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Who we are and what we do

HESA is now part of Jisc. Jisc is now the data controller of personal data previously controlled by HESA. Pages on the HESA website are being updated to reflect this change. Please see updated Privacy information.

We collect, assure and disseminate data about higher education (HE) in the UK. This includes a wide range of functions to support HE providers and data users in submitting, processing and understanding the data.

We collect data from universities, higher education colleges and other specialist providers of higher education. Collectively, we refer to these organisations as HE providers. Much of the data we collect is published as open data

Statutory role

HE providers have a statutory requirement to report data to HE funding and regulatory bodies. We work closely with providers to support this data collection process and to analyse and quality check the data they submit.

Jisc is the Designated Data Body for England under the Higher Education and Research Act 2017 with a statutory relationship to the Office for Students. We perform a similar official role in supporting the statutory funders and regulators of HE in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.