Student Alternative 2018/19 - Expected length of study
Student Alternative 2018/19Fields required from institutions in EnglandExpected length of study | return to field list |
Type | field | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Short name | SPLENGTH | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Description |
This field is used to indicate the normal elapsed time in the units indicated by Instance.UNITLGTH from the commencement of study, (the first learning/teaching week) to completion of the instance. This will normally include time for examinations. It does not purport to indicate the amount of study time, learning time or contact time. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Applicable to | England Scotland | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Coverage | All instances. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Notes |
This should be the length applicable to the instance as a whole and includes holiday time. Where there are both part-time and full-time students following a programme of study, the expected length of study should be the normal length applicable for the mode of study of the student. Cases where there is not a defined normal length for the programme of study, or where the programme of study is self-paced with an indefinite length, should have an empty element returned with neither characters nor spaces within it: <SPLENGTH></SPLENGTH> Validation will ensure that if this field is an empty string then Instance.UNITLGTH must be coded 9. It is not expected that the length of study be adjusted for individual students. However, where there are different options that students can take, for example, foundation years and sandwich placements, it is expected that the length reflects the options taken. Foundation years Where a student elects to take an integrated foundation year this should be reflected in the length of study. For example, where a student undertakes an integrated foundation year it is normally expected that the length be recorded as one year longer than if the student had just taken a stand-alone degree. Integrated foundation years are returned with InstancePeriod.YEARPRG = 0. It is important that the Instance.SPLENGTH and InstancePeriod.YEARPRG are coded correctly to ensure that the student is included in the NSS population at the correct time. For example, a student studies Science with an integrated foundation year. The duration of the course is 4 years in total. In the AP student record they would be returned as follows:
For Unistats the NSS population algorithm takes account of the foundation year through the YEARADJ calculation and the student will be surveyed in their final year of study. Sandwich courses Where the option of a sandwich course is available but it is not taken up by a student then Instance.SPLENGTH should be revised at the point where the student makes a decision not to take-up the sandwich option, normally by the end of their second year, to reflect the expected length excluding the sandwich year. For example students coded 4 in Instance.SPLENGTH and 1 in Instance.UNITLGTH in the first year should be recoded 3 in Instance.SPLENGTH at the end of the second year if they are not expected to take the sandwich option. This re-coding is required to ensure that the correct cohort of student is identified in the National Student Survey (NSS) target list. Intercalated courses The length of study for courses that include an intercalation should reflect the length of the individual course aim in each year rather than the length of the instance in total. For example, a student enrols on a 5 year Masters in Medicine course. In the third year they intercalate to the third year of a Bachelor in Biotechnology before returning to complete the remaining years of the Masters programme. In the AP student record they would be returned as follows:
* The coding of Instance.SPLENGTH in the intercalating year will depend on how the provider treats intercalated years. If they are viewed as one year courses the expected length would be one year but if they are considered direct entrants to the third year of a three year course then the expected length would be recorded as three years. The length of this field is 2 characters, however XML enables data to be returned with or without leading zeros, e.g. 03 or 3. Top-up courses Top up courses will vary in form between providers. The year of study needs to align with the expected length of the course. Where a top-up course is a discrete one year course, providers will code students as YEARPRG = 1 and SPLENGTH = 1. As another example where a student enters into the last year of an undergraduate course, providers may code YEARPRG = 3 and SPLENGTH = 3. InstancePeriod.YEARPRG should not exceed the Instance.SPLENGTH. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Examples |
An instance lasting for two and a half years would be coded 30 months. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Quality rules |
Quality rules relating to this entity are displayed here.
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Reason required | To monitor the expected length of programmes and to determine whether a student is counted or not in a given year. Used to determine the National Student Survey target list and to monitor changing course lengths. | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Part of | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Field length | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Minimum occurrences | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Maximum occurrences | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Schema components |
Element: SPLENGTH
Data type: PositiveIntegerWithNullType2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Related fields | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Owner | HESA | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Version | 1.0 |
Contact Liaison by email or on +44 (0)1242 388 531.