This records a specific iteration of engagement within the student instance.

All instances.

Instance periods are usually analogous with the concept of an academic year within providers. It is recognised that not all providers use the same time frames for this concept. It is expected that providers will usually return the dates that align with their internal concept of an academic year.

It is possible for more than one instance period to be present within a HESA reporting period - the presence of InstancePeriod.PERIODSTART and InstancePeriod.PERIODEND permit the analysis of progression in these cases.

New instance periods are required where a student changes course in a way that influences designation. This would include, for example where:

• A student on a designated course changes their mode of study
• A student transfers from a designated course to a non-designated course

The instance is the central concept in the specification of the HESA AP student record, and describes the attributes of the interaction between the student and course in pursuit of a qualification or credit. The instance period is designed to be analogous to the concept of academic year, allowing the return of cyclical data within the student experience.