Status: 
Interviews
We’ll be writing new content. To create this, we'll carry out short one-to-one interviews with key people in schools.
We'll ask the faculty manager to help us identify who to work with. We'll request the following:
- Overview, vision: HOS
- Specialisations/subjects: A senior academic staff member for each subject. (If there is anyone who is an expert in more than one subject, then that would be ideal...)
What we'll need from them:
- Interview (under 30 minutes).
- Review the draft and provide feedback (all interviewees).
- Approve the final version (HOS).
We'll record the interviews unobtrusively (but with consent).
We'll give them information about the interview in advance, including an overview of our questions.
There will be some tasks to be done after the meeting - see end of document.
Interview process flowchart:
insert here
Review and sign off
- The subject experts will review the content for each subject area, and the related Careers content.
- The Vic Careers Team will then review the Careers content.
- The HOS (or lead interviewee) will then review the whole topic page. When they're happy with it, they'll approve it - recording this in an email which will be filed.
Managing the review process
We'll be communicating the following message, to help manage the scope of the review:
The topic page has been tightly written for online readers, with a focus on the target audience and a marketing approach. While feedback about the tone/style is welcome, what we are seeking from your review is confirmation that:
- it reflects Victoria’s strengths in this discipline (as relevant to a secondary student)
- the wording is accurate (while allowing for the use of ‘everyday’ language that makes sense to a secondary student)
- you’re happy with the way the media items (stories and project examples) have come together.
We'll also communicate this message, to help manage the number of reviewers:
- 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.)
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 puts Victoria ahead of other universities, in relation to this area of study?
- What are Victoria's strengths in this area of study?
- What does Victoria have to offer prospective students who are interested in <X>?
Other prompts
How about...
- The learning environment/location/facilities
- 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?
- What are the issues they take out of the lecture theatre (lab/studio) and think about?
- What what do they learn – as in understand?
- How does studying <X> change them?
- How do they experience studying <X>?
- What are some of the great comments you're always hearing from students about studying <X>?
What we're looking for
Content that we can use to create strong intros - like these from Stanford 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.
Subject level
About the subject
What is <X>?
- Eg, the dictionary definition. <X> is the study of...
- What does this subject include?
- Are there any big misconceptions about this subject?
- What's interesting about <X>?
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 <X>?
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 skills will I gain?
What kind of person (school leaver) might be interested in <X>?
- Personality traits
- School subjects
- Learning style
- Hobbies they enjoy.
Note: Avoid getting into discussions about dry, non-marketable content such as graduate attributes.
Careers
We don't need to cover this in detail: most information is on the Careers website.
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: Avoid getting into discussions about dry, non-marketable content such as how students will learn teamwork skills.
Post-interview tasks
| What | Who |
|---|
Identify existing media related to key points discussed in the interview. | Comms advisor / website admin |
Identify existing features/stories related to key points discussed in the interview. | Comms advisor / website admin |
Check programme mapping | Faculty manager |
Check related topic mapping | Faculty manager |
Review | All interviewees Careers Team |
| Sign off | HOS |
People and stories
- Student experiences
- Student work examples
- Alumni stories
- Lecturer profiles (Do you have any stand-out teachers on staff? Perhaps someone who has won an education award or who students rate well? Do they have a profile?)
Background: About the topic page
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.
Example topic page
