Data intelligence

◊ 63 Alternative Providers (APs) submitted data to HESA through the AP Student Record in 2014/15. Of these, three providers did not provide data in 2015/16, one provider's students were wholly franchised in 2014/15 and two providers merged, therefore 58 of the APs who submitted in 2014/15 are covered in the widening participation and non-continuation UK Performance Indicators Experimental Statistics, see Providers mergers and changes document for details. Data submitted by APs to HESA in 2014/15 include students registered at alternative providers in England with specific course designation, see AP coverage document for details:

• 10019746 ABI College Limited
• 10000248 Academy of Live and Recorded Arts
• 10000080 Access to Music Limited
• 10000381 Arts Educational School
• 10037544 BIMM Limited*
• 10031982 BPP University
• 10028216 Brit College
• 10001386 Chicken Shed Theatre Company
• 10018361 City of London College
• 10002113 East End Computing and Business College Limited
• 10022047 Empire College London Limited
• 10008229 EThames Graduate School Limited
• 10033187 Fairfield School of Business Ltd
• 10038763 ForMission Ltd
• 10022087 Futureworks*
• 10002735 Grafton College
• 10007937 GSM London
• 10003239 ICON College of Technology and Management
• 10035638 Institute of Contemporary Music Performance
• 10003566 Kensington College of Business
• 10013109 London Bridge Business Academy
• 10004006 London Centre of Contemporary Music
• 10030391 London Churchill College Ltd
• 10032594 London School of Academics Ltd
• 10004060 London School of Business and Finance (UK) Limited
• 10004061 London School of Business and Management
• 10022285 London School of Management Education
• 10008362 London School of Science and Technology Limited
• 10004075 London School of Theology
• 10004079 London Studio Centre
• 10020416 Mattersey Hall
• 10045476 Met Film School Limited
• 10023777 Mont Rose College of Management and Sciences
• 10023454 Moorlands College
• 10004450 Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts
• 10004538 Nazarene Theological College
• 10030129 Nelson College London Ltd
• 10008397 Norland College
• 10004740 Northern College of Acupuncture
• 10042570 Pearson College
• 10008455 Regent College
• 10021100 Regents Theological College
• 10003331 Regent's University London
• 10005470 Richmond, The American International University in London
• 10005544 Royal Academy of Dance
• 10007839 SAE Education Limited
• 10005916 Slough Borough Council
• 10030776 St Mellitus College
• 10006243 St Patrick's International College*
• 10022944 Stratford College London Limited
• 10013357 The Academy of Contemporary Music
• 10010213 The City College
• 10001546 The College of Integrated Chinese Medicine
• 10015506 The London College UCK
• 10008289 The London Institute of Banking and Finance
• 10039956 The University of Law
• 10037822 Tottenham Hotspur Foundation
• 10022021 UK College of Business and Computing
• 10023290 West London College of Business and Management Sciences Limited

*Due to late designation, St Patrick's International College did not have many students who satisfied the entrant criteria in 2014/15.
*The students at Futureworks were wholly franchised in 2014/15, so do not have entrants in 2014/15.
*Brighton Institute of Modern Music merged with Tech Music Schools and resulted in the name change BIMM Limited.

◊◊ The following 38 APs started returning data to HESA from 2015/16 and are included within the widening participation UK Performance Experimental statistics, but do not have sufficient data to be included within the non-continuation indicators.

• 10008071 AA School of Architecture
• 10000216 All Nations Christian College
• 10041898 Apex College London
• 10005451 Arden University
• 10000894 Bristol Baptist College
• 10010308 Cambridge Arts and Sciences Limited
• 10001419 Christie's Education Limited
• 10039082 City and Guilds of London Art School
• 10007912 Cliff College
• 10034324 Court Theatre Training Company Ltd
• 10023445 ICOM
• 10009527 Istituto Marangoni Limited
• 10021682 Kaplan Open Learning
• 10008325 KLC School of Design
• 10009285 Kogan Academy of Dramatic Arts
• 10041974 London College of Business Sciences
• 10009612 Luther King House Educational Trust
• 10023453 Matrix College of Counselling and Psychotherapy Ltd
• 10004365 Millennium Performing Arts Ltd
• 10048199 New College of the Humanities
• 10023130 Nova College of Accounting and Business Ltd
• 10010227 Oak Hill College
• 10004879 Open College of the Arts
• 10020439 Oxford Business College
• 10019178 Point Blank Music College
• 10006093 Spurgeon's College
• 10045289 St Nicholas Montessori Training Limited
• 10032072 The Cambridge Theological Federation
• 10029682 The Islamic College
• 10023452 The Markfield Institute of Higher Education
• 10004320 The Metanoia Institute
• 10032282 The Queen's Foundation for Ecumenical Theological Education
• 10021256 The Salvation Army
• 10053279 The Sherwood Institute
• 10023464 Trinity College Bristol
• 10008173 University College of Estate Management
• 10007361 Waverley Abbey College
• 10032288 West Dean College

The Open University under-reported the number of students in receipt of DSA in England and Wales in 2014/15. This is due to changes in the administration arrangements for DSA awards in 2014/15 which resulted in information not being available for all students in receipt of an award. They estimate that the return undercounts students in receipt of DSA in England and Wales by c.370 awards and 34 awards, respectively (applicable to table T7).

A technical issue resulted in The University of Stirling being unable to accurately report on which of their students declared receipt of the DSA in their HESA Return for 2018-19 therefore they have been excluded from Table T7

Changes to the Disabled Student Allowances administered through Student Finance England took effect in the academic years 2015/16 and 2016/17. These changes rebalanced responsibility for supporting disabled students, with HEPs providing certain aspects of disability related support previously funded via the DSAs, including funding to support specialist equipment and accommodation costs. Further details have been published on the changes to DSA. As a result of these changes, the Performance Indicator reported in Table T7 - Participation of UK domiciled students in higher education who are in receipt of Disabled Students' Allowance for the 2016/17 cohort is not consistent with previous years. See changes document for more details (applicable to table T7).

University Centre Quayside Limited came in scope for the HESA data collection in late 2019/20 and retrospectively collected DSA information from their students. Data in Table T7 should be treated with caution as it is likely to be an undercount of the true number in receipt of DSA.

A change in external reporting of DSA information to providers in Scotland for the 2019/20 student return has led to some Scottish providers not returning complete DSA information for their students. Data in Table T7 should be treated with caution as it may be undercounting the number of students in receipt of DSA at Scottish providers. The following providers have been excluded from table T7 due to incomplete DSA information: Glasgow Caledonian, The University of Strathclyde.

Changes in the administration arrangements for DSA awards in Scotland will have led to the under-reporting of students in receipt of DSA at some Scottish providers. The numbers of students recorded as being in receipt of DSA at the Open University in Scotland has been particularly affected by this due to the University’s distance student support model.

In 2011/12, the questions on the Destinations of Leavers from HE (DLHE) questionnaire were modified and as a result, the concept of activity was redefined for use in HESA publications. The DLHE population was also extended to include leavers with additional qualifications. Both of these factors had an impact on the employment indicators making data prior to 2011/12 not comparable with data from 2011/12 onwards; see the changes document for more details (applicable to table E1).

The University of Surrey made an error in the student data causing 186 nursing students to be omitted from the DLHE return which will have affected the indicator (applicable to table E1a).

Due to changes in system processes resulting from the merger between University College London and Institute of Education, the number of students in the full-time other undergraduate category who have been surveyed for the DLHE is much lower than in the previous year. The full set of students will be surveyed in future years.

From 2015/16, the reporting of the elements of the AP Student record for Unistats was compulsory. In order to fulfil the requirement to return data for publication on Unistats, providers were required to complete the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) record, with the exception of those providers who were on ‘teach out’ when the DLHE data was collected. ‘Teach out’ means that new students were unable to access student support, but existing students were able to continue their studies with access to funding until completing. Under these circumstances, DLHE data was not expected to be returned.

Therefore the following Alternative Providers are included in the E1 table but did not participate in DLHE so data is shown as 0 and blank:

• London College of Business Sciences
• Christie's Education Limited
• EThames Graduate School Limited
• London School of Business and Finance (UK) Limited
• City of London College
• West London College

From 2015/16, the reporting of the elements of the AP Student record for Unistats was compulsory. In order to fulfil the requirement to return data for publication on Unistats, providers were required to complete the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) record, with the exception of those providers who were on ‘teach out’ when the DLHE data was collected. ‘Teach out’ means that new students were unable to access student support, but existing students were able to continue their studies with access to funding until completing. Under these circumstances, DLHE data was not expected to be returned.

Therefore the following Alternative Providers are included in the E1 table but did not participate in DLHE so data is shown as 0 and blank:

• Christie's Education Limited
• City of London College
• EThames Graduate School Limited
• London School of Business and Finance (UK) Limited
• West London College

London College of Creative Media Limited failed to submit a DLHE return on time so do not have any data in the E1 table.

To avoid an overlap and a duplication of figures, the Department for the Economy Northern Ireland (DfENI) advised Queen's University Belfast and Stranmillis University College to change their recording practices during 2019/20. They no longer report on foundation degrees that are offered as part of a validated collaborative arrangement with Further Education Colleges. This change in reporting practices accounts for the decrease to 0 enrolments in foundation degree courses and qualifications awarded at these providers in 2019/20.

Both providers have therefore been excluded from Table T3d of the Non-continuation UK Performance Indicators as the change in reporting incorrectly inflates the rate of entrants no longer in HE in 2019/20.

Rounding strategy

Due to the provisions of the Data Protection Act 1998 HESA implements a strategy in published and released tabulations designed to prevent the disclosure of personal information about any individual. This strategy involves rounding all numbers to the nearest multiple of 5 and suppressing percentages and averages based on small populations.

HESA Services Standard Rounding Methodology:

1. All numbers are rounded to the nearest multiple of 5
2. Any number lower than 2.5 is rounded to 0
3. Halves are always rounded upwards (e.g. 2.5 is rounded to 5)
4. Percentages based on fewer than 22.5 individuals are suppressed
5. Averages based on 7 or fewer individuals are suppressed
6. The above requirements apply to headcounts, FPE and FTE data
7. Financial data is not rounded

Total figures are also subject to this rounding methodology after calculation; so the sum of numbers in each row or column may not match the total shown. Suppressed values are normally represented as '..' in published tables (prior to 2006/07 these were represented as a blank value within the UK Performance Indicators.

Note: The suppression level within the UK Performance Indicators changed from 20 to 22.5 in 2011/12.

From 2011/12, data within the employment indicators have been suppressed and represented as a blank cell where the response rate for a HE provider is less than 85 per cent of the target response rate (68.0% for table E1a, 59.5% for tables E1b-E1d). Data for these HE providers have been excluded from all indicator and benchmark calculations. In 2010/11, data for HE providers in table E1 have been suppressed where response rates to the destinations of leavers survey was considered to be sufficiently low that their data may not be comparable with other HE providers.

From 2012/13, where data for a HE provider has been suppressed, they have been removed from all totals and benchmark calculations, see PITG paper 13/01. Also from 2012/13, in the event that a HE provider's data contains more than 50 per cent unknown values within the benchmarking factors, the benchmark has been suppressed and represented as a blank cell. This data has, however, been retained and included in totals and benchmark calculations for the rest of the sector. See PITG paper 13/03 and PITG minutes, 28 February 2013.

The low participation measure used in Tables T1, T2 and T3b is based on a UK-wide classification of areas into participation bands. From 2011/12 it uses the POLAR3 methodology which is based on a similar method to POLAR2 but uses more up to date information. As these two methods are not strictly comparable, the 2009/10 to 2013/14 indicators have been produced using both POLAR2 and POLAR3 to provide time series information. The POLAR2 data was no longer published as part of the UK Performance Indicators from 2014/15. The POLAR3 data was updated in July 2015 and this updated version was used in the creation of the Performance Indicators from 2014/15. The updated version includes new postcodes which have been added in the UK in recent times. More information on the POLAR methodologies can be found in the definitions document.

The relatively high (in UK terms) participation rate in Scotland coupled with the very high proportion of HE that occurs in FE colleges means that the figures for Scottish HE providers could, when viewed in isolation, misrepresent their contribution to widening participation. Therefore, low participation data has not been produced for HE providers in Scotland from 2007/08 (applicable to main tables T1, T2, T3b and supplementary tables SP3, SP6, SP7) and only for supplementary table SP1, for Scottish-domiciled students.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) produce their own indicators relating to young full-time Scottish domiciled undergraduate entrants, showing proportions from the most deprived datazones and also from social classes NS-SEC 4-7. These measures are produced and published independently of ‘Performance Indicators in HE in the UK’. The Performance Indicators Steering Group bears no responsibility for the SFC measures but has recognised that they may provide some contextual information for interested readers. The measures are available from the SFC website.

Prior to 2005/06 (T1a only) and 2006/07 (T1b-T1c), the low participation indicator was based on Super Profiles low participation, more details on the change in methodology between Super Profiles and POLAR can be found in changes to the postcode indicator.

A notable change from the 2014/15 UK Performance Indicators is the allocation of The Open University (OU) students to England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Previously all OU enrolments and qualifications were counted within England, where the OU has its administrative centre. From this release onwards enrolments and qualifications registered at one of the OU’s national centres in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland will contribute to the totals of those countries where statistics are shown by country of HE provider.

For tables which include part-time students, a total row has been provided for the OU which has been produced consistently with previous published versions. Total rows for the OU will be produced for 3 years to enable the continuation of time series. From the 2019 publication, the OU will only be shown under the national centres.

For the 2001 census, a new classification, National Statistics - Socio-Economic Classification (NS-SEC), was developed to replace Social Class. It took into account new work patterns in the UK and the changes in education levels required for, and the status of, large numbers of occupations. This new classification was used for the social class Performance Indicator from 2002/03 and called the SEC indicator. More details on the differences between SEC and social class can be found in changes between 2001/02 and 2002/03.

For the 2008/09 academic year, UCAS changed the question that informs NS-SEC for the majority of applicants. The question reverted back to the original wording for 2009/10 applicants.

For applicants up to and including the 2007/08 academic year and for the 2009/10 academic year, UCAS asked:

"If you are under 21, please give the occupation of your parent, step-parent or guardian who earns the most. If he or she is retired or unemployed, give their most recent occupation. If you are 21 or over, please give your own occupation."

For applicants for 2008/09 entry, the question changed to:

"If you are in full-time education, please state the occupation of the highest-earning family member of the household in which you live. If he or she is retired or unemployed, give their most recent occupation. If you are not in full-time education, please state just your own occupation."

The change in question between 2007/08 and 2008/09 had an impact on the NS-SEC indicators, causing the proportion of students classified as ‘unknown' and those classified as falling into NS-SEC groups 4 to 7 to rise. Given these differences and the lack of any significant external changes to the system, it is safe to conclude that the change in question means that the NS-SEC data for 2008/09 is not comparable with that published previously and as a result, the 2008/09 NS-SEC data was published separately in tables T1ai, T1bi and T1ci and labelled as age-adjusted NS-SEC.

Although the question reverted back in 2009/10, there may still be a slight impact on the NS-SEC indicators resulting from applicants who applied using the 2008/09 form, but deferred entry until 2009/10. However, the 2009/10 data will be more comparable with that published up until 2007/08 than with the 2008/09 data. Therefore, NS-SEC time series data published within the summary excludes data for 2008/09.

The NS-SEC indicators will not be published in 2017 and subsequent publications of the UK Performance Indicators. For more details, please refer to the section on widening participation of under-represented groups.

The non-continuation data for Kensington College of Business includes 20 students who did not secure SLC funding and could not confirm their enrolment within 50 days of commencement and 6 missing qualifications from their student return (applicable to table series T3 experimental).

The data for Grŵp Llandrillo Menai has been suppressed in table T3c due to some of the qualification on entry data being returned incorrectly (applicable to table T3c experimental).

Due to data coding issues relating to the commencement data of students, University of the West of Scotland has been excluded from this analysis (applicable to table T3a-d, 2018/19 publication).

Due to data coding issues relating to end date of students, St Patrick’s International College have been excluded from the non-continuation analysis (applicable to table T3d, 2018/19 publication).

The non-continuation data for Kensington College of Business includes around 20 students who did not secure SLC funding and could not confirm their enrolment within 50 days of commencement (applicable to table series T3).

Brit College suspended tuition on HN programmes during the 2019/20 academic year (applicable to table T3d).

UK College of Business and Computing transferred students to a partner provider during the 2019/20 academic year, their figures have been supressed and shown as nulls in Table T3a-c but are included in the total figures