The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) was the official agency for the collection, analysis and dissemination of quantitative information about

higher education Tertiary education (higher education, or post-secondary education) is the educational level following the completion of secondary education. The World Bank defines tertiary education as including universities, colleges, and vocational schools ...

in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. HESA became a directorate of

Jisc Jisc is a United Kingdom not-for-profit organisation that provides network and IT services and digital resources in support of further and higher education and research, as well as the public sector. Its head office is based in Bristol with ...

after a merger in 2022. HESA was set up by agreement between the relevant government departments, the higher education funding councils and the universities and colleges in 1993, following the White Paper "Higher Education: a new framework", which called for more coherence in HE statistics, and the

Further and Higher Education Act 1992 The Further and Higher Education Act 1992 made changes in the funding and administration of further education and higher education within England and Wales, with consequential effects on associated matters in Scotland which had previously been g ...

, which established an integrated higher education system throughout the United Kingdom. In 2018 HESA became the Designated Data Body for higher education in England under the

Higher Education and Research Act 2017 The Higher Education and Research Act 2017 (c. 29) was enacted into law in the United Kingdom by the Houses of Parliament on 27 April 2017. It is intended to create a new regulatory framework for Higher education in the United Kingdom, higher edu ...

, with designation passing to Jisc after the 2022 merger.

Data collections

HESA collected data from all publicly funded higher education institutions (HEIs) in the UK as well as a small number of private providers. The annual data collection streams were: * Student data collection information about students, courses and qualifications at HEIs * AP Student data collection information about students, courses and qualifications at Alternative Providers of higher education * Staff data collection information about staff employed by HEIs * Finance record income and expenditure of HEIs * Graduate Outcomes survey of graduate activities 15 months after leaving higher education * Aggregate offshore record count of students studying wholly overseas for UK HE qualifications * HE Business and Community Interaction survey information about interactions between HEIs and business and the wider community * Estates management record buildings, estates and environmental information about HEIs * Initial Teacher Training (ITT) record * Unistats collection * Provider Profile collection * Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey of graduate activities six months after leaving HE (2002/03 to 2016/17)

Statistical outputs

HESA published statistics and analyses based on the data it collects: * Statistical Bulletins

Official Statistics Official statistics are statistics published by Government, government agencies or other Statutory corporation, public bodies such as International organization, international organizations as a Public good (economics), public good. They provide q ...

outputs summarising each data stream * Annual open data releases detailed statistical tables * Performance Indicators comparative data on the performance of HEIs in

widening participation Widening participation (WP) in higher education can be a component of government education policy. It consists of an attempt to increase the number of young people entering higher education, and improve equality of opportunity for students from al ...

, student retention, learning and teaching outcomes, research output and employment of graduates

processes HESA data to provide data extracts for research and publication by external users such as

league tables of British universities Three national rankings of universities in the United Kingdom are published annually by the ''Complete University Guide'' and ''The Guardian'', as well as a collaborative list by ''The Times'' and ''The Sunday Times''. Rankings have also been pro ...

References

External links

* {{Authority control Department for Business, Innovation and Skills Higher education data Higher education organisations based in the United Kingdom Jisc Organizations established in 1993 Organisations based in Cheltenham Private companies limited by guarantee of the United Kingdom Statistical organisations in the United Kingdom 1993 establishments in the United Kingdom

Data collections

Statistical outputs

See also

References

External links