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Notes from a meeting Nick Butler had with Shelley Tyson, a former Liaison Officer for Wellington Polytechnic/Massey University.

Aim: To get more information on PG audience types, the drivers that lead PG students to study at that level, and how these are different to undergraduates' drivers.

Caveat: Shelley's experience is from 15+ years ago, and not at Victoria.

Some PG audience types

Not comprehensive, in no particular order.

Mature students returning to study

  • Often after having kids
  • Usually study part time ("ticking away, paper by paper")
  • Drivers:
    • Mental stimulation
    • Career

Mature students with no tertiary qualification

  • Left school and went straight into work
  • Generally UG but may be able to do post-experience PG
  • Little knowledge of how universities work
  • Driver:
    • Decide they need qualification to advance their careers

Graduates who prefer study to work

  • "Scared to join real world"
  • Drivers:
    • Social connections
    • Student lifestyle
    • Mental stimulation

Public servants

  • Some join the public service because they want to serve the public. Idealistic.
  • Career advancement in the public service often requires PG qualification
  • Driver:
    • Making a difference
    • Career

For this audience we could pitch study as a way of increasing your influence, your ability to make a difference.

Differences between postgraduates and undergraduates

Postgrads are more practical, more likely to be focusing on career.

Undergraduates more idealistic.

Criteria for making decisions about what to study and why

  • Cost
  • What's in it for me?
  • Reputation/professional accreditation

Common concern - am I up to postgrad study?

PG is perceived as being more challenging than UG.

Could address this concern with:

  • people stories from graduates who had similar doubts which proved unfounded
  • information about the support (as is done already)
  • information about the amount of time the programme requires (as a proxy for difficulty)

Marketing opportunity

Shelley reckoned there's an untapped market of people who have stopped study part way along the line to a qualification, who might pick it up again given a bit of a nudge. I understand that Vic actually ran a campaign along these lines last year.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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