Bespoke Data Service: Data types - Student & Qualifiers

 
 

Student Fields 

Data Streams:  Student & Qualifiers  |  Destinations of Leavers  |  Staff  |  Finance  |  Other Streams

Student Fields
 

Our main student stream dates back to 1994/95 covering aspects of student study from level and gender to tariff points and accommodation type. A typical dataset specification would involve defining the population that you require (e.g. full-time undergraduates), the fields you need (e.g. domicile, institution etc.) and the time series sought, for example:

The number of full-time undergraduate students studying subject area (C) Law for the academic years 2007/08 - 2010/11 by
Institution
Gender
Socio-Economic Classification
Domicile (UK/EU/Non-EU)

Please see our student population definitions for information on how our standard populations are constructed and follow the link here for a description of the way the totals can be calculated.

This dataset also links to the Destinations of Leavers stream, increasing the potential for analysis. 

We have included a complementary field section in the data descriptions where appropriate. This is there to highlight other fields in our datasets which, when used in conjunction with one another, can increase the potential of the data.

Institution View technical specification

The Higher Education provider for the designated course the student is enrolled on. This field can be provided with the institutions HESA ID or with the UK Provider Reference Number which is the unique identifier allocated to institutions by the UK Register of Learning Providers (UKRLP).

HESA holds a record for each publicly funded HE provider in the UK and one private provider, the University of Buckingham; see here for the full list. We can provide this data by individual institution as well as by a variety of groupings such as:

  • Institution group (Russell group/ 94 group etc.)
  • Region of institution
  • Country of institution
  • Custom client grouping

We can also provide information on institution campus locations and more detailed geographical locations based upon the institutions headquarters postcode.

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SubjectView technical specification

Data returned to HESA by Institutions maps courses to a subject classification system in order to produce comparable sector level data. In 2002/03 the subject mapping changed from HESA codes to the JACS classification system which is currently in its second iteration. We have HESA codes in 1 & 2 digit form and JACS codes in 1, 2 & 4 digit form. Due to changes in the coding, comparison is not always possible, especially over the HESA/JACS boundary.

Subject breakdown

JACS Codes (2002/03 – Present)
There are currently two versions of the JACS coding system, JACS 1.7 (2002/03 – 2006/07), JACS 2.0 (2007/08 – Present) with the latest version, JACS 3.0 due for the 2012/13 academic year. The comparability of the JACS subject fields over the years depends on the level of detail and the specific codes you require. JACS subjects can be split at 1, 2 or 4 digit level:

  • JACS subject area (1 digit) is comparable over all 3 versions (2002/03 – present)
  • JACS subjects (2/4 digit) may be comparable with certain codes; if you require a large number of the codes or the whole field for academic years with different versions of JACS then we would supply the field as two separate items due to the incomparability of the field.

Before the JACS coding system was created, the HESA subject codes were used:

HESA Codes (1994/95 – 2001/02)
Data is comparable for all these years and is available in 1 or 2 digit format. Click the link for a breakdown of these codes.

Unfortunately, with the major changes to the coding system, HESA codes are not comparable with JACS codes.

Apportionment and subject 1, 2, 3 fields

As subject data is apportioned we cannot provide our standard format of subject as a count of instances. However, if you require your data as a count rather than as FPE then we can provide subject data as a three field breakdown (subject 1, 2, 3). This places a student's subject choices into three fields, from major to minor and can be provided along with a balance indicator field and or percentage fields.

If you have any questions or would like to know if the individual 2 digit subject codes you require are comparable over the years then please contact the Information Services team.

Complementary fields: Level of study, Classification of first degree (qualifiers data only)

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Mode of study/qualification View technical specification

Students can be returned as either full-time/ part-time or at a more detailed level depending on your analysis. Qualifiers can only be coded as either full-time or part-time.

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Level of study/qualification View technical specification

This field captures the level at which the student was studying e.g. doctorate, first degree. It is possible to group this field as a simple postgraduate/undergraduate split or acquire it as the base course aim elements.

Level of study/ qualification breakdown
Due to the change in coding from 2007/08 onwards, certain versions of the level of study breakdown will not be comparable.

This field can be broken down as follows for all years:

  • Postgraduate/ Undergraduate
  • Postgraduate (research)/ Postgraduate (taught)/ First Degree/ Other undergraduate
  • Doctorate/ Masters/ PGCE/ Other postgraduate/ First Degree/ Foundation Degree/ Other Undergraduate
We can also create custom breakdowns based upon the above or specific elements from the core field. The level of study field is created from the QUALAIM field for 1994/95 – 2006/07 and COURSEAIM for 2007/08 – Present.

Level of qualification is based upon a subset of the QUALAIM and COURSEAIM fields. We can create the same breakdowns as per the bullets above. Please contact the Information Services team if you have any queries on this field.

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Gender View technical specification

Male/ Female split. From 2007/08 this field includes the indeterminate gender element as per the Information Standards Board (ISB) definition of gender.

Complementary fields: Age , Ethnicity ,  Socio Economic Classification 

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Term time accommodation View technical specification

Compulsory field for full-time and sandwich students only, showing what kind of accommodation the student was in during their study:

  • Institution maintained property
  • Parental/guardian home
  • Other
  • Not known
  • Not in attendance at the institution
  • Own residence
  • Other rented accommodation
  • Private-sector halls

Complementary field: Term-time postcode

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Ethnicity View technical specification

Applicable to UK domiciled students only. The usage of this field is restricted due to the sensitive nature of this data. The field can be grouped as per the bullets or to a client specified break down.

  • White/ Black/ Asian/ Other 
  • White/ Black or Black British – Caribbean/ Black or Black British – African/ Other Black background/ Asian or Asian British – Indian/ Asian or Asian British – Pakistani/ Asian or Asian British – Bangladeshi/ Chinese or other ethnic background – Chinese/ Other Asian background/ Other (including mixed ethnicity) 

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Classification of first degree View technical specification

Applicable to first degree qualifiers only and split into the following elements:

  • First class honours
  • Upper second class honours
  • Lower second class honours
  • Third class honours/Pass
  • Unclassified

Complementary field:  Activity of leavers 6 months after graduation.

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Disability View technical specification

Applicable to students domiciled from England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man. The usage of this field is restricted due to the sensitive and personal nature of this data and cannot be supplied in detailed datasets. The main disability breakdown is as follows:

  • No known disability
  • Blind or a serious visual impairment
  • Deaf or a serious hearing impairment
  • A physical impairment or mobility issues
  • Personal care support
  • Mental health condition
  • A long-standing illness or health condition
  • Two or more conditions
  • Social communication/Autistic spectrum disorder
  • Specific learning difficulty
  • Another disability, impairment or medical condition

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Domicile View technical specification

The location provided by the student as to where they were residing prior to study. This field can be provided by country for Non-UK domiciles down to sector postcode level (e.g. GL50 1) for UK domiciles and any grouping in between e.g.:

  • By country in the UK 
  • By region: North East, North West, Yorkshire and The Humber, East Midlands, West Midlands, East, London, South East, South West, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Channel Islands and the Isle of Man 
  • By county/unitary authority 
  • By local authority district and ward

Complementary fields: Location of institution , Location of employment

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Socio-Economic Classification View technical specification

Based upon occupation SEC identifies the socio-economic classification of students participating in HE. If the student is under 21 at the time of collection, SEC is based upon their parents. This field is collected by UCAS for entrants via their system, as such data for non-UCAS entrants is limited. The elements are as follows:

  • Higher managerial & professional occupations 
  • Lower managerial & professional occupations 
  • Intermediate occupations 
  • Small employers & own account workers 
  • Lower supervisory & technical occupations 
  • Semi-routine occupations 
  • Routine occupations 
  • Never worked & long-term unemployed 
  • Not classified

Complementary fields: State school marker , Low participation neighbourhood

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Nationality View technical specification

This field defines the country of legal nationality. This field only became compulsory in the 2007/08 record and it is still optional for all students at institution in Northern Ireland.

This field can be provided either as individual nationalities or by region.

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Age 

Age is as at 31 August in the reporting period for students and 31 July for qualifiers. This field can be provided for individual years or grouped into client specific bands. Our standard grouping is as follows:

  • 17 years and under
  • 18-20 years
  • 21-24 years
  • 25-29 years
  • 30 years and over
  • Age unknown

We also have available 'age on entry to course' and a 'young/ mature' student marker. Please contact the Information Services team for further information.

Complementary field: Gender

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Highest qualification on entry View technical specification

The highest qualification the student had before starting their current course, however please note, this is not necessarily the qualification required for the course. The data can be provided grouped or by the individual elements:

QUALENT2 - up to 2009/10

QUALENT3 - 2010/11 to present.

This field is linked to the tariff point scores field and is used to define the populations for specific tariff groups e.g. total tariff points, A level points etc.

Please contact the Information Services team for further information on this field.

Complementary fields: Top 4 A levels, Tariff

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First year marker

Used for highlighting students who commenced their programme within the current academic year.

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Major source of tuition fees View technical specification

This field indicates the major source of tuition fees for the student where this is known. If there is more than one source of award or financial backing, the predominant source is selected.

Please note, this data is not an indication of how much a student's fees were. The field relates to the current year of study and can be provided as grouped or into 47 tuition fee codes.

This should not to be confused with major source of funding  field, which highlights the way a student financed themselves during their study apart from how they managed their tuition fee payments.

Complementary field: Major source of funding

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Tariff point scores

Compulsory for undergraduate students entering HE through UCAS.  Tariff points are available as a total or by other populations, such as A level points only etc. This is attained by linking to the Highest qualification on entry field and restricting to specific elements to create custom tariff elements. The qualifications used to calculate this field have changed over time, the main elements can be found here: 

QUALENT2 - up to 2009/10

QUALENT3 - 2010/11 to present.

It can be provided as individual numbers or banded at the client’s discretion and also be provided as an average cross-tabulated by other fields.

There are numerous changes and variations to this field and so if you require any further clarification on how best to utilise it, please contact the Information Services team

Complementary fields: Highest qualification on entry, Top 4 A levels.

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Major source of funding View technical specification

Major source of funding indicates the primary source of funding for a programme of study. This field excludes the tuition fee element and in the majority of cases, the source of funding will be the appropriate funding council. The predominant source of funding is selected where there is more than one source.

Complementary field: Major source of tuition fees

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Continuation status 

This field is able to highlight the progression of students during their course. There are two methods available, either Unistats or Performance Indicator (PI) methods. The Unistats method is our most requested as it offers the largest population, the breakdown of elements are as follows:

  • Continuing 
  • Gained intended award or higher
  • Gained other award
  • Left with no award
  • Dormant/ Writing up

We can also provide the PI method if requested which looks at a much smaller population but will be useful for benchmarking. The elements are as below:

  • Continue/Qualify at the same HEI 
  • Transfer to a different HEI
  • No longer in HE

Please see our FAQ section for further information on the differences between the methods.

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State school marker

Available for UK domiciled students, this field highlights whether a student attended a state or private school prior to entry to HE.

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Low participation neighbourhood

Available for UK domiciled students, this field uses the Participation of Local Areas (POLAR) data to match student's domiciles to areas where uptake to HE is considered low.

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Franchise marker

The franchise marker identifies whether a student is involved in a collaboration/franchising arrangement between providers. It is also possible to highlight the proportion of study between the institution and the franchise partner.

Complementary fields: Distance learner marker, Teaching institution

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Cost centre View technical specification

Cost centre is a financial concept which groups students to specific related academic cost centres which enables analysis between the student, staff and finance streams. The cost centre groups are separate to the JACS/HESA codes due to the groupings and are therefore non-comparable. The reason for the incomparability and the breadth of the elements in this field is to replicate the way in which resources (including staff) can be split over a variety of similar courses and the differences in the way individual institutions allocate them. For example, all language courses offered at an institution may utilise the same resources (staff may teach more than one subject) making definitive allocation of individual resources to specific subjects impossible, the cost centre groups reflect this.

Due to the way the data is returned to us, cost centre data is available by FTE only. For a full list of codes, click on the following link .

Complementary field: Student Staff Ratio

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Expected length of study View technical specification

This indicates the normal elapsed time from commencement to completion of study for a student instance. The standard format for this field is as follows:

  • <5 weeks
  • =>5 weeks and <24 weeks
  • =>24 weeks and <=1 year
  • >1 year and <=2 years
  • >2 years and <=3 years
  • >3 years and <=4 years
  • >4 years and <=5 years
  • >5 years and <=6 years
  • >6 years and <20 years
  • Not known or expected length of study programme is greater or equal to 20 years

 

Complementary field: Commencement date

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More fields and further details View technical specification

Follow the link for our complete technical documents containing details on every field's makeup. Due to the size and scope of our data streams not everything we have available is shown, if you cannot find the field you require then please contact the team as it may be possible to accommodate your specific data request.

 

Data Streams: Student & Qualifiers  |  Destinations of Leavers  |  Staff  |  Finance  |  Other Streams | Back to top