National data governance in UK higher education
History, current approach, and future directions
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Dan Cook presentation to NIAD-QE University Quality Assurance Forum, 2023-09-26

Agenda• UK Context• The Higher Education Statistics Agency and Jisc
− Outline of HESA’s responsibilities− History and background of HESA and Jisc

• About the HESA datasets and processes• Future plans as a part of Jisc

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The UK context
3Data constituency 2022/23
All higher education providers
466

Higher education
providers
298

England420
4Wales18

Further education
providers168

Scotland18

NorthernIreland10

What do we mean by ‘Higher Education’ in the UK?
• UK is aligned with international education standards and we see ISCED level 5 and above as“higher education” (HE). However, we also have the concept of “further education” which istypically concentrated at ISCED levels 4 and 5, but can span ISCED levels 3-6.
• Each HE provider is an independent organization (or a group), which may be legally constitutedusing any one of the wide variety of corporate forms that exist in the UK, each with its own typeof governing instrument. They may be charities, or private businesses.
• There is no “official” list of HE providers, but HESA data shows that in 2022/3 there were 466
providers that were funded and/or regulated by the main government organizations withresponsibility for oversight of the sector. “The sudden closure of higher education providers is
virtually unknown among publicly funded higher education institutions in the UK, but “market exit”
is commonplace among private higher education providers.” [1]• However, studies indicate that there were some 813 private providers in operation in the UK in2017 [2]. Not all of these were captured in the HESA data. Studies indicate that this larger numberof mostly smaller private HE providers operate in a part of the sector characterterized by risk
factors that lead to “an increased likelihood of market exit” [1]5[1] Hunt, S. A., Boliver, V. 2021
[2] Hunt, S. A., Boliver, V. 2019, pp. 1–3

The UK context (1)• Education is a devolved competency in the UK, with each nation setting policy

6− Higher and Further Education and Skills policy in England is set by the UK parliament in Westminsterand implemented by the Department for Education (DfE). The Office for Students (OfS) is the main
regulator. Most funding for teaching comes from student tuition fees, with income-contingent loans fortuition and maintenance administered by the Student Finance England (SFE)− Tertiary education policy in Scotland is set by the Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh and implemented
by the Scottish Government, mainly through the Scottish Funding Council (SFC). Tuition is free, andincome-contingent bursaries and maintenance loans are provided by the Student Awards Agency
Scotland (SAAS)− Tertiary education policy in Wales is set by the Senedd in Cardiff. Arrangements for policy
implementation are currently transitioning to a new structure led by the Commission for Tertiary
Education and Research (CTER). Most funding for teaching comes from student tuition fees, withincome-contingent bursaries and loans administered by Student Finance Wales (SFW)− Higher Education and skills policy in Northern Ireland is set by the Assembly at Stormont (which is notcurrently sitting) and administered by the Department for the Economy. Most funding for teachingcomes from student tuition fees, with income-contingent bursaries and loans for both tuition andmaintenance administered by Student Finance Northern Ireland.

The UK context (2)• Funding for teaching mostly comes from tuition fees, but there is some directgovernment funding, which varies by nation, and subject of study• Funding for research mostly comes from competitively-awarded grants andcontracts from governments, charities, and businesses. A quality-related block
grant is awarded on the basis of the Research Excellence Framework (REF)
which is assessed every 5-7 years.
• Funding for knowledge exchange capacity is awarded by formula or agreementin each nation, but most funding comes from the HE providers themselves,derived from earned income.

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The UK context (3)• Regulation of Higher Education is undertaken in a different way in each nation, with a variety ofrisks assessed and plans produced to meet requirements

8• Higher education is also directly impacted by general regulatory regimes applied at UK-level, forexample:− International student and staff mobility requires close integration with the visa applicationroutes and processes managed by the Home Office− Technology export controls affect student admission through the Foreign, Commonwealthand Development Office’s Academic Technology Approval Scheme, and research
partnerships through the Export Control Joint Unit
− Most HE providers are considered to be ‘public authorities’ which brings them in scope oflegislation on freedom of information and duties with respect to procurement, andadditional duties with respect to pursuing equality.
− There is a wide range of voluntary accreditation that most HE providers engage in to support
their operations and brands (e.g. academic quality assurance, license to practice registration
restrictions in the professions, etc.)

The Higher Education Statistics Agency and Jisc9What is HESA?
HESA are trusted experts, with 30 years’ experience in collecting, processing andpublishing data
• We are a sector-owned shared service, set up as a charity by agreement
between relevant government departments, higher education funding councils
and universities and colleges• We operate under statutory frameworks on behalf of the government
departments and executive bodies that fund and regulate higher education• We are an official statistics producer regulated by the Office for Statistics
Regulation, supporting parliament in policymaking and policy analysis• We are mainly funded by subscriptions from higher education (HE) providers who
we help to navigate and fulfil the many requirements for data placed upon them
• In 2022 HESA merged with Jisc, the UK’s National Research and Education
Network (NREN).
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Who are Jisc?
We serve the whole UK:• All traditional universities and someindependent providers• FE colleges• All research institutes• Schools• Key sector agencies and national
institutions such as AdvanceHE, UCAS andNCSC (National Cyber Security Centre)• Local authorities and adjacent sectors, andglobal customers

1111About Jisc

The Jisc story so far…
• 1993: Jisc and HESA established as charities• 2019: Eduserv merger brings trust and verification specialisms(OpenAthens, VerifID and CHEST services)• 2019: Transfer of HESA Enterprise to Jisc raises data capability(Heidi Plus, Tailored Datasets, dashboards and consultancyservices)• 2020: HECSU merger(Careers advice, Prospects, HEDD degree verification andLuminate services)• 2022: HESA merger cements Jisc as the UK’s education Data Body
(Statutory data collection and publication UK-wide, administrative
data, surveys, official statistics and data engineering)

12About Jisc

Income and expenditure 2021-22

Total income£132.8m

Donations from UK funding bodies, 54%
Jisc membership subscription, 8%
Cloud, 3%
Prospects.ac.uk, 3%
Connectivity, 12%
Trust and identity, 8%
Library, learning and research, 3%
Other, 9%
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About Jisc

Expenditure£139.8m

Connectivity, 33%
Library, learning and research, 7%Cyber, 7%
Advice and guidance, 6%Student experience, 5%
Data analytics, 4%
Trust and identity, 3%
Cloud, 3%
Other, 32%

Funders and owners
Owners14

About Jisc

FundersCloudConnectivity andcyber security

Content anddiscovery

Data analytics

Jisc provides critical services in…

Licensing15

About JiscOpen
research

Studentexperience

Verificationand trust

About the HESA data and processes
16How much data does HESA collect?
• 2,862,620 higher education (HE) students• 774,715 graduates surveyed (52% response rate)• 234,930 academic staff• Governing body composition

•
•
•
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Accounts of HE providers totalling £44 billion of income
Data on a physical estate of around 15,000 hectares
Data on 18,773 active spin-out and start-up companies
worth £12.8 billion

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The HESA data collections
Students• Complete administrative microdata (~300 variables)• Aggregate data for all transnational (TNE) programmes
run worldwide by UK HE providers

Graduates• The UK’s largest annual social survey of the full
population of all recent graduates (linkable to microdata)

Academic staff• Administrative microdata on all academic employees ofHE providers (~150 variables)

Organizational data19• Academic course catalogue data
• Financial accounts with additional detailed analysis• Knowledge Exchange, spin-outs, licensing, patents• Estates data with detailed environmental reportingHESA data journey – core process20Administrative data collection and quality process
Data collected and collated by higher education (HE) provider• HESA offers training, a helpdesk, and publishes comprehensive coding manuals in advance to aid HE providers
in this task
Data submitted to HESA systems• An XML schema is applied to ensure the data is structured correctly, and variables are in a valid format
Data validated by HESA data collection system• Automated business rules provide feedback on the completeness, uniqueness and validity of data• HE providers take action before committing their data for further quality checks
Data quality checked by HE provider and HESA
• Automated and manual comparisons for reliability and consistency are made, by HESA, HE providers, andStatutory bodies, and further sample reports produced, before the data is deemed credible
Final data submitted and signed off by HE provider• The head of the HE provider (VC or Principal) warrants the accuracy of the submitted data by signing it off.
• A timetable backed by penalties, is adhered to, ensuring punctuality
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The Graduate Outcomes survey
Annual population survey
15 months after graduation
Run centrallyIndependent brand identity
Utilising linked data*

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The survey questions
Traditional employment questions
Non-traditional employment questions

Includes number of jobs,
full or part time, SIC, job
choice, salary
Includes self-employment, running abusiness, SIC information, funding, salary
Includes number of previous jobs or study

Early destinations
Study, training or research

Includes full / part time, qualification type,provider name and location

Graduate voice measures

Subjective wellbeing measures

My current work / study fits with myfuture plans

How satisfied are you with your life
nowadays?

My current work / study is meaningful

To what extent do you feel the things
you do in your life are worthwhile?

I am utilising what I learnt during mystudies in my current work / study

How happy did you feel yesterday?
How anxious did you feel yesterday?

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HESA data journey – core process24

Data for prospective students

https://discoveruni.gov.uk/25

Heidi Plus
• A web-based business intelligence
tool for the higher education (HE)sector (developed with Jisc).
• Allows users to intuitively andpowerfully view and manipulate a
range of HESA and other datasets• Used for benchmarking, decisionmaking, and planning• Available to staff from UK-based HEproviders, alternative HE providers,and not-for-profit organisations

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Tailored dataset example: league tables• League tables remain an important
metric for planning in the higher
education (HE) sector• The Guardian, Times and Complete
University Guide are market leaders:− The Guardian and Times/Sunday
Times are available as Heidi Plusinteractive dashboards back to ourHE provider members

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Research and statistics• Statistical Bulletins that lead the narrative about theHigher Education sector• Open Data releases add depth and provide further
detailed tables at HE provider level• Ad hoc and experimental statistics offer new outputs
that follow topical issues and serve unmet user needs• Research publications on topics including:− The financial returns to a degree− Graduate employment, mobility and wellbeing− Small-area measures of disadvantage− Data quality (including COVID-19 impacts)28

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Source: https://www.hesa.ac.uk/data-and-analysis/students/where-from#tne

Source:https://www.hesa.ac.uk/dataand-analysis/students/table-28

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Statistical Business Process
Specify needs
Evaluate

DesignDisseminate

BuildAnalyse

CollectProcess

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Into the future
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Ingredients for
future success
Newcollections?

Reviews
andresearchDatacollection
modernisation

Administrative
data collection

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Data strategy

Value andinsights forthe sector

Newsurveys?

Datapublication
modernisation

Open data
publication

Graduate
Outcomes

Acknowledgement: Annette Vancil

Data ingestion
systematization

References• Office for Statistics Regulation, and UK Statistics Authority. Code of Practice forStatistics. UK Statistics Authority, Feb. 2018,https://www.statisticsauthority.gov.uk/code-of-practice/• Hunt, S.A., Boliver, V. Private providers and market exit in UK higher education.
High Educ 81, 385–401 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-020-00546-x• Hunt, S. A., & Boliver, V. (2019). Market exit in UK higher education. CGHE
Working Paper. 47, April 2019https://www.researchcghe.org/publications/working-paper/private-providers-ofhigher-education-in-the-uk-mapping-the-terrain/

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Contact usT +44 (0) 1242 211 15535