HESA Collections
Student record 2020/21 - File structure
Version 1.1 Produced 2021-01-06
The physical file structure to be returned to HESA is based on the logical data model but with repeating elements associated with some of the logical entities expressed separately.
The repeating elements are:
Entity | Repeating element | Description |
Course | AWARDBOD | Awarding body |
REGBODY | Regulatory body for health and social care students | |
TQSSUB | Teaching qualification sought subject | |
CourseSubject | A HECoS subject code, ITT specialism and a proportion indicator | |
DeliveryOrganisationAndLocation | A delivery organisation, proportion and postcode | |
Module | ModuleSubject | A HECoS subject code, academic HESA cost centre and a proportion indicator |
Student | NATIOND | National identity |
Instance | A student on a course is referred to as an instance | |
Instance | Initiatives | Students who are part of a specific scheme that is to be monitored independently |
EntryProfile | PGCESBJ | PGCE subject of undergraduate degree |
QualificationsOnEntry | Detail of the qualifications held by the student when the instance begins | |
Instance | FinancialSupport | A financial support type, amount and commitment flag |
ITTPlacement | Placement information (English ITT only) | |
Mobility | To collect data on the mobility of students | |
Mobility | MOBTYPE | Mobility type |
Instance | QualificationsAwarded | Qualification or credit obtained during or at the end of an instance |
QualificationsAwarded | TQGSUB | Teaching qualification gained subject |
Instance | REFData | A Unit of Assessment code and a proportion indicator |
StudentOnModule | The link between the instance and the relevant modules for the reporting period |
Data format
Data must be returned to HESA as an XML file. XML is the eXtensible Markup Language and is a W3C recommendation. There are many XML training resources on the web, including the W3C Tutorial on XML and the resources of W3Schools.
Files must be encoded with UTF-8 and schema validation will be in place to ensure this. Providers must specify the encoding used in their XML files in the first line of the file (i.e. <?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8" ?>) and to ensure that their files are actually saved with that encoding. If XML files are edited with some text editors and the encoding is not specified or does not match the actual file encoding, there may be problems when submitting these files for validation.
Ordering of attributes for submission
The order in which entities and fields should be submitted is governed by the Cyy051.xsd file, which is ordered according to the following principles:
- Entities are presented in parent-child order, starting with the 'Institution' entity.
- Fields within entities are presented in the order of primary key fields, candidate key fields, foreign key fields, and non-key fields.
- Child entities then follow.
- Each field or entity within a parent entity is presented in alphabetical order to aid their location.
Contact Liaison by email or on +44 (0)1242 388 531.