What do we do with HELT?

Owned by Sam Motion (Unlicensed)
Aug 25, 2015
3 min read

Background

 

Victoria offers qualifications in higher education learning and teaching (HELT) for people teaching at a tertiary level. These are taught by CAD. Originally, these courses/qualifications were only available to Victoria staff members as professional development. During the CAD project, I learned that the full suite of HELT course and qualifications had been (quietly) opened to external educators in the Wellington region.

 

With the help of Bernadette Knewstubb in CAD, I wrote a page on HELT. This content was approved by her – it was correct at that time. I’m not sure where it’s at now in terms of checking or editing. It hasn’t been pushed live. Content attached in a Word doc.

 

There are currently 12 courses and two programmes. Certificates of Proficiency are also available for the completion of some courses.

Question

Should we treat (and market online) HELT in the same way we do every other Victoria subject, or is it a special case?

Options

1. HELT is like any other postgraduate subject and we should work on it in CSP.

  • Include HELT as a subject in our taxonomy*. (For now, it is listed in the ‘Education’ topic, which is for more academic education subjects, as opposed to the ‘Teaching’ topic, which is for teacher training subjects).
  • Run through its position in the taxonomy with Bernadette and Liz from CAD. This may result in a small change to the taxonomy.
  • Draft information about it as a subject, and the careers it leads to (with CAD).
  • Find (or, more likely, develop) profiles of people who are doing it, have done it and/or teach it (CAD should probably do this)
  • Write new programme pages for:
    • Postgraduate Certificate in Higher Education Learning and Teaching.
    • Postgraduate Diploma in Higher Education Learning and Teaching.

This work would be done in conjunction with CAD.

  • Delete the HELT page written for the Learning and Teaching hub and just link to the programme and topic pages from the Professional development page. All content would be contained in the topic and programme pages.

 

Risk: this work will take time from both CAD and the project team. Probably the equivalent of a couple or few days of work for each.

Benefits: makes the information easier for users to find. A consistent approach. Gets the work done. One place to promote HELT as a set of programmes, in the context of other offerings that might be of interest to the audience.

*I should point out that no one has told me that HELT should be treated as a subject. But it has the hallmarks of a subject, and now that it’s available (and marketable) externally, the question of whether it is or isn’t a subject is valid.

2. HELT is a special case and shouldn’t be marketed in the same space/way as other subjects.

  • Remove it from the taxonomy.
  • We don’t write new programme pages.
  • Retain the information that was drafted for the Learning and Teaching hub in whatever form it ends up.
  • CAD can go live with their HELT content in the Learning and Teaching hub.

 

Risks: short-sighted. Not resistant to changes in the Learning and Teaching hub or in how we present postgraduate information. Inconsistent – these will be the only postgraduate programmes with a different approach post-CSP (excluding short courses). Doesn’t allow users to come through the main funnel for finding out about Victoria’s offerings.

Benefits: no additional work. One place to promote HELT as a set of programmes. Reflects the fact that HELT is a bit different (different fees, different enrolment, perhaps not yet an ‘established’ externally offered subject).

3. HELT is a special case but we should still count it as a subject, sort of…

  • Let the content that’s already been written for HELT go live on the Learning and Teaching hub.
  • Link to it directly from the taxonomy navigation.
  • Don’t write new programme pages or new subject information.
  • This requires CAD to have their pages up by the time we’re done with CSP.  

Risks: poor user experience – they will be taken to a different area of the site and surrounded with different information. Inconsistent – these will be the only postgraduate programmes with a different approach post-CSP. Short-sighted. Not resistant to changes in the Learning and Teaching hub or in how we present postgraduate information.

Benefits: no additional work. Does let users come through the main funnel for finding out about Victoria’s offerings, to an extent. One place to promote HELT.