Current state of faculty and school sites
Staff said:
Tired design
- Tired, complex, unattractive and difficult to use.
Too much content
- Too much on most pages and too many layers of page. Maintenances is time consuming so time-sensitive information is often out of date. Quality suffers. (e.g. spelling mistakes, links that don't go anywhere).
Content management is challenging
- Lack of time and resources (especially writer) for web content. Too little time for many to become/stay proficient in Squiz.
Most staff can't maintain their profiles
- Difficult to maintain, so often out of date. Very dated/tired look. Gives a poor impression of the University.
Too many channels
- Too many channels with the same information as the web (and as each other). Students still miss information despite repeat listings. Would like social media listed more prominently.
Make analytics more widely available
- Needs to be more widely accessible and used, especially data on goal conversions.
Site search gives poor results
- Site search doesn't always give useful results. Results are often dominated by courses and not what really matters.
Research approach
- Workshops with representative staff members from all faculties and some schools, augmented by one-to-one conversations with senior general and academic staff.
- Views above represent those present and are not necessarily true or held by all staff.
- As such, this information is input to our decision making, not necessarily what we propose to do.
Students said:
Why are they different?
Future and current undergraduate students didn't understand that faculty and school sites existed as separate sites "This should all be one thing – school, faculty and Victoria. We are one university and there is no reason why it can’t all be together."
Very low engagement
- With faculty and school sites only used for a few things (to find a person, get course info, access a shortcut to a tool (via the header menu)).
Use site search to find staff profiles
- This avoids having to know in what school to look for somebody, but has the unintended consequence of missing content placed on f&s home pages because the administrators believe people will be interested in it.
Prefer email and Blackboard
- As channels for information from Victoria, with all students also following relevant pages on Facebook.
Postgraduate students had greater awareness
- That faculty and school had separate sites, but still had a very narrow information need (staff profiles, administrative services, forms, etc).
Secondary school students didn't understand the roles
- Of faculties and of schools at all, let alone their web presence.
Research approach
User research interviews were held with six senior students from local secondary schools and with six current students in various years of study.
- Views above represent those present and are not necessarily true or held by all staff.
- As such, this information is input to our decision making, not necessarily what we propose to do.
Analytics said:
Faculty sites:
- Are not busy, and the highest traffic areas are subjects, UG degrees, study information, and PG programmes. And much of this traffic comes from the subject and degree pages on Homesite.
School sites
- Are usually (but not always) less busy, and the highest traffic areas are staff profiles; research and (in some cases) resources for specific courses. And much of this traffic comes from the subject and degree pages on Homesite.
Data is from 1 July – 8 December 2015, with total page views exceeding 15,000,000
Future direction of the Victoria University website - www.victoria.ac.nz
Represents a single organisation
- The Victoria University website represents a single (although complex) organisation and should look and behave accordingly. User needs that are met by the website can be met by any appropriate part(s).
Information organised around user need
- The Victoria University website will is being reorganised around user need or task, with no expectation that users have prior knowledge of our organisational structure.
Reduced duplication of content
- There will be less duplication of content: Increasingly, information will have a single source yet be surfaced in multiple places according to need.
New technologies to augment Squiz
- New technologies are being introduced that will augment Squiz, allowing us more choices and better solution options.
Site search will be improved
- Improvements to the site search will be undertaken as BAU, with priorities influenced by WIP2 need
Staff profiles will be redeveloped
- Improvements to staff profiles are in scope for WIP2, and the work will be performed by ITS, the Web Team and the project team.
Analytics will be shared for key pages
Access to important analytics for key pages will be given to all users on our network via an info page (a sort of shadow or meta or derived page), allowing people to monitor how well the page is meeting its objectives/goals.. (e.g. see https://www.gov.uk/apply-uk-visa as an example of the web page and https://www.gov.uk/info/apply-uk-visa as an example of an info page).
Effectiveness of news and events will be improved
The effectiveness of both News and Events is being considered and solutions discussed to bring about improvements.
Keyword tagging to aide content reuse
- Keyword tagging will enable an item of content to be centrally authored then presented in relevant locations on the site ('reusable content').
Strengthen visible association with third party sites
- Strengthen Victoria's association with related (staff and/or student) external sites, so that as an institution we gain the benefits of association with good work that our platform can't support.
Future shape of faculty and school web areas
Structure
Each with its own area or space
- Each faculty and each school will continue to have it's own area (or subsection or space), but no longer individual websites.
- Upgrades and maintenance become easier, while still providing each f&s with it's own online space.
Audience determines purpose and content
- The faculty areas and school areas must be different from one another: Each has a clear purpose and identified target audiences, so the content should be different. They will be much simpler to use and maintain than currently.
Option of single blended area
- Faculties with only one school might prefer to have a single blended area and downplay the difference between the faculty and the school. Faculties where this might be suitable include Law, Engineering, and Education.
Design
Modern design
- The faculty areas and school areas will have a new design that is engaging and works well on a mobile as well as larger screens (as we are presently doing with the subjects/topics and degrees.
Unified site
- They will be less distinct from each other as they are now which means users see the appearance of an single organisation.
Content
Information on core services on Homesite
- Content that is best viewed as information on core services offered by the university will be centrally located on Homesite.
- It can be surfaced on faculty and school sites as and when required) (e.g. the courses we offer, the subjects we teach, scholarships available).
In-common information on Homesite
- Content currently on these sites that follows a standard university approach (i.e. isn't unique or truly faculty-specific) will be located in the appropriate area of Homesite (e.g. student well-being and support will be located in 'Current students').
- The driving reason for this is a desire to make orient our website around the needs of our users, not our organisational structure.
Centralised location doesn't dilute influence
- Content can be 'authored' centrally, with faculty/school input/sign-off, displayed on Homesite, and also displayed in faculty/school areas (e.g. topic pages, maybe programme pages).
- Content that is best located in one place to meet a user need can still be maintained by the appropriate people (e.g. Research centres, institutes and chairs could be located in the Research hub, surface on school sites, and be maintained by the same web administrators as now).
Content improvement
Refined and trimmed preferable to rewriting
- 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 depending on need and resourcing.
Appropriate for audience
- Attention should be given to the needs of the target audiences and therefore the writing should be in appropriate language, formatted for online readers, have more visual elements and be more engaging.
Features and profiles
- 'Features' (eg, student experience and project profiles) will be rationalised: We will consider carefully what they cover, and over time they will be more closely aligned with News, include more multimedia, and provided on a "reuse if possible" basis.
Content guidelines
- 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.
Linkages
- Faculty and school content that is on the Homesite will be clearly discoverable from within the faculty areas and school areas.
- Graphic/promo links will be integrated into the design.
- Text links will be integrated into the content.
Proposed faculty web areas
Audiences
Audience | Information needs |
|---|---|
| Current students (by coursework or research) | What services and information do you offer that will support my study? How do I contact you? |
| External stakeholders | Why would I work with you? Who are your people? What are their areas of expertise? |
Prospective staff | Why would I want to work here? Who else works here? |
Purpose
- Provide a profile of the faculty demonstrating its strengths and relevance to the key audience groups (see table below)
- Present the services offered by the faculty, including those on behalf of its composite schools and in activities that cross school boundaries.
- Surface appropriate Homesite content in a faculty context (e.g. degrees and programmes, staff profiles).
- Surface appropriate school content in a faculty context (e.g. news, events).
Content
The content outline below represents a general example of what a faculty area might contain. While some content will be in all faculty areas (eg, Introduction, What we do), other content will only be needed by some faculties, and some faculties will require content not yet identified.
Home
| Introduction | Brief introduction block linking to main introduction in 'About us'. |
Our services | Overview of services faculty offers (what is administered and managed). Quicklinks' to schools, research centres. |
| Our people | People finder widget for academic and general staff. Option to expand search to cover all staff and research-focused PG students in the composite schools. |
| Contact Us | Contact details, especially for main services. |
| News | Surfaced from Homesite based on faculty name tag. Widened definition of 'news' to include research projects (both opportunities and outcomes), student achievements etc. 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? |
About
| Introduction | Purpose/role, strategic objectives, strengths, features. |
| Our services | A fuller version of what is in the Home section/page. 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). |
| Research capability | Profile of areas in which research is under taken and can be supported. Links to examples, staff profiles, etc |
| Location and facilities | Link to Our campuses. Retain information about facilities, access, health and safety for now, although this should be relocated 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). |
| Partners | 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. |
| 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 publications that support students (e.g. School Prospectus, Faculty Handbook) |
Links
| (A tentative list) | Areas of study (topics, degrees, postgrad programmes) Research Centres, institutes and chairs (if located elsewhere) |
| Social media sites (eg, Facebook) |
Questions
- Should we consider a model where more of the action/glamour is at a faculty level (by including the aggregation of news and events from units within a faculty) and leave schools to handle supporting students? Why do we want a lite faculty site and have many more active school sites?
- Where do we show research centres that are attached to faculty (not school) level?
Proposed school web areas
Purpose
- Provide a profile of the school and its services, demonstrating its strengths and relevance t the key audience groups (see table below).
- Provide a base for school-specific study and research information for current students. (Note that over the medium term much of this could be moved to 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? |
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.
Home
| 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. |
| News | 'News" could be utilised to inform people of a wider range of things than the current more narrow usage. For example telling people about research projects (both opportunities and outcomes), student achievements etc. Surfacing from Homesite based on tags. |
| Events | Seminars, conferences, careers events, lectures etc. Surfacing from Homesite based on tags |
About us
| 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. 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). |
| Research capability | Profile of areas in which research is under taken and can be supported. Links to examples, staff profiles, etc |
| 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. 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? |
Student information
Purpose: School-specific information for current students by coursework and research.
Content will vary by school - below is indicative only.
(Note that longer term, study and research material and resources may live in a student learning area of the Homesite.)
| 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 |
Links
(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 (maybe cared for by the Library?) 'Current students' - eg: Student services and support / New students / Wellbeing / Clubs Social media sites (eg, Facebook) |
Questions
- I 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?
Summary of approach
- Each f&s has their own online space, with quality content (sometimes reused/resurfaced) tailored to meet the audience needs, well integrated with homesite.
- More focused on the audience needs, with a clearly defined and distinct purpose.
- Richer, more engaging and more recent content.
- Content much more integrated/aligned with Homesite (i.e. strong links to and even content surfaced from Homesite.
- Focus is on the audience context for showing content and building a relationship between existing content, not the duplication of it.
- Flexible approach - 'local' content that has no logical home on Homesite remains on school site.
- Aligned with Homesite approach for content increasingly being organised by task, topic or user group - not by organisational structure.
- Encourage people to think about F&S content (rather than F&S 'sites').
| Risk | Description and consequence | Likelihood | Impact | Mitigation | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Consultation could be long and slow, with many objections | Based on recent experience with the subject groupings, the consultation process could be slow, maybe very slow. This consumes time and resources, as well as the possibility that it introduces changes in a disjointed/non-integrated way. | H | M | Start early, so timelines are not adversely impacted. Shield most of the team by using only the BA and PM, plus COMT management. Attempt to use 1-2-1's with senior people (e.g. PVCs), existing forums for others (faculty manager, school managers, faculty management teams, etc), and casual or relational/network conversations with those we know and work closely with. |
| 2 | True buy-in from faculties and schools is not gained prior to starting work | Despite obtaining approval and socialising the approach, f&s staff may understand or accept the approach. There are both many stakeholders and many layers (organisation hierarchy). This may lead to repeated rounds of negotiation (taking time and stressing relationships) and even lead to f&s doing their own thing (outside/around the website). | H | M | Ground our approach to communications/consultation in:
|
| 3 | Approach takes a long time to implement | Improving and relocating the content on f&s sites is a big job. This may mean that some sites don't change for some time, continuing to have an old design and content. | M | M
| Planned and prioritised approach to the required work. Set and manage expectations carefully. Request more project content resource. |
| 4 | Loss of 'online identity' for faculties and schools | As content that is currently on f&s sites is merged or moved the new f&s sites will be more focused. This may lead to f&s staff feeling that their importance as organisational entities is diminished. | M | M | Use all three consultation approaches listed in risk 1 above. Demonstration versions, as covered in risk 2 above
|
| 5 | Diminished sense of content ownership across faculties and schools | Same cause as with Risk 4 above. This may lead to a reduced sense of ownership of the content, resulting in to slower updating / information out of date. | M | M
| Gain true buy-in to the approach during the initial consultation (education) and while working with faculties and schools on the content changes. Develop strong web author/editor networks to ensure people remain connected. |
| 6 | Complexity around page ownership and page edit permissions | As more content currently on f&s sites is integrated into existing homesite pages page ownership could become unclear and authoring permissions may become more complex | M | M
| Plan content management with the Web BAU team. Train and communicate effectively. |
| 7 | The Faculty of Engineering may be resistant to moving away from using a wiki for web publishing | The Faculty of Engineering (and school) uses a wiki to author and display some of their website content and be resistant to having to move some of their activities to university-standard methods. This may lead to the Web Team having to support two models, one for only one faculty and one school | H | L-M
| COMT management to initiate this conversation with the faculty management, trying to find a good way forward. Separation of presentation layer from content management offers flexible options not previously available.
|