Graduate Outcomes dissemination policy published
HESA has published its policy for releasing data from the new Graduate Outcomes survey ahead of its first experimental Statistical Bulletin on 18 June.
The Graduate Outcomes dissemination policy sets out HESA’s policy, approaches and standards for dissemination of data from the new Graduate Outcomes survey.
View the Graduate Outcomes dissemination policy
What does the policy cover?
The policy explains how HESA intends to support users of the data and statistics from the new Graduate Outcomes survey. It covers the publication of experimental statistics and the provision of data to users through other products and services. This includes the suite of bulletins, open data and performance indicators defined and produced by HESA, as well as data and analytical services now provided by Jisc.
The document also describes ‘data standards’ in the survey results – how the data can be used to express key concepts. Where possible, HESA uses existing coding frames and data standards for Graduate Outcomes data. Where data from this new survey covers new concepts or issues specific to this survey, the dissemination policy explains those that HESA has developed. These include response rates, treatment of incomplete responses, graduate activity, employment and work, activity between qualifying and census week and salary data.
In common with all of HESA’s outputs in advance of publication, the policy published today strongly advises data users against making direct comparisons between data from the new Graduate Outcomes survey and the earlier Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey. The policy sets out this advice in detail and warns users of the risks of making such a comparison.
Who is this policy for?
The dissemination policy is published to help data users to understand the survey data presented by HESA. It is also meant to help the higher education sector, including HE providers, understand how the outcomes of higher education are defined and presented. The policy is intended to help anyone with an interest in Graduate Outcomes to make informed choices about how they use the published data and statistics.
Graduate Outcomes is a new survey with its first release of data this summer. The dissemination policy will be updated and extended over time, as the data is used, tested and interrogated. Where additional detail is found to be needed, or new decisions are made about data standards, the document will be updated and any changes explained.
Who do I contact if I need more information?
If you have any questions about the policy, aspects of the data, or the planned publications, please contact our Official Statistics team at [email protected].
To learn more about Graduate Outcomes and the planned publication of survey results please visit the ‘Graduates’ Open Data page of the HESA website.
