Data protection information

 
Article Index
Data protection information
Information for students
Information for staff
Page 2 of 3

Information for Students

Do you hold any information about me?

If you are or have been registered as a student in a UK Higher Education Institution (HEI) at any time since 1994/95, it is likely that HESA will have a record about you. See the collection notices about HESA data that HEIs make available to students (this is the latest version issued October 2009).

What sort of data might HESA hold on me?

Contact details are not held as part of your HESA record. Your HEI may have passed your contact details to another organisation so that you could be surveyed for the National Student Survey and a follow up Destinations Survey. See the collection notices for more details.

We hold the following categories of data: (more detail)

Name
HE student identifier (HUSID)
Gender
Date of birth
Ethnicity
Disability
Domicile (country code or postcode) and nationality
Institution attended
Last institution attended
Socio-economic classification
Course information (E.g. level, mode, subject)
Highest qualification on entry (including A level/Higher/Tariff points)
Qualification/credits obtained
Sources of funding and tuition fees
Type of term time accommodation

Also, if you have obtained a qualification, you may have participated in the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) surveys. For 2001/02 and earlier this was called the First Destinations Survey and only those who followed a full-time course at one of the following levels were included: Postgraduate Degrees, PGCEs, First Degrees, HND/HNC, DipHE/CertHE. Participation in these surveys is voluntary and so we may not hold this information about you.

You might also be included in a sample of DLHE respondents who are included in the Longitudinal  DLHE survey about three and a half years after graduation.

The DLHE surveys includes the following types of information about what graduates do after they qualify, and is linked to the student record for analysis: (more detail)

Employment and study status
Mode, duration and category of employment
Salary
Standard Occupational Classification
Standard Industrial Classification
Nature of further study/training
Location of employment

How did HESA get this information?

Each HEI is obliged to send HESA a return every year containing a record for each student that they have. The UK higher education funding councils, government departments and agencies, and devolved administrations are required to monitor all the HEIs and the higher education sector generally.

The early DLHE survey is carried out by HEIs by questionnaire about six months after graduation. The longitudinal DLHE survey is carried out by a contractor. Participation in the DLHE surveys is voluntary.

What happens to the information HESA holds?

The HESA record is used for three broad purposes:

1.  Statutory functions

The HESA record is used by the organisations listed below, or agents acting on their behalf, to carry out their public functions connected with education in the UK.

  • Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
  • Welsh Assembly Government
  • Scottish Government
  • Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland
  • Higher Education Funding Council for England
  • Higher Education Funding Council for Wales
  • Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council
  • Training and Development Agency for Schools
  • Research Councils
  • Department for Children, Schools and Families
  • Learning and Skills Council

The HESA record may also be used by the Office for National Statistics and the National Audit Office to fulfill their statutory functions of measuring population levels and monitoring public expenditure.

For students enrolling at HEIs in England only - HEIs and the Higher Education Funding Council for England may compare data to educational records from previous years to help determine the levels of students' current qualifications.  This may in turn affect the fees that students enrolling at HEIs in England are required to pay.

2.  HESA publications

HESA use the HESA record to produce anonymised data in annual statistical publications. These include some National Statistics publications and online management information services.

3.  Research, equal opportunity, journalism, other legitimate interest/public function

HESA will also supply anonymised data to third parties for the following purposes:

  • Equal opportunities monitoring - Your HESA record may contain details of your ethnic group and any disabilities you have. For students domiciled from Northern Ireland and attending an institution in Northern Ireland it may also contain information about religion. This data is only used where it is needed to promote or maintain equality of opportunity or treatment between persons of different racial or ethnic origins, religious beliefs or different states of physical or mental conditions
  • Research. This may be academic research, commercial research or other statistical research into education where this is of benefit to the public interest.
  • Journalism, where the relevant publication would be in the public interest e.g. league tables

Anonymised data for the above purposes is supplied by HESA to the following types of user:

  • Local, regional and national government bodies who have an interest in higher education
  • Higher education sector bodies
  • Higher education institutions
  • Academic researchers and students
  • Commercial organisations (e.g. recruitment firms, housing providers, graduate employers)
  • Unions
  • Non-governmental organisations and charities
  • Journalists

We will take precautions to ensure that individuals are not identified from the anonymised data which we process.

What to do if you want further information