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Student record 2017/18 (C17051): Annual update

This document sets out the results of the consultation process and summarises the changes that will be implemented for 2017/18.

The Student C17051 annual update consultation

84 responses to our consultation were received from the HE sector. We are grateful to everybody who responded.A summary of the consultation responses is available which also contains further information on the background to these changes.

Changes to Student record for 2017/18

Items to be Removed

Removal of fields and valid entries which collect Subject Knowledge Enhancement (SKE) data

Statutory Customers have agreed that they no longer require information about SKE courses in the Student record, and therefore the coding structure to collect it will be removed from the record.

This change will have the following impacts:

Removal of code 04 and 06 in Qualification Class (QualificationsAwarded.CLASS)

We have undertaken investigations into code 04 - Undivided Second Class Honours and code 06 - Fourth Class Honours and can confirm that there is no longer a requirement from providers to code this information, and therefore they will both be removed.

Removal of D01 from Course.COURSEAIM and QualificationsAwarded.QUAL

D01 – New Route PhD that meets the criteria for a research-based higher degree is a scheme which providers should not offer anymore.

Any providers who have been returning this code are advised that code D00 - Doctorate degree that meets the criteria for a research-based higher degree is a more appropriate way of describing this course in Course.COURSEAIM and QualificationsAwarded.QUAL.

Removal of Instance.INITIATIVES code 09 – European Social Fund (ESF) – Foundation Degree

HEFCW have stated that they no longer require this information to be returned by providers in Wales.

Removal of Instance.INITIATIVES scheme 07 – Universities Heads of the Valleys Institute (UHOVI)

HEFCW have stated that they no longer require this information to be returned by providers in Wales, as the initiative is no longer running.

Changes to coverage statements

Changes to the coverage statements to cover M73 – Postgraduate Diploma in Education.

A new code in Course.COURSEAIM and QualificationsAwarded.QUAL was added to the 2016/17 Student collection: M73 - Postgraduate Diploma in Education. The coverage of a number of fields will therefore be extended to include M73 for C17051:

To make the return of Religion or Belief (Student.RELBLF) compulsory for all providers in England, Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland

Statutory Customers have advised that they require the return of this information to be made compulsory. This is to improve the completeness of data so that it is fit for purpose for equalities monitoring at the national level, and for addressing relevant policy questions. It will also help to understand how alternative finance packages impact participation and take up of student support. It will be made clear that it is within a student’s rights to refuse the data.

Code 99 – Not known will be added for providers to use for those students who entered prior to 2017/2018 to avoid resurveying continuing students. However, where continuing students have provided this information, the data should be returned instead of code 99 – Not known. The intention will be to remove code 99 – Not known in the future.

New Valid entries

New valid entries in EntryProfile.MARSTAT for Northern Ireland providers

To improve the quality of the data returned, we are adding two new entries for the field: ’99 - Not known’ and ’98 - Information refused’

Addition of new Instance.INITIATIVES code – Degree Apprenticeships Development Fund

HEFCE have requested that a new code be added to the Instance.INITIATIVES field, which will be code X - Degree Apprenticeships Development Fund. The Degree Apprenticeships Development Fund has funded a selection of providers to offer Degree Apprenticeships programmes for 2017/18. The code will be used to indicate instances on these courses.

This code will only be applicable to providers in England.

Instance.INITIATIVES field length change

It has become necessary to revise the format of the field to accommodate future expansion. The field length of Instance.INITIATIVES will increase to two characters for 2017/18.

Movement of Valid Entries

Undergraduate Opt-in

Undergraduate Opt-in was added as a valid entry in the Instance.INITIATIVES field last year and it was indicated that this would be moved to the Entry Route field for 2017/18.

Instance.INITIATIVES valid entry R will therefore be removed and a new valid entry added to the Entry Route field to identify Undergraduate Opt-In students. The following valid entry will be added to Instance.ENTRYRTE: 09 Undergraduate Opt-in.

New Fields

Addition of a new field for providers in Scotland

The addition of a new field CARER aims to capture the number of carers who are studying at providers in Scotland.  The Carers Trust define a carer as: ‘anyone who cares, unpaid, for a friend or family member, who due to illness, disability, a mental health problem or an addiction cannot cope without their support’. This field is being introduced to monitor the participation and retention of student carers at Scottish universities. The data will also inform Outcome Agreement discussions between individual institutions and the Scottish Funding Council about how institutions are meeting their duties towards carers.

The coding frame will be:

  • 01 - Not a carer
  • 02 – Carer
  • 98 – Information refused
  • 99 - Not known

Validation will be in place to limit code 99 – not known to 10% of undergraduate students and 25% of postgraduate students.

If a student has a dependent, then this will be identified in the SDEPEND field. The CARER field will flag if in addition the level of dependency satisfies the definition of being a carer. Further information regarding what constitutes the definition of a ‘carer’ will be released in the full coding manual.

Supplementary changes

We are aware of one other change which may need to be brought in for C17051. This relates the coverage of Instance.FEEREGIME across administrations. These proposals require further dialogue with Statutory Customers to finalise and therefore further details of these changes will be published in March.