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SROC Conference 2016

It was a great pleasure to present on the latest developments with Heidi Plus, on how to use HESA data, and on strategic and operational changes happening at HESA.

This week a group of staff from across HESA attended the SROC conference at Loughborough University, both as delegates and presenters. It was a great pleasure to present on the latest developments with Heidi Plus, on how to use HESA data, and on strategic and operational changes happening at HESA.

After a drive across the country we arrived at the impressive Loughborough campus made up of buildings surrounded by many sports pitches and facilities. There was even a cricket match taking place.

The conference was opened by Professor Robert Allison, the VC of Loughborough, who gave an inspiring talk on how data had been important both in his role as an academic and now as a VC. This was followed by an informal meal and what most agreed was the world’s hardest quiz.

The first plenary of day two was a presentation by Richard Taylor, Chief Operating Officer at Loughborough. He spoke on why the Student Officer is his best friend, highlighting what’s ahead for these staff over the next few years, including HESA’s Data Futures programme.

The breakout sessions on the main day covered topics such as Data Capability, HEAR, EDI and Competition and Markets Authority. Through attending these and the other sessions on offer, the staff at HESA have gained a greater understanding of the issues facing the professional services staff at HE providers.

We were really pleased that the new Heidi Plus system generated a lot of excitement from those who attended the session.

The HESA-led sessions on Heidi Plus and how to use HESA data aimed to help student records officers benefit from the vast amount of data available to make strategic and policy decisions. We were really pleased that the new Heidi Plus system generated a lot of excitement from those who attended the session.

My session on strategic and operational changes at HESA highlighted the changes to the data collection system for this coming return, in response to feedback from providers who attended the Student record post collection seminars. These developments to the system were well received by those who attended the session. One area that prompted discussion from the room was the collection of data on students following Apprenticeship Standard courses. This new area of work for providers is proving challenging. Delegates were concerned about the complexity of reporting to HESA and then onto the Skills Funding Agency in the format of an Individual Learner Record (ILR). We will review these concerns with the analysts at HESA working to create the coding manual for this return. The more strategic part of the presentation focused on areas such as the new M5 group, the TEF, HESA’s response to the ‘From Bricks to Clicks’ report and an update on the further planning work that we have been doing for the Data Futures programme.

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Alison Berry

Alison Berry

Director of Statutory Operations