Adding ‘Study sites’

Posted on: 18 May 2023 Tags: locations study sites

On a course page on Find postgraduate teacher training (Find), we show a list of schools where candidates could be placed to do their classroom training. During recent rounds of research, we found that there was a need for candidates to know where they will do the theoretical part of their training, too.

We found that:

it was important for candidates to know where they will do the theoretical part of their studies to make a more informed choice about what course to apply for
providers have more than one ‘Study site’ per course

What we changed

We have added a section in Publish teacher training courses (Publish) called ‘Study sites’.

This section allows providers to list all the places trainees may need to attend for theoretical training, such as a university campus.

How it works

Study site list

On the study site list page, we show a:

button to ‘Add study site’
list of study sites the provider has added

The list of study sites includes the:

study site name
unique reference number (URN)

If the user has not entered a URN for a study site, we show ‘Not entered’ in the URN column.

If the provider does not have any study sites, we do not show an empty list. Instead, we show the message:

A study site, such as a university campus, is where trainees do theoretical training. Add study sites for your organisation and then link one or more to a course from the ‘Basic details’ tab on the course page.

Candidates will see a list of the selected study sites in the ‘Training locations’ section on the course page on Find.

Find out more about adding training locations to a course.

Adding a study site

Adding a study site has 3 steps:

Find a study site by name, URN or postcode
Review details about the study site
Check your answers

Find a study site by name, URN or postcode

Selecting ‘Add study site’ on the study sites list page takes the user to a form where they can search for a school, university or college. They do this by entering the study site name, unique reference number (URN) or postcode.

We use Get information about schools (GIAS) data and display it in an autocomplete.

We display the name, town and postcode for each location in the list. This allows users to choose from similarly named locations correctly.

We display an error message if the user submits the form before selecting an item from the autocomplete.

If the user cannot find the study site in the list, they can skip the form and enter the details manually.

Review details about the study site

Selecting a location name from the autocomplete and continuing takes the user to an edit form where they can review:

study site name
unique reference number (URN)
address

If any required information is missing, we display an error message.

Check your answers

The final step is to check your answers before adding the study site.

Users can only add the same study site once. If they try to add the location again, we display an error message when submitting the ‘Check your answers’ page.

Editing a study site

Selecting the study site name from the study sites list takes the user to the study site details page. From this page, they can:

change the study site details - including name, URN and address
remove the study site

Selecting a change link next to the study site’s name, URN, or address takes the user to an edit form where they can change:

study site name
unique reference number (URN)
address

If any required information is missing, we display an error message.

Removing a study site

When a user selects the remove link below the study site’s details, they’re taken to a page to confirm the removal of the study site.

If the study site has not been attached to a course in Publish, the user can remove them.

If the study site is attached to a course, the user cannot remove them. They must detach the study site from all courses before removing them. We show a page explaining why the user cannot remove the study site.

Data validation rules

Study site name

‘Study site name’ is required. If the user does not enter a name, we show the error message:

Enter a study site name

If the user selects a study site from the autocomplete that has already been added to the organisation, we show the error message:

[Study site name] has already been added

Unique reference number (URN)

URNs are optional. If the user enters a URN, it must be 5 or 6 digits long. If they do not enter a valid URN, we show an error message:

Enter a valid unique reference number (URN) - it must be 5 or 6 digits long

Address

Address line 1, town or city, and postcode are required address fields.

If the user does not enter an address line 1, we show the error message:

Enter address line 1

If the user does not enter a town or city, we show the error message:

Enter a town or city

If the user does not enter a postcode, we show the error message:

Enter a postcode

If the user does not enter a valid postcode format, we show the error message:

Enter a real postcode

Further considerations

We considered some changes that we did not implement. These included:

combining the ‘Schools’ and ‘Study sites’ sections
collecting other types of location
showing accredited provider study sites in training partner accounts

Combining the ‘Schools’ and ‘Study sites’ sections

Previously, we changed ‘Locations’ to ‘Schools’. With the introduction of study sites, we now have a second section with similar data and interactions.

We could combine the two sections called ‘Training locations’ and include a question to collect location type.

Collecting other types of location

Some providers offer online training as part of a trainee’s theoretical studies. We have not included this in the current iteration as we need to:

understand the different online or remote training offered by providers
explore what information candidates need

Showing accredited provider study sites in training partner accounts

The study sites for training providers will often include the accredited provider location.

We could reduce the need for training providers to add study sites if we show the study sites of their accredited providers.

Until we know how providers will use the study site section, we will not show study sites from accredited providers in a training provider’s account.

Screenshot of Adding a study site - autocomplete

Screenshot of Adding a study site - error

Screenshot of Editing study site details

Screenshot of Study site successfully added

Screenshot of Adding a study site manually

Screenshot of Adding a study site manually - error

Screenshot of Study site cannot be removed

Adding ‘Study sites’

What we changed