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Student record 2015/16

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Reduced returns


Version 1.1 Produced 2016-01-28

Identifying reduced returns

There are separate reduced return indicators on the course and instance entities (Course.REDUCEDC and Instance.REDUCEDI respectively) and the status of individual fields will be validated with reference to these indicators. The reduced return types must be used consistently. This means:

  • Reduced course records can only be linked to reduced instance records of the same type
  • Reduced instance records can only be linked to full course records or reduced course records of the same type
  • Students that have a mixture of full and reduced instances must have a full set of fields returned on the student element

Validating reduced returns

The approach to validating reduced returns differs from pre-2007/08 collections in two ways:

  • The specification of which rules apply for which reduced return types is being made explicit in the coverage statements (and therefore, quality rules) for each field. In previous years, this logic was implicit in the operational documentation and the validation kit operation. From 2007/08 the documentation looks significantly different in this respect, but the underlying logic is essentially the same.
  • In previous years the specification of the fields required for each reduced return type was absolute; any additional fields supplied were not validated and were not loaded to the HESA database. From 2007/08 this specification is a minimum; any additional fields supplied will be checked for conformance with the XML Schema Definition (XSD) files and, if valid, will be loaded to the HESA database. Note that files will fail validation if these extra fields are not valid.

Data requirement

As highlighted in the 'Validating reduced returns' section, the fields and entities listed below summarize the minimum data requirement for each type of reduced return. Validation may require the submission of additional data depending on the values submitted in other fields.

Although Student.OWNSTU, Instance.OWNINST and Course.OWNCOURSEID are not listed in the requirements for reduced returns as they are optional fields, providers may wish to populate them to assist in identifying validation output.

Type 01 - Low credit bearing (providers in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland only)

The low credit bearing reduced return can be used when the FTE of an instance amounts to no more than 10% in the reporting year, even if a student has multiple instances which, in total, have an FTE greater than 10%.

The following elements are included in the low credit bearing reduced return:

Institution

Student

Course

Instance

Entry profile

Financial support

Mobility

REF data

StudentOnModule, Module, ModuleSubject and QualificationsAwarded entity

A type 01 reduced instance must be linked to a valid Module (and associated ModuleSubject) entity via StudentOnModule. There is no reduction in the data requirements for these entities, or the Instance.QualificationsAwarded entity if relevant, even though these entities link to a reduced instance.

Additional requirements for FE students in England

For type 01 reduced returns where the student is a learner at a provider in England and Instance.FESTUMK = 1, 3 or 4, Information Management Services (including the Data Service and Learning Records Service) require the additional submission of the following fields and entities, in order to align with the data required in the Individual Learner Record (ILR):

Instance

Student

And the following entities:

Type 02 - Not used

Type 03 - Incoming visiting and exchange students

This reduced return can be used when Instance.EXCHANGE = 4 or G.

Institution

Student

Instance

Entry profile

Course

Type 04 - Dormant students

This reduced return can be used when the instance has been dormant for the entire reporting year (Instance.MODE = 63 or 64).

Institution

Student

Instance

REF data

Course

A type 04 reduced instance can be linked to a valid Module (and associated ModuleSubject) entity via StudentOnModule. If these entities are returned, there is no reduction in the data requirements for these entities, or the QualificationsAwarded entity if relevant, even though these entities link to a reduced instance. Similarly, if a dormant reduced record is being submitted for a student for whom HESA has already received an entry profile, then the entry profile should not be resubmitted unless the provider is making corrections to the entry profile returned previously in which case all the relevant fields that apply to that student within the entry profile must be returned.

Type 05 - Not used

Type 06 - Not used

Type 07 - Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE)

This reduced return can be used when the provider is in England and the instance relates to a Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) instance, identified by Course.TTCID = F

Institution

Student

Instance

Entry profile

Course

Type 08 - Instances present on the Student Loans Company (SLC) attendance confirmation date who do not progress beyond two weeks of their course

A record is required to be returned for all students that have applied for a loan with the SLC where the attendance has been confirmed to SLC (on the basis of the submission of the Attendance Confirmation Report (ACR)) on any SLC attendance confirmation date (defined by the SLC as the first day of term for the course), even if the student started and left the course within the first two weeks. This will enable better linking of SLC and HESA data by ensuring there is HESA data if the student is in the SLC data. Returning instances using a Reduced Return of Type 08 meets the minimum data requirement for such students.

This reduced return type cannot be used at Course level. It is only valid in Instance.REDUCEDI. Providers must therefore return the course entity recording the full information applicable to that course.

Institution

Student

Instance

Entry profile

Course

Type 09 - Not used

Contact Liaison by email or on +44 (0)1242 388 531.