Data intelligence

Among graduates from 2017/18, there were 175 from Northern Irish providers that were duplicated in the dataset. These graduates were all taught at a Further Education College (FEC) but were awarded their qualification by a Higher Education Institution (HEI). Both the FECs and HEIs returned contact details for each graduate. Of the 175 graduates, 130 should have been returned by the FECs only and 45 of the graduates should have been returned by the HEIs only. Because these graduates were duplicated, they would have been invited to survey twice for their qualification.

In 2017/18, among Northern Ireland Further Education Colleges approximately 110 graduates were included in the Graduate Outcomes population in error. These graduates completed a short course (ILM Level 5 Making Professional Presentations) that was taken alongside their main qualification but had a different date of completion.

The most comprehensive assessment of data quality in the Graduate Outcomes survey currently available can be found in the Graduate Outcomes quality report.

In 2019/20, The Open University underreported the number of qualifications awarded due to administrative delays as a result of changes to assessment timetabling. There is a reduction of around 8,225 qualifications awarded in the 2019/20 data return in comparison to 2018/19. Most of this drop was seen among part time undergraduate students. The reduction is reflected in a lower population of survey respondents for the Graduate Outcomes survey of an estimated 7,900 responses. These qualifications were returned in the 2020/21 student data, so the 2020/21 Graduate Outcomes population will reflect this.