HESA Subscription - Fixed Database, Data Deletion and Late Submission Fees

There are a number of fees and charges that are referred to within our Subscription Agreement but sit outside of the Subscription Fees. These are detailed below.

Fixed database facility

We provide higher education providers with the opportunity to make post-collection amendments to a dataset following closure of the live data collection through the fixed database facility.

However, this fixed database process is separate from the main data collection and use of this facility is only available with the express authorisation from one of HESA's Statutory Customers to an HE provider.

Fixed database procedure

Use of the fixed database facility requires express authorisation from one of HESA's Statutory Customers (usually a funding body). An action plan should be agreed with the appropriate Statutory Customer as to the extent of the changes to be made through the fixed database and the deadline by which these changes must be made.

Charges for use of the fixed database facility

The formal agreements with Statutory Customers provide for HESA making a charge to HE providers for use of the fixed database facility. Amendments can be made for the following data streams. The costs of using this facility are shown in the table below, these are based on a percentage of the statutory subscription fee calculated excluding the Graduate Outcomes subscription fee. (Note that these charges do not attract VAT). Providers will only be charged once for making a fixed database submission to a given collection (e.g. the 2019/20 Student Return), even if they are required to make an additional fixed database submission to the same collection at a future date.

For information about the individual cost for your provider using this facility for a specific stream, please contact Liaison.

Availability of the fixed databases

The fixed database 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.

Onwards use of fixed database data

The availability of the fixed database facility currently extends well beyond the publication date of information. Providers should therefore be aware that onward use of information, for example in HESA publications, will normally be based on the original data collected and not on any amended data submitted through the fixed database facility.

Data deletion administration fee

This fee is charged when a request is made for data to be removed from a HESA collections system. This may be triggered by the submission of a variation request.

The cost of deleting data is linked to the nature and scale of data and the system from which it is being deleted. As such the fee for deleting data will be calculated by HESA taking into account these factors.

Late submission fee

The fee is charged when HESA agrees to keep a collection open beyond its scheduled closure data to enable a Provider to make a late submission of data.  

The cost associated with a late submission is linked to the amount of data and the system that is being kept open. As such the fee for deleting data will be calculated by HESA taking into account these factors. 

UKPRN linking fee

The fee is charged when HESA agrees to link data submitted to HESA under two more UKPRN numbers. This fee shall be calculated by HESA on a case-by-case basis taking into account the nature and scale of the data to be linked.