1) Reduced dependency on the telephone and, if possible, on in-person consultations for bureaucratic purposes. There is no technological reason why monitoring an e-mail or IM account in real time should be any more difficult for a competent staffperson than monitoring a telephone and a physical desk in real time. (If it increases the volume of incoming requests to the point where one staffer can’t handle them, this reflects a demand for an additional staffperson, not a need to bottleneck the communication.) I would have had an easier time making use of my school’s campus services if I didn’t have to use the telephone or take a hike to get attention from them.
3) If complicated forms are necessary for whatever reason, attach a diagram or a glossary or something explaining what each field in the form is for.
4) Encourage the distribution of written materials to accompany spoken lectures. I have enough audio processing trouble that I was often lost save for the out-of-context bullet points on my teachers’ slides, or if it was a small class so I could ask for things repeated, I wasted everyone’s time asking for repetitions of sentences that I would have been happy to just read on a handout.
“4) Encourage the distribution of written materials to accompany spoken lectures. I have enough audio processing trouble that I was often lost save for the out-of-context bullet points on my teachers’ slides, or if it was a small class so I could ask for things repeated, I wasted everyone’s time asking for repetitions of sentences that I would have been happy to just read on a handout.”
This may be a little tricky, since it still has to project the “university website” image. A fancy university site at least needs an attention-getting slideshow with the pretty pictures and links to press releases.
I’d guess increasing your apparent value to prospective students and their parents is the main value of having shiny fluff on your front page. But I may not be separating the fluff-ass-marketing from the fluff-as-cultural-norm : there is an expectation of what a university page looks like, and people are uncomfortable when their expectations are violated too radically. It’s possible that there’s no intrinsic value to sticking a slideshow with pretty pictures and links to press releases on your website, but because of our current expectations it just looks bad not to have something like that.
1) Reduced dependency on the telephone and, if possible, on in-person consultations for bureaucratic purposes. There is no technological reason why monitoring an e-mail or IM account in real time should be any more difficult for a competent staffperson than monitoring a telephone and a physical desk in real time. (If it increases the volume of incoming requests to the point where one staffer can’t handle them, this reflects a demand for an additional staffperson, not a need to bottleneck the communication.) I would have had an easier time making use of my school’s campus services if I didn’t have to use the telephone or take a hike to get attention from them.
2) This.
3) If complicated forms are necessary for whatever reason, attach a diagram or a glossary or something explaining what each field in the form is for.
4) Encourage the distribution of written materials to accompany spoken lectures. I have enough audio processing trouble that I was often lost save for the out-of-context bullet points on my teachers’ slides, or if it was a small class so I could ask for things repeated, I wasted everyone’s time asking for repetitions of sentences that I would have been happy to just read on a handout.
“4) Encourage the distribution of written materials to accompany spoken lectures. I have enough audio processing trouble that I was often lost save for the out-of-context bullet points on my teachers’ slides, or if it was a small class so I could ask for things repeated, I wasted everyone’s time asking for repetitions of sentences that I would have been happy to just read on a handout.”
I emphatically emphasize this
This may be a little tricky, since it still has to project the “university website” image. A fancy university site at least needs an attention-getting slideshow with the pretty pictures and links to press releases.
Why? Does this attract alumni donations? Prospective students? Why exactly do you have to project the university website image?
I’d guess increasing your apparent value to prospective students and their parents is the main value of having shiny fluff on your front page. But I may not be separating the fluff-ass-marketing from the fluff-as-cultural-norm : there is an expectation of what a university page looks like, and people are uncomfortable when their expectations are violated too radically. It’s possible that there’s no intrinsic value to sticking a slideshow with pretty pictures and links to press releases on your website, but because of our current expectations it just looks bad not to have something like that.
At least some universities these days have a separate, more useful, site for the actual students to log into.
I think this would be helpful generally.
If you’re going to improve forms that way, test what you’re doing on people, don’t just guess about what’s needed.
Thanks, these are excellent ideas.