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Introduction to HE Estates management data

Who is HESA?

HESA (Higher Education Statistics Agency) is part of Jisc. We are the experts in UK higher education data and analysis. We have been collecting, processing, and publishing data about higher education (HE) in the UK since the 1994/95 academic year.

As the trusted source of HE data and analysis, HESA plays a key role in supporting and enhancing the competitive strength of the sector.

About HESA

What is the Estates management record?

The Estates management record is a data collection initiative which began within the sector through the Association of University Directors of Estates (AUDE) and was jointly funded by the UK funding councils. Collection of the data moved to HESA in 2009/10. The record was established to provide the higher education sector with standardised, reliable, and useful property information to help managers understand current performance, promote sharing of best practice and drive improvements.

From 2019/20, the entire Estates management record (EMR) became optional for HE providers in England and Northern Ireland to return, whilst it remained statutory for HE providers in Wales. For HE providers in England and Northern Ireland who chose to make an EMR return and for HE providers in Wales, there were several mandatory data items, which are highlighted in the data definitions. The entire collection remained optional for HE providers in Scotland.

For more information on the coverage of the data, and the data items we collect please see:

Definitions for the HESA Estates management record

How do we collect Estates management data?

HE providers currently submit an annual data return with information about their estates. The data relates to the academic year 1 August to 31 July and is submitted in the winter following the end of the academic year. We quality assure and process the data which we then publish in the following spring/summer.

We have developed detailed specifications for the data we expect providers to return to us. All the data goes through several stages of validation and checking, with most HE providers submitting their data multiple times to pass these checks. The full data specification can be found via our data collection pages:

Estates management record 2021/22

What data do we publish?

Environmental information from the Estates management record is published in HE Provider Data: Estates Management. Published tables cover buildings and spaces, energy, emissions and waste, transport and environment, and finances and people.

Data is published as interactive Google tables.

From which organisations do we collect data on Estates management?

From 2019/20, the entire Estates management record return was optional for HE providers in England, Northern Ireland and Scotland, while it is statutory for HE providers in Wales.

For 2018/19 and prior, Estates management data was collected from all publicly funded HE institutions in the UK (plus the privately funded University of Buckingham) via the Estates management record.

What historical data on Estates management is available?

Open data icon

HESA has collected Estates management data since 2009/10. Data from 2015/16 is available via the HE Provider Data: Estates Management open data release.

Previously published Estates management data from 2009/10 to 2015/16 is available to download from our publications archive:

View the publication archive 

Why do we round and suppress data?

HESA data is collected for statistical research purposes, but student and staff data can be 'personal data' in its raw form that needs to be protected from unauthorised exposure. Therefore, a Standard Rounding Methodology is used in all HESA publications and must be used by other users of HESA data too.

It is a criminal offence under Section 171 of the Data Protection Act 2018 for a person knowingly or recklessly to re-identify information that is de-identified personal data without the consent of the controller responsible for de-identifying the personal data.

Learn more about rounding and suppressing data

What further guidance is available for interpreting our data?

For further guidance on interpreting our data:

  • The definitions to accompany our Estates management information offers definitions for all the key fields that appear in our tables
  • Our data intelligence section provides notes submitted by HE providers to comment on anomalies in their data.

What further data is available?

For Tailored Datasets visit Jisc's data analytics directorate:

Jisc - Data and analytics