HE-BCI record 2021/22 - Data collection schedule
Version 1.0 Produced 2022-07-20
The document below is designed to guide higher education providers (HEPs) through the stages of data submission for the HE-BCI record.
At a glance
| From August 2022 | Data capture and collation |
| November 2022: | C21032 Data Collection System opens |
| 16 December 2022 | Commit |
| 16 December 2022 to 27 January 2023 | Data quality checking period |
| 27 January 2023 | Final commit |
| 1 February 2023 | Sign-off |
Missed deadlines
Return, commit and final commit dates
These deadlines still apply, however the OfS have confirmed that extension requests and late forms will not be required where these are not met.
Providers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are required to complete an extension form if they anticipate that the Return and/or Commit deadline will be missed.
Sign-off deadline
Providers are required to have committed a final file, resolved all data quality queries in the Issue Management System, and returned a completed sign-off form to Liaison by 17:00 on the day of the deadline. Please be aware that it can take up to five working days for HESA to check a file once committed and raise any necessary data quality queries. Providers should therefore aim to commit their final file in good time ahead of the sign-off deadline to ensure the file is checked and any quality queries resolved in time for the sign-off deadline.
English providers should notify the OfS via [email protected] if they foresee any issues with meeting the sign-off deadline. If the sign-off deadline is not met, a HESA Late Sign-Off form will be required by HESA, signed by the provider's Accountable Officer.
Providers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland are required to complete an extension form if they anticipate that the sign-off deadline will be missed.
If a provider does foresee any issues, please get in touch as early as possible so that HESA can provide additional support and guidance as required.
HESA is required to report any providers who miss any of the deadlines detailed in the schedule to the relevant statutory customer. These are the return, nil-return confirmation, commit, final commit and sign-off deadlines.
Please note that the Accountable Officer is required to sign the late form for a missed sign-off deadline, however, they should be kept informed of any missed deadlines. For all administrations the reason for late submission or extension will be shared with the provider's primary regulator or funder.
Providers are reminded to make use of the HESA Liaison team and to make them aware of any issues that could impact on the provider's ability to meet these deadlines.
Detailed requirements
From August 2022: Data capture and collation
Providers should read the C21032 HE-BCI coding manual and associated documentation for details of the requirements for the return.
During these months providers will need to capture and maintain data required for the submission.
November 2022: C21032 Data Collection System opens
The C21032 collection is available on the Data Collection System giving providers the opportunity to test files against quality rules ahead of the commit deadline.
The C21032 HE-BCI Data Collection System will release functional components of the system to providers incrementally.
HE-BCI Part B is required to be submitted in the form of an Excel workbook and is accessible from the Data Collection System when it opens in November. Where relevant Part B will be pre-populated with the data submitted by the provider in last year’s survey.
It is a provider’s responsibility to ensure that they are progressing reasonably towards the commit deadline; if any issues become apparent or a provider requires assistance with the submission process then please contact Liaison. HESA does monitor provider interactions to feed into their own risk assessments and this information may be shared with the primary regulator or funder of a provider.
Access to the Data Collection System is granted by the HE-BCI record contact via the HESA Identity System. An email will be sent to inform relevant colleagues when the Data Collection System becomes available. Please note that ahead of the collection opening, HE-BCI record contacts are required to complete the Grantable Roles Review in the HESA Identity System. Further information on the review can be found in the IDS User Guide.
16 December 2022: Commit
Providers are required to send complete data that has no remaining errors and have committed the data on the Data Collection System by 23:59 on 16 December 2022. This schedule allows the maximum amount of available time for data quality checking.
Where errors are triggering for genuine data, a switch will need to be requested. This request should be sent to Liaison by email ([email protected]), detailing the rule and an explanation for why this data is genuine in good time prior to the commit deadline.
Where a provider requests that their file is decommitted before HESA data quality analysts have been able to check the file then this will count as a missed deadline.
Where a provider has no data in coverage of the record, a Part B template completed with zeros can be returned.
16 December 2022 to 27 January 2023: Data quality checking period
This is an iterative process during which providers may need to submit, commit, review and decommit their data several times to ensure the final submission is credible. The suite of web reports available on the Data Collection System should be reviewed by the provider to ensure that the data submitted is a credible representation of the organisation.
During this period HESA data quality analysts will examine data committed by all providers. If any anomalies are found queries will be raised through the Issue Management System. Nevertheless providers are in a better position to recognise more detailed anomalies within their data, using local knowledge of the intricacies of their own organisation. As a consequence providers are required to either resubmit their data to amend these anomalies, or provide an explanation in the Issue Management system as to why these apparent anomalies are genuine.
HESA analysts aim to check files within 5 working days following a provider committing their file and responses to data quality queries raised by HESA will be reviewed within 2 working days. However, during busy periods i.e. around the commit deadline please be aware that this may take slightly longer.
Upon satisfactory completion of this process data will be set to credible.
27 January 2023: Final commit
Providers are required to commit their final files on the Data Collection System by 23:59 on 27 January 2023.
Once the files have been committed they will be checked by a data quality analyst and this can result in additional data quality queries that require a response. Providers should be aware that data quality checking can take up to 5 working days and should therefore ensure that they have sufficient time to make any required changes based on these queries and/or respond to these queries ahead of the sign off deadline. All data quality queries need to be resolved before the data can be set to credible.
1 February 2023: Sign-off
Providers are required to have their data marked as signed off on the Data Collection System by 1 February 2023. The sign off form needs to be emailed to Liaison before 17:00 on 1 February to guarantee sign-off on the deadline.
Once a provider's data has been set to credible on the Data Collection System, the ‘sign off’ button can be selected which allows the sign-off form to be downloaded for completion. The sign-off form must be completed by the provider’s Accountable Officer (England) or the Head of Provider. Once completed, the form should be emailed to [email protected]. Please note that the transaction number on the sign-off form must correspond to that of the data being signed-off.
Sign-off completes the data collection process. Timely sign-off ensures that your data is included in any data deliveries to statutory customers, as well as onward uses of the data for publications and analysis.
POST COLLECTION INFORMATION
Providers should download and keep copies of all relevant reports that they are likely to need during the year. This will be necessary as access to the site will be restricted after the collection has closed.
Targets that were set during the collection will be sent to providers and should be reviewed. The record contact will be notified by email once targets have been assigned in the Issue Management System and providers should ensure that processes are put in place to implement any changes required to data collection.
If a provider is aware of any errors in their data, then they should inform their primary funder or regulator. Providers in England should notify OfS through the data amendments process. This may result in a request for the provider to go through fixed database. Providers should also notify HESA so a data intelligence note can be created.
Need help?
Contact Liaison by email or on +44 (0)1242 388 531.