Smart new programme pages for EIT.
CLIENT:
Eastern Institute of Technology
INDUSTRY:
Education
PROJECT:
Key Section Retrofit
CONTACT:
Leanne Harkness - eMarketing Coordinator
Focused Freshen up
What EIT was looking for.
The Eastern Institute of Technology (EIT) is a tertiary education provider with three main campuses: Hawke’s Bay, Auckland, and Tairāwhiti, plus a number of smaller learning centres and online study options.
EIT approached Mogul to refresh some of the most important content on their website – their subject areas and programme pages – without having to embark on a complete website refresh.
These pages outline the courses offered by EIT, helping prospective local and international students to understand the curriculum, entry requirements and process for enrolment.
EIT wanted a fresh, modern look, offering a great experience across mobile and desktop devices.
Our approach
Key areas of work - Planning.
We started with a discussion about the goals and priorities of the retrofit, including the problems we were trying to solve.
Goals & Priorities.
- Getting key programme information closer to the top of the page, including important details like start dates, course length and which of EIT’s 12 locations / campuses offer the programme.
- Standardising the format and presentation of core programme information like the programme outline, entry requirements and application process.
- Introducing flexibility to allow EIT to tailor information to International students where needed, without requiring a whole separate set of international programme pages.
Problems to Solve.
- Around 150 programme pages to update, without starting from scratch.
- Lack of consistent page structure due to each page being individually customised over the years.
- A one-size-fits-all approach to international and domestic programme information that meets the needs of all stakeholders.
- The balance of marketing content vs core programme information leaning too far towards marketing taking up valuable real estate on the page.
Research & Design.
- After we’d established the priorities for the redesign, we conducted online research on appropriate design, structure and format options in both New Zealand and Australia to incorporate into our design planning.
- The next step was to wireframe the new EIT designs. In this stage of the project, we mock up a new page layout focused on the overall structure, rather than fine detail or visual design. Detail is important, but it can become a distraction if the big picture has not been worked out yet.
The results
Key areas of work - Delivery.
Working on a separate copy of the programme pages to avoid disruption, we built the new template and populated as much content as we could through automation.
Migrating Programme Information.
- Our source material was the existing programme page information, with limited consistency in structure but reasonable consistency in language, providing a foundation for identifying which content matched the new template.
- Our migration script searched the content sections on each page, identifying the sections relating to course start dates, entry requirements and curriculum through ‘fuzzy’ matching on the section titles, wherever they might appear on the page.
- This approach got us a solid 80-90% of the way to loading content for the substantial number of pages effectively and efficiently.
- The script also noted what information was – and was not – found for each programme, aiding the human review process.
Campus-Specific Information.
- With 12 current campuses, one of the most significant pieces of restructuring was to introduce separate programme details for each study location / campus, so students can easily see which EIT campuses offer the programme and all the relevant course details specific to those locations.
- For example, the Tairāwhiti Campus in Gisborne might offer different start dates, study options or contact details for a programme than the Hawke’s Bay Campus in Taradale. And not all programmes are available to International students, or online.
- The new template offers a dropdown choice of study location, which will update all of the key programme details visible on the page.
Tailored Information for International Students.
- The new programme enable EIT’s International Centre to create tailored for international students.
- Website visitors are asked whether they are an international or domestic student when they first arrive on a programme page. This choice only needs to be made once – if you specify you are an international student, all programme pages will present the international version of their content where applicable.
In the client's own words.
“Refreshing our programme pages was an important step for EIT, and Mogul helped us achieve that in a practical and efficient way. Their approach allowed us to improve the structure and presentation of key information, making it easier for students to find what they need. The ability to tailor content for international students and by campus has been especially useful. We appreciated Mogul’s thoughtful planning and collaborative style throughout the project.”
Leanne Harkness, eMarketing Coordinator
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