Increase the total number of enrolments; including enrolments by Māori and Pasifika students; and enrolments by international students.

Outcomes / Call to action

After reading a topic page, a prospective student is likely to do one of the following:

1. Decide to study in that discipline at Victoria. They'll go on to explore relevant degree options and/or contact Victoria for help with degree planning. (They then apply/enrol.)
2. After reading a topic page, a prospective student likes the sound of Victoria but realises the discipline isn't right for them. They go on to explore other study areas at Victoria.
3. Contact us - get course advice by email or phone.

Target audiences

Primary

Prospective undergraduate students:

• Secondary students (domestic) - from Wellington and other regions, and including Māori and Pasifika students
• International students.

Secondary

• Secondary students' influencers: teachers, parents, careers advisors
• Students considering returning to study at Victoria in a different discipline after some time away
• Students considering transferring from another university to a matching or different discipline at Victoria.

About postgrad students

Topic pages do not aim to meet the information needs of potential or current postgrad students. These audiences have very different information needs, and are unlikely to need high-level information about disciplines and what Victoria has to offer. 

Content plan

Main content

The topic page consists of four content areas:

About

• Compelling intro statement demonstrating the student experience relevant to that topic. (Content writers: ref. Stanford examples.)
• Content outlining Victoria's strengths in the discipline. Presented as punchy teasers, with further content available via progressive disclosure, where needed.
• Testimonials and stories. Presented as snippets, linking to fuller versions on the 'People and stories' page.
• Main link: Degree options
• Secondary links: Study support; Student life

Subjects/specialisations

• Description of each subject or specialisation that is within the topic.
• Student stories, lecturer profiles and examples of project work.
• Main links: Degree options

Careers

• Overview. May include:
  • Value in the workforce of a qualification in this discipline.
  • Any 'safe' Victoria data - eg: "In a 2014 survey, 90% of xxx graduates from the previous year were in employment in an area related to their qualification."
  • Marketable skills you will gain.
• By subject/specialisation:
  1. Workplaces/destinations of recent Victoria graduates (eg, 'Architectural firm').
  2. Job types (eg, Architectural technician). Ideally of recent graduates but can be found elsewhere if common or interesting career paths aren't available. With brief description of each job type, answering questions like: What kind of work will I do? How will my work make a difference? What will my work environment be like? *
  3. Interesting 'fun' fact
  4. Alumni videos and graduate success stories.

• Main link: Degree options.

* Both items above should be based on Victoria’s Student Destination Surveys and information from Vic Careers.

People and stories

Student experiences and project work. Video; text with picture; text with slideshow.

Content approach

• A blended marketing/informational approach.
• "Show, don't tell". Provide facts and examples to demonstrate what's great about studying this discipline at Victoria.
• Use research into secondary students' needs to understand what they need to know, and in what priority.

Content style

• Rich multimedia content with multiple focal points down the page - using images, quotes, video and infographics.
• Minimal use of text - while ensuring students get enough information to make this important life decision.
• Lots of stories and examples.

Content tone

• Plain language
• Informal
• Concise

Web addresses (URLs)

The URL pattern for a topic page should be: 
/study/[topicname] 
For example, www.victoria.ac.nz/study/architecture

International **

Should topic pages be developed specifically for international audiences, the URL pattern should be: 
/international/study/[topicname] 
For example, www.victoria.ac.nz/international/study/

**No decision has been made as to whether separate topic pages will be written for international audiences.

Appendix 1: User journey

Topic pages provide a broad starting point for prospective students wishing to explore undergraduate ('first degree') options.

Pathways from the topic page:

• If the topic isn't of interest, the person may explore other topics.
• If the topic is of interest, the person is likely to want to learn about relevant degrees.

'Reverse' links will be provided between related pages - eg, from an undergraduate programme to a related topic.