Student Record Officers Conference Leicester 2010

Objectives Introduce data quality assurance Detailed overview of check documentation (with exciting tasks!) Highlight future changes

Data quality assurance process

Current Process Successful full COMMIT Check documentation produced Data Quality Assurance team raise queries using check doc and system reports Reports passed to Liaison for scrutinising Reports ed to record contact (only) Institution responds Query updated

Closing queries To close a query and institution must either: -Amend data and resubmit -Provide response to query as to why data will not be changed Common responses: -Data genuine -Don’t have time -Unable to amend Result in a promise

Check documentation…

Query 1 ‘Your total student numbers have decreased by more than 10%. Can you confirm this is genuine?’ -Consider which check documentation items you would use to assist you in investigating the query

Query 2 ‘Your institution’s awarding profile has changed – can you confirm this is genuine?’ -Once again, consider which check documentation items you would use to assist you in investigating the query

Query 3 ‘You have returned student FTE in cost centre 10 ‘Biosciences’ for the first time – is this genuine?’ -Consider which check documentation items you would use to assist you in investigating the query -What are the potential pitfalls of using one of the items?

Check documentation challenge Identify the 10 issues HESA might raise having reviewed this check documentation See how many have you can find!

Remember! When carrying out data quality assurance processes, ensure you use the full range of reports available when identifying and responding to queries e.g. NSS, POPDLHE, TQI, HIN… …as well as…

Data supply What is it? Why does it exist? What can it be used for? When do I get it? 2009/10 Data Supply will include COURSEID, MODID, and OWNINST in the structure of the files

Future changes…

Changes to check documentation 1 Item 2 ‘Student instance apportionment’ – improved highlighting of year-on-year changes Item 3 ‘Fundability analysis’ – item to move to the Institutional Information sheet Item 4 ‘New entrant analysis’ – static data to be added for comparison Item 5 ‘UCAS first year undergraduate entrants’ – to be removed Item 6 ‘UCAS Outgoing ERASMUS/SOCRATES student numbers’ – will move to an exception rule Item 7 ‘Course length profile’ – will be made into a table that will be more useful for the use of NSS e.g. use NSS/1st degree population and flag item as a priority Item 8 ‘Student cohort analysis’ – will move to an exception rule

Changes to check documentation 2 Item 10 ‘Highest qualification on entry for continuing students’ – to be removed Item 13 ‘Unknown values’ – populations and sector averages to be reviewed Item 14b ‘Average credit points per instance’ – to be removed Item 17/18 ‘Student Ethnicity/Disability by Mode and Level’ – to be moved to Institutional information sheet with foundation added Franchise sheet – year-on-year comparison to be added ITT sheet – item 1a/b to be restricted to final year students Cost centre – breakdown by level and FUNDCODE as a separate table RAE – to be removed from check documentation

Changes to check documentation 3 All items: -list actual fields/derived fields used -group items by importance -Breakdown OUG -new document of how figures calculated

Changes to Performance Indicators Table B

Help guide HESA plans to create a help guide designed to assist institutions in understanding check documentation, identifying queries, and highlighting the checks HESA will carryout

Data Query Repository Data Query Repository (DQR) is the system used by HESA to raise and store queries against institutional submissions… …out of this system HESA produce query documents for HEIs to respond to The system is being redesigned and will have a customer facing aspect

Institutional Liaison helpdesk Telephone