Definitions: Destinations of Leavers (Longitudinal)

The Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education (DLHE) survey is carried out by HESA. There are two stages to the survey. The first stage is a census of individuals who have completed higher education courses in the UK. This stage is carried out approximately six months after the course ends and is referred to as the early survey.

The second stage is a follow-up survey that looks at the destinations of leavers up to 3.5 years after they qualified. This stage is referred to as the longitudinal survey. The longitudinal survey, by contrast, is not a census survey but is instead based on a sample of the students who responded to the corresponding early survey.

The DLHE Longitudinal survey is based on recontacting two sub-samples of the leavers who responded to the early DLHE survey. Detail of the coverage of the early survey can be viewed here. Leavers were eligible to take part in the Longitudinal survey if they had provided a valid response to the early survey. Responses gained from a third party or other informed source, including the HE provider's own record, were excluded from the eligible population along with any other leavers who had opted out of taking part in any follow up surveys after the early survey was completed.

For the 2012/13 survey there was a requirement to maximise the statistical robustness of the data collected at HE provider level. As a result, the sampling approach was revised from previous years, incorportating HE provider targets but also ensuring the data remained representative of the leavers' population. Rather than splitting the eligible population into two samples, all leavers with contact details were contacted during the first phase of sampling (Phase 1) to take part in the survey. The vast majority received an email invitiation to the online survey, but where no email address was given they were contacted by telephone or sent a postal letter inviting them to the online survey. 

When Phase 1 was complete, samples of leavers who had not yet responded to the survey were re-drawn to try and achieve the target response rate for each HE provider (this was Phase 2). The samples were drawn to meet the HE provider requirements but also subgroups that had not reached target response rates. These subgroups included ethnic minority leavers, postgraduate research leavers, those who were unemployed six months after leaving and leavers domiciled or studying in Northern Ireland and Wales. Interviews for these leavers were all conducted by telephone.

The DLHE Longitudinal survey is based on recontacting two sub-samples of the leavers who responded to the Early DLHE survey. Detail of the coverage of the Early survey can be viewed here. Leavers were eligible to take part in the Longitudinal survey if they had provided a valid response to the Early survey. Responses gained from a third party or other informed source, including the HE providers own record, were excluded from the eligible population along with any other leavers who had opted out of taking part in any follow up surveys after the Early survey was completed. Leavers were randomly selected from across all HE providers over-sampling some groups of leavers in order to deliberately skew the survey.  The rationale for the over-sampling was to ensure that the Longitudinal Survey would have sufficient numbers of graduates in key sub-groups to allow for separate statistical analyses of these groups. This cohort was known as Sample A and attempts to contact these leavers were made by email, text message, post and phone. The remaining leavers who were not selected into Sample A and were eligible to take part make up Sample B. Attempts to contact these leavers were only made by email and text message.

Of the 342,980 leavers who responded to the Early Survey in 2010/11 and were eligible to take part in the Longitudinal survey, 31,145 leavers had opted out of any follow-up surveys and were excluded from the population, leaving an eligible population of 311,835. Sample A was created by randomly selecting 121,930 leavers as detailed below. The remaining 189,910 leavers make up Sample B. The table below shows for each of the sub groups who were over-sampled, the total who responded to the Early DLHE (before opt outs were removed) and the numbers drawn into Sample A.

 It should be noted that Leeds College of Music left the HE sector in 2011/12. Leavers from this provider were removed from the eligible population.

The data have been collected using a mixture of online and telephone questionnaires. For 2012/13, the approach used depended on the contact details provided by the HE provider and the phase of the sample as follows:

Phase 1: All leavers with an email address were invited by email to complete an online questionnaire. Four reminder emails were sent out over the following two months. A text message invite was sent to leavers with a mobile phone number if they had not completed the survey after the second reminder. At the same time, telephone interviews were conducted for leavers with no email address or unusable email address. Postal invites were also sent to those leavers with no email or telephone number.

Phase 2: Leavers who had not responded during Phase 1 and were drawn into the sample for Phase 2 were contacted by telephone to take part in the survey.

Data collection was undertaken by IFF Research.

The data have been collected using a mixture of online and telephone questionnaires. For 2010/11 no postal questionnaires were used although letter invitations were still sent out to leavers with postal addresses. The approach used depended on the contact details provided by the HE provider. The different modes were used sequentially:

1. All leavers in Sample A with an email address were invited by email to complete an online questionnaire. A week after the initial email a reminder email was sent out with another reminder sent a few days later. A final reminder was sent towards the end of the collection period. The same approach was taken for all leavers in Sample B with an email address.
2. A text message invitation was sent to leavers for whom a mobile phone number was held but no email address was available. This was sent after the second email reminder.
3. Two weeks after the initial email, contact attempts were made by telephone for leavers in Sample A who had not responded and for whom a telephone number had been provided.
4. The postal invitations launched in two phases. The first mailing was sent to all leavers in Sample A who held only a postal address and no phone number or email. These were sent out a week after the initial emails. The second phase of the postal survey took place 14 weeks after the initial email with invitations sent to all leavers for whom a postal address was held as well as an email or phone number, but who had not already responded. 

Data collection was undertaken by IFF Research.

The reference dates for 2012/13 DLHE were 15 April 2013 (if the leaver obtained the qualification between 1 August 2012 and 31 December 2012) and 13 January 2014 (if the leaver obtained the qualification between 1 January 2013 and 31 July 2013).

The reference date for the 2012/13 DLHE Longitudinal Survey was 28 November 2016.

The reference dates for the previous DLHE Longitudinal Surveys were:

• 24 November 2014 for the 2010/11 leavers
• 26 November 2012 for the 2008/09 leavers
• 29 November 2010 for the 2006/07 leavers
• 24 November 2008 for the 2004/05 leavers
• 27 November 2006 for the 2002/03 leavers

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.

Base numbers shown in the tables and charts represent weighted populations and reflect numbers of leavers who answered particular questions in the survey, hence these may differ between charts and tables. Base numbers have been rounded to the nearest multiple of 5.

Percentages have been calculated on weighted data, but have been suppressed (and shown as ‘..’ in tabulations) if the unweighted underlying population is less than 22.5. Percentages in charts and tables are rounded to one decimal place, therefore percentages may not sum to exactly 100% 

HESA provides higher education providers (HEPs) with the opportunity to make post-collection amendments to a dataset through the fixed database facility. The fixed database collection opens following the closure of the corresponding live data collection, and remains open for between 6 and 15 months, depending on the data stream; typically longer for the Student record and shorter for other collections. Onward use of information whilst it remains open (for example in HESA open data) will normally be based on the original data collected and not on any amended data submitted through the fixed database facility. Onward use of information after closure of a fixed database will usually be based on the fixed data. For further information about the changes please contact us via [email protected].

In the longitudinal survey leavers are able to report all the activities they are doing in relation to both employment and study on the survey date and then indicate which activity they considered to be their main activity. A matrix of possible outcomes is constructed. This matrix is used to define the key categories of outcomes such as employed and unemployed.

As leavers can report multiple activities in relation to employment circumstance and further study, it is possible to be involved in either employment only, further study only or employment and further study. Where a breakdown of activity is used, those in work and further study have been shown separately. Within the employment analysis, work and further study has been grouped with work and within the further study analysis, work and further study has been grouped with further study only.

These activities as shown above are used to derive a category for publication that reflects the range of activities undertaken. Leavers identified as ineligible, or who have explicitly refused to provide information are grouped for publication as 'Ineligibility or explicit refusal'. All other respondents are categorised according to their range of activities.

Matrix of standard categories for publication

Activity

• A: Full-time paid work
• B: Part-time paid work
• C: Voluntary/unpaid work
• H: Employed mode unknown
• D: Work and further study
• E: Further study
• P: Creating a portfolio
• F: Assumed to be unemployed
• G: Not available for employment
• O: Other
• X: Explicit Refusal

Derived activity categories

Work includes those leavers who reported that their main activity was full-time paid work (including self-employed/freelance), part-time paid work, employed with unknown mode, voluntary or unpaid work, and who were not also in study, training or research.

Work and further study includes those who reported that their main activity was either full-time paid work (including self-employed/freelance), part-time paid work, employed with unknown mode, voluntary or unpaid work and they were also in full-time or part-time study, training or research, or that their main activity was full-time or part-time study, training or research and they were also in full-time paid work (including self-employed/freelance), part-time paid work, employed with unknown mode, voluntary or unpaid work.

Further study includes those who gave their main activity as either in full-time or part-time study, training or research and were not engaged in any employment.

Assumed to be unemployed includes those students who gave their main activity as unemployed and looking for employment, further study or training.

Other includes those in who were creating a portfolio, not available for employment and other activities.

Age is as at 31 July of the reporting period. That is, the end of the academic year in which the leaver gained their relevant qualification.

The allocation of a HE provider to a geographical region is done by reference to the administrative centre of that HE provider. Regions in this context are the nine England Regions (formerly Government Office Regions) and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. There may be students registered at HE providers who are studying in regions other than that of the administrative centre of the HE provider.

HESA allocates HE providers to Regions as follows:

North East (NEAS), North West (NWES), Yorkshire and The Humber (YORH), East Midlands (EMID), West Midlands (WMID), East of England (EAST), London (LOND), South East (SEAS), South West (SWES), Scotland (SCOT), Wales (WALE) and Northern Ireland (NIRE).

Please note that in the published DLHE longitudinal survey data, the Open University responses are counted as a wholly English provider to be consitient with its retrospective student and DLHE releases.

This describes the HE leaver's own assessment of the basis of their employment in the work they were doing on the census date. The information captured relates to the employment activity the HE leaver considers to be their main job.

This field describes the size of the employing organisation by the number of people employed. The groupings of this field are as follows:

• 1 to 49
• 50 to 249
• 250 or more

This describes whether the HE leaver obtained any further qualifications between graduation and the survey date, the highest level of qualification they obtained and the subject of qualification.

HE provider mission groups are often formed on the basis of common interests, particularly towards research and education provision. Comparisons between mission groups should be interpreted with care due to differences in student populations and the overall teaching and research purposes of HE providers in each group.

2012/13

The groups used within this report are as per July 2013 and are detailed below. Any mergers which have occurred since July 2013 have not been applied. The 1994 Group was disbanded in November 2013 and is no longer in existence, but has been included for the purpose of the 2012/13 report. Any HE providers not listed below are included in the All other HE providers group in tables.

Russell Group

• The Queen's University of Belfast
• The University of Birmingham
• The University of Bristol
• The University of Cambridge
• Cardiff University
• University of Durham
• The University of Edinburgh
• The University of Exeter
• The University of Glasgow
• Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
• King's College London
• The University of Leeds
• The University of Liverpool
• London School of Economics and Political Science
• The University of Manchester
• Newcastle University
• University of Nottingham
• The University of Oxford
• Queen Mary University of London
• The University of Sheffield
• The University of Southampton
• University College London
• The University of Warwick
• The University of York

1994 Group

• Birkbeck College
• The University of East Anglia
• The University of Essex
• Goldsmiths College
• The University of Lancaster
• The University of Leicester
• Loughborough University
• Royal Holloway and Bedford New College
• The School of Oriental and African Studies
• The University of Sussex
• Institute of Education

GuildHE

• University College Birmingham
• Bishop Grosseteste University
• The Arts University Bournemouth
• Buckinghamshire New University
• The University of Chichester
• University for the Creative Arts
• Falmouth University
• Glyndŵr University
• Harper Adams University
• Leeds Trinity University
• The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
• Newman University
• Norwich University of the Arts
• Ravensbourne
• Rose Bruford College
• Royal Agricultural University
• The Royal Central School of Speech and Drama
• St Mary's University College
• St Mary's University, Twickenham
• Southampton Solent University
• University of St Mark and St John
• University of Suffolk
• The University of Winchester
• University of Worcester
• Writtle University College
• York St John University

Please note that Leeds College of Art has not been included in GuildHE figures but joined in August 2011. The University of Suffolk have been included although it did not join until August 2016.

Amended figures are available upon request.

MillionPlus

• University of Abertay Dundee
• Anglia Ruskin University
• Bath Spa University
• University of Bedfordshire
• Birmingham City University
• The University of Bolton
• Canterbury Christ Church University
• The University of Central Lancashire
• University of Cumbria
• The University of East London
• Edinburgh Napier University
• Leeds Beckett University
• London Metropolitan University
• London South Bank University
• Middlesex University
• Staffordshire University
• The University of Sunderland
• The University of the West of Scotland
• The University of West London
• The University of Wolverhampton

University Alliance

• Bournemouth University
• The University of Brighton
• Cardiff Metropolitan University
• Coventry University
• De Montfort University
• The University of Greenwich
• University of Hertfordshire
• The University of Huddersfield
• Kingston University
• The University of Lincoln
• Liverpool John Moores University
• The Manchester Metropolitan University
• University of Northumbria at Newcastle
• The Nottingham Trent University
• Oxford Brookes University
• University of Plymouth
• The University of Portsmouth
• The University of Salford
• Sheffield Hallam University
• Teesside University
• University of South Wales
• University of the West of England, Bristol

Please note that The University of Bradford and Glasgow Caledonian have not been included in the University Alliance figures but were members of the group until July 2014. The University of Brighton has been included but did not join until September 2016.

Amended figures are available upon request.

HE provider mergers

The following HE provider mergers occurred between July 2013 and the survey reference date, 28 November 2016:

• 0086 The University of Wales, Newport merged with 0090 University of Glamorgan to become 0090 University of South Wales.
• 0149 University College London (UCL) and 0133 Institute of Education merged, creating UCL Institute of Education as a single faculty school of UCL

2010/11

The groups used within this report are as per July 2011 and are detailed below. Any mergers which have occurred since July 2011 have not been applied. The 1994 Group was disbanded in November 2013 and is no longer in existence. It should be noted that Buckinghamshire New University is a member of both GuildHE and Million+ and has been included in both groups in any tabulations. These figures include an element of double counting and therefore group totals will not sum to the overall sector total. Any HE providers not listed below are included in the All Other HEPs group in tables.

Russell Group

• The Queen's University of Belfast
• The University of Birmingham
• The University of Bristol
• The University of Cambridge
• Cardiff University
• The University of Edinburgh*
• The University of Glasgow
• Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine
• King's College London
• The University of Leeds
• The University of Liverpool
• London School of Economics and Political Science
• The University of Manchester
• The University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
• The University of Nottingham
• The University of Oxford
• The University of Sheffield
• The University of Southampton
• University College London*
• The University of Warwick.

1994 Group

• The University of Bath
• Birkbeck College
• University of Durham
• The University of East Anglia
• The University of Essex
• The University of Exeter
• Goldsmiths College
• Institute of Education
• The University of Lancaster
• The University of Leicester
• Loughborough University
• Queen Mary University of London
• The University of Reading
• Royal Holloway and Bedford New College
• The University of St Andrews
• The School of Oriental and African Studies
• The University of Surrey
• The University of Sussex
• The University of York.

GuildHE

• University College Birmingham
• Bishop Grosseteste University
• The Arts University Bournemouth
• Buckinghamshire New University
• University for the Creative Art
• University of Cumbria
• Falmouth University
• Harper Adams University
• Leeds Trinity University
• The Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts
• Newman University
• Norwich University of the Arts
• Ravensbourne
• Rose Bruford College
• Royal Agricultural University
• St Mary's University College, Belfast
• St Mary's University, Twickenham
• University of St Mark and St John
• The University of Winchester
• The University of Worcester
• Writtle College
• York St John University.

Million+

• University of Abertay Dundee
• Anglia Ruskin University
• Bath Spa University
• University of Bedfordshire
• Birmingham City University
• The University of Bolton
• Buckinghamshire New University
• The University of Central Lancashire
• Coventry University
• University of Derby
• The University of East London
• Edinburgh Napier University
• University of Gloucestershire
• The University of Greenwich
• Kingston University
• Leeds Beckett University
• London Metropolitan University
• London South Bank University
• Middlesex University
• The University of Northampton
• Roehampton University
• Southampton Solent University
• Staffordshire University
• The University of Sunderland
• The University of the West of Scotland
• The University of West London
• The University of Wolverhampton.

University Alliance

• Aberystwyth University
• Bournemouth University
• The University of Bradford
• Cardiff Metropolitan University
• De Montfort University
• Glasgow Caledonian University
• University of Hertfordshire
• The University of Huddersfield
• The University of Lincoln
• Liverpool John Moores University
• The Manchester Metropolitan University
• The University of Wales, Newport*
• The University of Northumbria at Newcastle
• The Nottingham Trent University
• The Open University
• Oxford Brookes University
• The University of Plymouth
• The University of Portsmouth
• The University of Salford
• Sheffield Hallam University
• Teesside University
• The University of South Wales*
• University of the West of England, Bristol

The following HE provider mergers occurred between July 2011 and the survey reference date, 24 November 2014:

• 0167 The University of Edinburgh merged with 0096 Edinburgh College of Art, retaining the name 0167 The Uiversity of Edinburgh
• 0091 Swansea Metropolitan University merged with 0176 University of Wales Trinity Saint David, retaining the name 0176 University of Wales Trinity Saint David
• 0147 The School of Pharmacy merged with 0149 University College London, retaining the name 0149 University College London
• 0086 The University of Wales, Newport merged with 0090 University of Glamorgan to become 0090 University of South Wales.

Higher education providers were grouped according to their subject mix and average tariff scores of their undergraduate students. Specialist HE providers were defined as those with 60% or more of their provision in one or two subjects (based on full-time equivalence and academic cost centres). The Open University was also grouped as Specialist HE provider.

The remaining HE providers were grouped into three similar sized groups according to the average tariff scores being high, medium or low. The tariff score data was based on the average tariff scores of undergraduate entrants aged 21 and under in the 2012/13 HESA student record.

This field asks leavers the extent to which their HE experience enabled them to:

• Be innovative in the workplace
• Solve problems in your work
• Communicate effectively in your work
• Make good decisions in your work
• Work effectively with others
• Take initiative and personal responsibility in your work
• Make effective use of information and communication technology in your work
• Work effectively with numbers

And to what extent did their employer enable them the use the skills gained during their HE experience

The responses are categorised in the following way:

1. A great extent 
2. Some extent
3. Not at all
4. Don't know
5. Not worked since finishing course
6. Not relevant

This field asks leavers to identify how well their HE experience prepared them for their career aspirations. The responses are categorised in the following way:

1. Very well
2. Quite well
3. Not very well
4. Not at all
5. Don't know

This field asks leavers to identify how well their HE experience prepared them for being self-employed or setting up their own business. The responses are categorised in the following way:

1. Very well
2. Well
3. Not very well
4. Not at all
5. Don't know
6. Have never considered becoming self-employed/ setting up own business

This field describes how HE leavers found the job they were doing on the survey date.

This field describes how HE leavers are funding their further study/training. Leavers must only specify one main source.

This field describes the factors that HE leavers thought were important to their employer in their getting the job they were doing on the reference date. Leavers are asked to assess how important the following factors were: subject of study, type of qualification obtained, class or grade of qualification, evidence of skills and competencies, work experience or placement that was part of the qualification obtained, any further qualifications obtained and relevant work experience from previous employment. The responses are categorised in the following way:

1. Formal requirement
2. Important
3. Not very important but helped
4. Not important
5. Don't know
6. Did not do a work placement/Did not obtain further qualifications/Did not have any previous work experience.

This field collects the JACS code for the subject of the study, training or research that the leaver was undertaking on the survey date. A single subject code is returned

This field asked leavers to consider the course they completed 3.5 years ago and assess how likely or unlikely they felt they would choose to do a different subject, study at a different HE provider, work towards a different type of qualification, decide to do something completely different. The responses are categorised in the following way:

1. Very likely
2. Likely
3. Not very likely
4. Not likely at all
5. Don't know

This describes the location of the HE leaver's place of work. Data is supplied to HESA in the form of postcodes (for employment in the UK, Guernsey, Jersey and the Isle of Man) or country codes. Postcodes are mapped to counties, unitary authorities, Regions and UK countries using the Office for National Statistics Postcode Directory (ONSPD). Countries are mapped to geographical regions, informed by the National Statistics Country Classification 2006 grouping of countries (http://www.ons.gov.uk/ons/guide-method/classifications/current-standard-classifications/national-statistics-country-classification/index.html).

Other European Union (EU) includes Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Gibraltar, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden. Croatia is additionally included in this category from 2013/14 onwards, having acceded to the EU on 1 July 2013.

Other EEA countries includes the European Economic Area countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway.

Other Europe includes Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus (Non-European-Union), Faroe Islands, Georgia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova, Monaco, Montenegro, Russia, San Marino, Serbia, Svalbard and Jan Mayen, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, Vatican City and Europe not otherwise specified. Croatia is included in this category prior to 2013/14, from which point it was included as 'Other European Union (EU)' following accession to the EU.

Please note: this is a survey and respondents may only return partial postcodes, therefore we cannot provide any more detailed location mappings other than those listed above as these would be unreliable due to the lack of full postcodes.

For HE leavers who were involved in study, training or research on the survey date, this field describes whether it was full-time or part-time.

The qualification obtained mode of study used in HESA destinations of leavers analyses re-allocates writing-up status student instance awards to their previous mode. See Definitions for students & qualifiers for the standard Mode of study definitions.

• In leavers statistics, full-time study includes writing-up status where the mode of study was previously full-time and students changing to dormant status previously full-time.
• In leavers statistics, part-time study includes writing-up status where the mode of study was previously part-time, awards given to those on sabbatical and students changing to dormant status previously part-time.

Leavers who had indicated they had more than one job on the survey date or were developing a professional portfolio were asked identify the extent to which each of the following reasons influenced that decision:

• I am unable to secure any full-time position
• Combining two or more jobs is the only way to get full-time equivalent work in my preferred type of employment
• One of my work roles or activities is allowing me to develop the skills and/or contacts necessary to move into the type of work I really want
• It is my choice to do different jobs - I like the variety
• My preferred work is on a freelance basis so I need other paid work as well
• It gives me time to maintain a balance between work and my personal or family commitments
• To supplement my income

This question asked leavers to identify all of the reasons why they decided to take the job that they were doing on the survey date. The leaver can tick as many categories as is required.

The elements for these fields are as follows:

1. It fitted into my career plan/it was exactly the type of work I wanted
2. It was the best job offer I received/only job offer I received
3. It was an opportunity to progress in the organisation
4. To gain experience in order to get the type of job I really wanted
5. To see if I would like the type of work it involved
6. To broaden my experience / to develop general skills 
7. In order to pay off debts
8. In order to earn a living
9. Other

This question asked leavers to identify all of the reasons why they decided to undertake the further study, training or research that they were doing on the survey date. The leaver can tick as many categories as is required.

The elements for these fields are as follows:

1. Because it was a requirement of my employment on the survey date that I did
2. To develop a broader a more specialist range of skills or knowledge
3. To change or improve my career options
4. Because I was interested in the content of the course
5. Because I had enjoyed my first course and wanted to continue studying
6. I wanted to go on being a student/I wanted to postpone job hunting
7. I had been unable to find a suitable job
8. Other

Describes the annual salary to the nearest thousand pounds before tax. It is collected for all leavers who indicated an activity of either full-time or part-time work, regardless of whether it is their main activity.

For the majority of analyses, salary is restricted to UK domiciled leavers in full-time work in the UK excluding self-employed and unpaid/voluntary work.

Salary band describes the annual salary for leavers grouped into bands, excluding those that returned a zero salary.

Median salaries are calculated and displayed to the nearest £500. Those with a zero or unknown salary are excluded. Please note, medians based on a population of 7 or less leavers will be suppressed. 

Salary growth 

For UK domiciled leavers in full-time work in the UK at both the Early survey and Longitudinal survey date with known salary information the difference in salary between these two dates was calculated and grouped into bands.

This question asked leavers how satisfied or dissatisfied they are with their career to date. The responses are categorised in the following way:

1. Very satisfied
2. Fairly satisfied
3. Not very satisfied
4. Not at all satisfied
5. Don't know
6. Not applicable 

The Standard Industrial Classification of economic activities (SIC) provides a framework for the collection, tabulation, presentation and analysis of data about economic activities.

From 2007/08 the aggregations reflect the Standard Industrial Classification economic activity sections as summarised in the UK Standard Industrial Classification of Economic Activities 2007 (SIC 2007) (pdf) document on the National Statistics website.

Standard industry codes for economic activity are used to describe the relationship between the inputs and outputs of such activity. In cases where multiple activities take place, classification usually relates to the single most important activity. In the case of DLHE statistics, this will usually be the most important activity undertaken by an employer (or self-employed person). Economic activities are measured by enquiring into the nature of an employer's (or self-employed person's) business.

Prior to 2007/08, SIC classification was based on the SIC92 coding framework.

For a list of SOC codes and their standard grouping see Standard Occupational Classification (SOC) groups.

In 2011 HESA adopted the SOC2010 Standard Occupational Classification (which replaced SOC2000), for comparability of sector data with other areas of the economy. A variant of the SOC2010 was created for the coding of occupational information collected in the DLHE survey. The classification is termed SOC2010 (DLHE) and details are available from the Downloadable files section of the HESA DLHE coding manual on the HESA website (Standard Occupational Classification (2010) for the Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education Institutions: SOC 2010 (DLHE))(pdf).

Professional/non-professional marker (consistent with UNISTATS methodology)

Standard Occupational Classification major groupings may be further grouped into professional and non-professional categories as follows:

Professional

• Managers, directors and senior officials
• Professional occupations
• Associate professional and technical occupations.

Non-professional

• Administrative and secretarial occupations
• Skilled trades occupations
• Caring, leisure and other service occupations
• Sales and customer service occupations
• Process, plant and machine operatives
• Elementary occupations.

This identifies the type of qualification the leaver was aiming for, if they were engaged in further study on the census date.

The qualification sought relates to what the HE leaver considers to be their main study activity.

This question asked leavers to think about their overall experience of the course they completed 3.5 years and whether they agreed or disagreed that the course was good value for money. The responses are categorised in the following way:

1. Strongly agree
2. Agree
3. Neither agree nor disagree
4. Disagree
5. Strongly disagree
6. Don't know