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Higher Education Bodies Commit to Rationalised Data Landscape

The Annual Report of the Data Landscape Steering Group (DLSG) highlights the commitment of major data users to a code of practice for data collectors.

The Office for Students, HEFCW, SFC, UCAS and the Student Loans Company have all given their support to the Demand-side Code of Practice for data collectors. The code defines expected behaviours for bodies that collect data from HE providers and emphasises fairness, transparency, and rigour in the collection and use of data. The code mirrors an equivalent Supply-side code defining the expectations on HE providers submitting data for funding and regulatory purposes.

The public statements of support for the codes of practise coincide with the launch of the first annual report on the work of DLSG. The steering group aims to standardise and rationalise the flow of data around UK higher education, while improving data management and governance in the HE sector. The report includes coverage of the group’s work on the new HECoS subject coding system, and its assessment of data capability in the HE sector.

Simon Gaskell, Chair of the Data Landscape Steering Group, said:
“For many years the HE sector has wrestled with the problems of data; duplicate data collections, inconsistent data definitions and the challenges of managing ever-increasing volumes of complex data in systems. In 2018 the expectations around data are rapidly increasing as funders and regulators look to drive ever more utility from data and as students expect levels of user-experience that can only be achieved with highly integrated and professionally managed data flows.

“The HE Data Landscape Steering Group pursues the twin agendas of standardising and rationalising data flows across HE and the broader aim of increasing capabilities in the management and governance of data across the landscape. The group is made up of leaders from a broad range of perspectives and backgrounds across the data landscape and they work collaboratively and constructively in pursuit of these goals.”

Notes for editors

  1. The Data Landscape Steering Group provides oversight and leadership to the HE data landscape in order to reduce the burden on HE providers and improve the quality, timeliness and accessibility of data and information about HE. The group is supported by HESA and is chaired by Professor Simon Gaskell, former President and Principal of Queen Mary University of London.
  2. The Data Landscape Steering Group is supported by a large Advisory Panel drawn from a broad range of organisations and professional groups across the landscape.

 

 

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