HESA 23056 Student return - letter to accountable officers

HESA student record data return this year (23056)

I’m writing to provide a further update on the above data return following our letter dated 30 April. The next milestone in this process is the interim submission on 21 August where we are asking providers to supply a near complete data file (more information on this is available on the HESA website).

This year data must be submitted, in final form, by 25 October 2024. Your sign off, as Accountable Officer is required by 1 November 2024.

Updates to the system and training

We have listened to feedback, and continue to invest in, and improve, the technology and services we provide. This is the second year on the new data platform, and the system now includes some key usability features which will help staff in institutions.

We have increased the support we provide to your staff completing the data returns including a range of master classes on the data model and collection process which were run during May and June, these were well received. We are also continuing to work closely with sector groups and software suppliers.

Data collection and support

We are pleased that over 80 providers have engaged fully with the data platform. If your team has not yet engaged, please encourage them to do so as soon as possible.

Collecting data from our sector is a complex task for both colleagues in institutions who compile the data returns, and for the team at Jisc. Last year’s changes to this process were significant. As noted above, whilst we have and continue to make improvements, we still expect to find some issues with the process and system this year, as this change is embedded. We will do our best to address any issues which emerge this year as quickly as we can.

Jisc is here to support colleagues during this summer's data collection, and we would like to encourage the use of the wide range of resources and support available to staff in your institution.

Our role as data body is to ensure the sector supplies data for use by statutory bodies – if you have any feedback about how we can improve in this area, please do not hesitate to contact me.

If your institution has any concerns about supplying data this year, or what is required, including the 21 August Interim submission deadline, please ensure that you contact our Liaison team ([email protected]). 

Yours sincerely,

Rob Phillpotts 

Chief Data Officer