C11025 timescales

Timescales - stages of data submission

Version 1.1 Produced 2012-04-27

The document below is designed to guide institutions through the stages of data submission for the Staff record.

At a glance

August 2011 to March 2012	Institutions' local preparation
Early March 2012	Validate data locally using validation kit
May to July 2012	C11025 pre-collection validation system
July 2012	C11025 preparation guide released
August 2012	C11025 data collection opens
30 September 2012	Return date
15 October 2012	Commit date
15 October to 12 November 2012	Data quality checking period
12 November 2012	Last submission
13 November  2012	Sign-off

Detailed requirements

Institutions should read the C11025 Staff record coding manual and associated documentation for details of the requirements for the return.

During these months institutions will need to load and maintain local staff record systems including: starters/leavers, promotions and grade information.

If you have any queries with the requirements for C11025 please contact Institutional Liaison at liaison@hesa.ac.uk.

The first version C11025 validation kit is made available to download from: Validation kits. The first version of the kit is a rolled on version of the kit using C11025 business rules and is released early assist institutions in preparing their data whilst the new rules are finalised at HESA. The second release of the C11025 validation kit containing the 2011-12 validation rules will be made available in late April 2012.

The kit enables institutions to test their data locally against the INSERT-stage validation ahead of the main collection opening in the summer. Institutions are strongly encouraged to use the validation kit as part of their data preparations.

Further details on the checks included in INSERT-stage validation can be found within the field details of the record descriptions:

Person Table (11025)

Contract Table (11026)

Grade Table (11027)

The Staff Pre-Collection Validation System (Cyy025) provides an opportunity for institutions to expose their data to a wide range of validation checks before the data collection system opens.

The PCVS system provides the following functionality:

			INSERT-stage validation	These reports detail any validation errors or warnings triggered by the submission.
			Exception report	A simplified COMMIT transaction running exception stage validation checks. Note that the full range of COMMIT checks and reports will not be implemented until the main data collection system opens in August.
			Frequency counts	This report counts the data submitted for all records listed by field and valid entry.

HESA does not monitor or store data submitted by institutions to the PCVS system.

Access and PIN codes for this system will be distributed to Staff record contacts when the system opens.

In advance of the main collection opening HESA releases a preparation guide. This provides further guidance of the requirements for the collection year, with particular reference to any areas HESA's statutory customers wish institutions to pay particular attention to during coding and submission.

Notification of the publication of this guide will be sent to Staff record contacts, and is also circulated on sector mailgroups such as the Admin-HESA JISC mailgroup. If you would like to join Admin-HESA please contact Institutional Liaison.

The C11025 collection database opens on the submit site around 6 weeks ahead of the return date providing institutions with the opportunity to further test files against the full range of validation and exception checks ahead of the return date deadline.

For a user guide for the submission of C11025 Staff record data please visit Staff record (Cyy025).

Access and PIN codes for this system will be distributed to Staff record contacts when the system opens.

HESA monitors all transactions on the system to ensure institutions are progressing reasonably and not encountering difficulties. However if you require assistance with the submission process, please contact Institutional Liaison.

Institutions are required to send complete data that has passed insert-stage validation to HESA by 30 September 2012.

A single validation failure will result in no data being imported into the system.

The Insert transaction diagram illustrates the process required to meet the return date.

Insert-stage business validation rules are listed within the field details of the record descriptions:

Person Table (11025)

Contract Table (11026)

Grade Table (11027)

Institutions are required to send complete data that has passed COMMIT-stage validation to HESA by 15 October 2012.

Commit-stage validation rules can be viewed at C11025 COMMIT Stage Validation Rules (Coming soon).

The Commit transaction diagram illustrates the process required to meet the commit date.

Data which fails validation will not be considered to have been returned to the Agency.

The Test-Commit facility is available for the majority of the data collection period.

This facility allows institutions to process a transaction, which, if successful will generate commit stage reports for scrutiny. These reports are for institutions' purposes only and will not be checked by HESA. Details of these reports are provided below.

Institutions are strongly encouraged to make use of the TEST_COMMIT facility as part of their data preparations. TEST_COMMIT serves as a useful interim facility in the data collection process. The facility enables institutions to view the commit reports and assess submitted data for anomalies before processing a full COMMIT to be scrutinised by HESA.

A successful COMMIT will generate several reports containing managment information that institutions will need to review to assess data quality. These reports for review are:

	Check documentation	This Excel workbook contains a series of tables presenting much of the submitted data to enable institutions to check that their submission presents their institution as expected. Included within these tables is a cross-comparions of the use of cost centres between the Staff record, Student record and Finance Statistics Return. Institutions are encouraged to liaise with colleagues responsible for these other returns to ensure commonality in use of cost centres.
	Check documentation compare facility	This icon is available against every recommit made by the institution. This icon highlights changes between the two most recently processed test_commit/commit transactions. Cells highlighted in colour denote a change, by hovering the mouse over this cell the plus/minus difference between the two figures can be viewed.
	Frequency counts	This report counts the data submitted for all records listed by field and valid entry.
	Exception report	This report details any COMMIT-stage validation errors/warnings triggered by the submission.
	Staff Muster list for 2012/13	The staff muster list is a list of ACT 1-3 staff for whom a record is expected in the 2012/13 return. The list consists of records that have been returned as 'live' in 2011/12.
	Data Supply	This icon provides institutions with the derived field populations used by HESA to populate the items displayed within the check documentation. These derived fields can be used by institutions to re-create these items.

During this period Data Analysts at HESA will also examine data committed by all institutions. If any anomalies are found queries will be raised through the Minerva DQ database. Nevertheless institutions are in a better position to recognise more detailed anomalies within their data, using local knowledge of the intricacies of their own institution. As a consequence institutions are required to either resubmit their data to amend these anomalies, or provide an explanation through Minerva as to why these apparent anomalies are genuine. 

Upon satifactory completion of this process data will be set to credible.

In order to meet obligations for hand-over of data to its customers, HESA needs to receive all data files by 12 November 2012.

As part of the data quality assurance procedures, HESA requires the return to be signed-off by the head or acting head of your institution. This verification offers both the institutions and HESA assurances regarding onward use of the data. Sign-off completes the data collection process.

On the system your institution's data will be set to credible and a new icon will be made available from where the sign-off form can be downloaded and completed. Once completed, the form should be posted back to HESA at the address in the bar below. Please note that the transaction number on the sign-off form must correspond to that of the data being signed-off

Note: Institutions should download and keep copies of all relevant reports that they are likely to need during the year, as it will be necessary to restrict access to the site after the submission deadline.

Following the close of the data collection all data submitted will be passed to HESA's Statutory Customers.

Data is also used by HESA in the following ways:
Staff in Higher Education Institutions publication
Statistical First Release of Staff in Higher Education Institutions
heidi
General data enquiries