Beta phase

16/02/2022

Beta phase 1: system opens

• Beta 1.1.0 coding manual
• Collection Activity log
• Additional collection reports: frequency counts

• Improvements to the user interface
• Additional collection reports: PGR Transfers In/Out
• Online Validation Toolkit (OVT)

Applied a fix to ensure xml error feedback on the UI in OVT in Beta

• Sign-off: 1 August 2022 – 30 November 2022
• Ability to raise credibility issues in Issue Management System (IMS)
• Additional collection reports

• IMS credibility updates
• HDP user interface improvements
• Additional collection reports
• Data retention policy implementation
• Bug fixes

Updates and enhancements to our Ref Data and Personal Data Store systems behind the scenes.

Derived fields in legacy dataset (20056 collection)

Quality rules

The following Quality Rules require amendment due to bugs identified. Please request a tolerance override for these if you are trying to sign off a submission. 

STUDENT.StudentFinancialSupport.APPSPEND.001 

STUDENT.Course.CLSDCRS.003 

STUDENT.Course.TTCID.002 

STUDENT.EntryProfile.CARELEAVER.008.V01 

STUDENT.EntryProfile.PERMADDPOSTCODE.008 

STUDENT.EntryQualificationSubject.SUBJECTID.003 

STUDENT.Course.FUNDLEVEL.001-008 

STUDENT.StudentCourseSession.SESSIONYEARID.001 

STUDENT.EntryProfile.PERMADDPOSTCODE.005 

The following Quality Rules have been temporarily switched off in Beta, these will not trigger. 

STUDENT.Course.FULLYFLEX.001.V01 

STUDENT.Disability.DISABILITY.005.V01 

STUDENT.Engagement.ENGSTARTDATE.006.V01 

STUDENT.EntryProfile.ESTRANGED.004.V01 

STUDENT.FundingBody.FUNDINGBODY.018.V01 

STUDENT.FundingBody.FUNDINGBODY.032.V01 

STUDENT.Module.CRDTPTS.005.V01 

STUDENT.Module.CRDTSCM.004.V01 

STUDENT.Student.BIRTHDTE.003.V01 

STUDENT.Course.QUALID.009.V01 

STUDENT.NationalIdentity.NATIOND.002.V01 

STUDENT.NationalIdentity.NATIOND.004.V01 

STUDENT.NationalIdentity.NATIOND.005.V01 

STUDENT.Student.NationalIdentity.001.V01 

STUDENT.Student.NationalIdentity.002.V01 

STUDENT.Student.NationalIdentity.003.V01 

STUDENT.Student.SURNAME.005.V01 

STUDENT.OffVenueActivity.ACTSTARTDATE.003.V01 

STUDENT.OffVenueActivity.ACTSTARTDATE.003.V01 

Comparing a quality report for a submission with failures against a submission where there were none causes an error

When a previous submission contained no quality rules failures, and the user attempts to use the ‘compare’ function in the Quality report for a submission with failures, an error will occur on the HESA data platform.

Should this happen, you will still be able to navigate back to your submission using the side navigation bar, as per usual.

Submit for approval is blocked until PGR transfers sharing consent given, but HDP doesn’t show this

When a user attempts to ‘Submit for approval’, they will be unable to do so if they have PGR students transferring out to other Providers as part of collaborative provision arrangements, but have not given consent to share that data with the ‘receiving’ Providers.

The HESA data platform doesn’t currently display any information about this, so it can look like all criteria have been met while this is still outstanding.

Submit for approval is reached but there are rule failures outside of tolerance

Sometimes the HESA data platform can proceed to Submit for approval before all rule failures have been resolved. If this happens, please refresh the screen to resolve the issue.

Credibility report drilldowns do not show for decimal values less than 1

When the user attempts to view the drilldown information for a credibility report cell which contains a decimal value which is less than 1, the drilldown does not show. There is no workaround for this issue.

Compare report toggle cannot be turned off

When a user turns on the comparison toggle, they cannot turn it off again.

Instead, the user should refresh the page to reset the Quality Report to it’s original state, with the comparison feature turned off.

Comparing a quality report for a submission with failures against the first submission made causes an error

When the user attempts to compare the quality report for the current submission with the quality report for the first submission made in the collection, an error will occur on the HESA data platform.

Should a user wish to compare their first submission, the only option would be to download and resubmit that file, and then download and resubmit the file which they wish to compare. Only then will they be able to perform the comparison, by selecting the later submission of the original file from the compare dropdown.

AGEF1 and AGEM1 drilldown tables are empty

During testing we identified an issue where the 'drilldown' tables for the AGEF1 and AGEM1 credibility reports are displaying with no information.

Comparing a quality report for a submission with failures against a submission where there were none causes an error

When a previous submission contained no quality rules failures, and the user attempts to use the ‘compare’ function in the Quality report for a submission with failures, an error will occur on the HESA data platform.

Should this happen, you will still be able to navigate back to your submission using the side navigation bar, as per usual.

Unable to view rule guidance for STUDENT.EntryProfile.PARED.005.V01 and STUDENT.Engagement.RCSTDNT.003.V01

In the Quality report in the HESA data platform, the links to guidance for the rules STUDENT.EntryProfile.PARED.005.V01 and STUDENT.Engagement.RCSTDNT.003.V01 are incorrectly formatted.

The correct links are:
https://codingmanual.hesa.ac.uk/21056/EntryProfile/field/PARED

https://codingmanual.hesa.ac.uk/21056/Engagement/field/RCSTDNT

The 'stepper' navigation sometimes takes time to update

After the submission has completed ‘Processing’ sometimes it takes time to update the status for the next step of the ‘stepper’ navigation (to a red cross or green tick depending on the status of quality assurance, i.e. whether the submission has triggered any quality rules or credibility failures).

Files with filenames which includes underscores will fail the schema check

If the filename of your uploaded file includes one or more underscores ( _ ), that file will fail the schema check but the HESA data platform will give no information as to the cause of this failure.

You will know this has happened if the underscores have been replaced by underscores in square brackets, i.e. [_] .

If you encounter this issue, please rename your file to remove the underscores or replace them with another character, e.g. hyphens ( - ) .

Derived field requires update

Z_ACT

Z_AGEAUG, Z_AGEJUL, Z_AGESTART

Z_DISABILITY

Z_EXPECT

Z_INACTFROMSCS, Z_INACTWUFROMSCS

Z_LEVEL

Z_NOTEND

Z_PERMADDGRP2, Z_PERMADDGRP4, Z_PERMADDGRP5

Z_POPQUAL, ZPOPSES

Z_PRINONUK

Z_PROVIDERGRP3, 4

Z_QCLASS

Z_QLEVEL

Z_STATUS

Z_STULOAD

Z_TARIFF

Need to be updated to reflect revised specification.

The 'Processing' status list can get stuck just before 'Quality Processing Complete' is shown

When a submission is being processed, the list of statuses on the ‘Processing’ step should update automatically. There is an intermittent bug currently where this can get stuck just before reaching ‘Quality Processing Complete’. If you see a ‘tick’ icon next to ‘Generating additional collection reports’ and the ‘Quality Processing Complete’ doesn’t have a tick icon shortly afterwards, please refresh the page manually and this should update.

Schema errors report cannot be downloaded if there is a very large number of errors

The schema error report can normally be downloaded using the icon alongside the schema check processing status on the Processing step for a submission. Where the number of schema errors for a provider is very large (several thousand), we have seen an issue which means that the download will not start. We can manually extract the report and share this with a provider securely, so please contact Liaison if you encounter this issue.

Uploading an XML file with the extension in uppercase causes infinite Uploading state

The file checker we use to confirm that the file requested for upload is in a valid format (XML) relies on the extension of the uploaded file being in lowercase, i.e. ‘.xml’, and not uppercase, i.e. ‘.XML’, or a mixed case.

Before attempting upload of an XML file, the user should check that the extension of the said file is formatted in lowercase, i.e. ‘.xml’.

Schema check limits the number of returned errors

We are still working to understand the root cause of this issue, and have not been able to replicate it, but it has been reported that the report generated following a failed schema check does not return all errors for a large file, and seems to limit the number returned.

Tolerances over 100% aren't archiving issues in IMS

If a tolerance over 100% is approved for a rule using IMS, when a new file is submitted to HDP, even if the new tolerance brings the rule failure within tolerance, the issue created in IMS is not archived as expected and remains open. 

Unable to view rule details for STUDENT.Engagement.Leaver.002_V01

It is not possible to view the rule details for the quality rule STUDENT.Engagement.Leaver.002_V01. Clicking on the rule failure count will result in an error.

Credibility report downloads

An error in the OVA1 credibility report prevents a user from being able to download this report. This affects any download which would include the OVA1 report, including the chapter level download for 'Off Venue Activity' and the 'Download Reports' feature for Credibility reports.

There is an issue where many of the downloaded reports do not contain any data. So far we have observed this with: ITT2, ITT4, TAR1, TAR1P, all QUAL reports, PADD1, PADD3, PADD2, SEN1P, SEN2, AGEM1 and AGEF1.

Closing a credibility drilldown report results in a download error if done before download starts

When the detailed 'drilldown' view is shown and the user downloads the report, they need to leave the report open until the download starts in their browser. Closing the report before the download starts results in an error.

Cell shading not active in SEN1 credibility report for Accelerated Full Time tab and HND/HNC column on all tabs

There are some issues with shading not showing on the Accelerated Full Time tab or in the HND/HNC column on any tab. The rules can be triggered still, but this will not be clear on the report as the shading will not show in these areas.

AGEF1 credibility report not counting all <SEXID> in Total

During testing we identified an issue where the AGEF1 credibility report is not counting the total number of female students correctly. In the file we tested, 70 students were identified as female (SEXID = 10), but the total only shows 69.

Various cosmetic issues with user interface

We have seen some strange cosmetic issues with the HDP user interface. Below are a summary of those we have identified.

It is possible to scroll the submissions screens sideways and doing this results in some strange visual behaviour, including overlapping of elements over the left hand navigation bar.

In the Online Validation Tool, on the Upload screen, padding around the filename and download file link is reduced following upload.

On the Quality Report, the column header behaviour is inconsistent with regard to visual treatment for sorting. All columns are sortable apart from 'Regulator' and 'Issue status'. 'Rule' is sortable by cannot be highlighted by hover-over, 'Issue status' does highlight with hover-over but is not sortable. All sortable columns have an arrow icon appear if you hover slightly to the left of the heading, so this is the most reliable indicator for sorting.

Navigating to the Manage Submissions screen after scrolling down on another screen does not reset the screen and makes it appear as if not content has loaded. Scrolling up will show the missing content, as will refreshing the page.

Sometimes the credibility ‘drilldown’ view, i.e. the table showing row level data for a cell in a credibility report can show the contents of the previously viewed drilldown briefly before refreshing to show the correct data.

Agreed tolerance overrides do not show in the Quality Rules report in HDP

The Quality Report in the HESA data platform (HDP) shows the tolerance which applies to each rule. This number is the 'default' tolerance value applied to all Providers for each Statutory Customer (SC).

When a tolerance override is agreed (by the provider, HESA or the SC) it is used by the quality rules processing when a new file is submitted, but the Quality Rules Report will still display the 'default' tolerance, and not the agreed overridden tolerance.

The agreed overridden tolerance will be shown correctly in the Issue Management System (IMS).

Closed

10/2/2022

Quality, Credibility and Additional Collection Reports section show a continuous loading icon where there is no data to load

When a file has not progressed far enough during processing to generate reports for the submission, it is still possible for a user to attempt to view those reports. There is no information provided to indicate that there is nothing to load, instead showing the loading icon (spinner).

This will be corrected by ongoing work to update the generic design with the new design, which will add in additional features to help a user follow the intended journey, and reduce the chances of these types of error.

Closed

10/2/2022

Compare dropdown menus on Quality and Credibility Reports can move with the view when scrolled

When a user scrolls the browser window after opening the 'Compare' dropdown menu for either report, the menu can scroll with the view, rather than staying as a static object on the page.

Closed

10/2/2022

Uploading an Enriched file causes infinite Uploading state

While there would be no reason to do this, if a user attempts to upload the Enriched file generated by their submission as a new submission, the processor will get stuck in an infinite Uploading state. It is still possible to start a new submission and upload a new valid file when this happens.

Open

10/2/2022

Credibility report SEN1 show percentage changes from 0 as 0%

In the HESA data platform, changes where the rule has to divide by 0 (an impossibly operation) show as 0% change. This is different from the current collection system which shows these changes as 100%.

Open

10/2/2022

Credibility report SEN1 comparison feature does not function correctly

In the HESA data platform, we offer a feature which allows a user to compare the credibility report from one submission with that of another submission within the same collection. Part of this feature is shading rules to highlight where a rule did not fail in the selected submission, but is now failing in the current submission.

Unfortunately, a bug has been identified in this feature which means the shading rule is not functioning correctly. While the difference indicator (an up arrow or down arrow) will indicate the change between values correctly, the shading is not accurate and should be disregarded.

Closed

10/2/2022

Schema errors because of badly formed XML do not generate a corresponding schema check failures report

Usually, a schema error will be accompanied by a detailed schema error report designed to assist Providers in identifying the issues with their XML file structure. Where the XML file is badly formed (i.e. not a valid Data Futures XML file) it is not possible to generate this report and it does not show.

To reduce the risk of this occurring, we suggest you run our files through the Beta Data Entry Tool prior to submitting them to the HDP.

Closed

10/2/2022

‘View All Issues’ button is navigating to the wrong IMS page

The ‘View All Issues’ button on the Quality Report links the user to the Issue Management System (IMS). Currently, a bug in the way the link is formed causes the button to link to the wrong page in IMS and show no issues. Clicking the ‘Search’ button in IMS will resolve this problem and issues will display correctly once that button has been clicked.

Closed

10/2/2022

Multi-users can encounter a variety of strange user interface behaviour

We have seen a variety of strange behaviours when IDS accounts contain roles associated with more than one Provider. The HESA data platform is designed to accommodate this scenario (one user working on submissions for more than one Provider organisation), but we are still working on resolving some bugs associated with this feature.

When logging into IDS and accessing the HDP, it is possible for the displayed Provider (in the top bar dropdown menu) and the displayed information to be mismatched. This is because the dropdown by default displays the first option in the list, whereas the displayed Provider information is determined by the order of Provider organisations in IDS.

For these reasons, we advise multi-users to select the Provider they which to view information for when they access the HDP, even if the selection drop-down is already displaying the Provider they want. We also advise that multi-users navigate back to the HESA data platform’s dashboard (currently a blank landing page for the application) before switching to another Provider.

Open

10/2/2022