Higher Education Statistics Agency
Encyclopedia
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is the official agency for the collection, analysis and dissemination of quantitative information about higher education
in the United Kingdom
.
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 1992 Higher and Further Education Acts
, which established an integrated higher education system throughout the United Kingdom.
HESA is a company limited by guarantee
whose members are Universities UK
and GuildHE
.
HESA also provides data extracts for research and publication by external users such as League tables of British universities
.
Higher education
Higher, post-secondary, tertiary, or third level education refers to the stage of learning that occurs at universities, academies, colleges, seminaries, and institutes of technology...
in the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
.
HESA was set up by agreement between the relevant government departments, the higher education funding councils
Higher Education Funding Council for England
The Higher Education Funding Council for England is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in the United Kingdom, which has been responsible for the distribution of funding to Universities and Colleges of Higher and Further Education in England since...
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 1992 Higher and Further Education Acts
Further and Higher Education Act 1992
The Further and Higher Education Acts 1992 made changes in the funding and administration of further education and higher education within the United Kingdom. The most visible result was to allow thirty-five polytechnics to become universities. In addition the Act created bodies to fund higher...
, which established an integrated higher education system throughout the United Kingdom.
HESA is a company limited by guarantee
Company limited by guarantee
In British and Irish company law, a private company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A guarantee company does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as...
whose members are Universities UK
Universities UK
Universities UK began life as the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom in the nineteenth century when there were informal meetings involving Vice-Chancellors of a number of universities and Principals of university colleges...
and GuildHE
GuildHE
GuildHE, formerly the Standing Conference of Principals , is a British membership organisation representing the heads of higher education institutions - from some of the most recently designated universities and university colleges, specialist colleges and other bodies providing higher education...
.
Data Collections
HESA collects 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 are:- Student data collection - information about students, courses and qualifications at HEIs
- Staff data collection - information about staff employed by HEIs
- Finance record - income and expenditure of HEIs
- Destinations of Leavers from Higher EducationDestination of Leavers from Higher EducationThe Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education survey or DLHE is a statistical survey conducted by the United Kingdom's Higher Education Statistics Agency...
- survey of graduate activities six months after leaving HE - 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 statistics - buildings, estates and environmental information about HEIs
Statistical Outputs
HESA publishes statistics and analyses based on the data it collects:- Statistical First Releases - Official StatisticsOffice for National StatisticsThe Office for National Statistics is the executive office of the UK Statistics Authority, a non-ministerial department which reports directly to the Parliament of the United Kingdom.- Overview :...
outputs summarising each data stream - Annual publications - detailed statistical tables provided as downloadable products
- Performance Indicators - comparative data on the performance of HEIs in Widening participationWidening participationThe widening participation in higher education is a major component of government education policy in the United Kingdom and Europe. It consists of an attempt to increase not only the numbers of young people entering higher education, but also the proportion from so-called "under-represented...
, student retention, learning and teaching outcomes, research output and employment of graduates - iPhone app and mobile web service - headline student, staff, finance and destinations statistics for each HEI
HESA also provides data extracts for research and publication by external users such as League tables of British universities
League tables of British universities
Rankings of universities in the United Kingdom are published annually by The Guardian, The Independent, The Sunday Times and The Times...
.
See also
- Universities in the United Kingdom
- Higher Education Funding Council for EnglandHigher Education Funding Council for EnglandThe Higher Education Funding Council for England is a non-departmental public body of the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills in the United Kingdom, which has been responsible for the distribution of funding to Universities and Colleges of Higher and Further Education in England since...
- Higher Education Funding Council for WalesHigher Education Funding Council for WalesThe Higher Education Funding Council for Wales is an Assembly Government Sponsored Body, and anintermediary body between the Welsh Assembly Government and the higher education sector in Wales.- HEFCW business :...
- Scottish Funding CouncilScottish Funding CouncilThe Scottish Further and Higher Education Funding Council, more commonly known as the Scottish Funding Council , is the body in Scotland that distributes funding from the Scottish Government to the country's colleges and universities...
- Department for Employment and LearningDepartment for Employment and LearningThe Department for Employment and Learning , formerly the Department of Higher and Further Education, Training and Employment , is a devolved Northern Ireland government department in the Northern Ireland Executive...
- Universities UKUniversities UKUniversities UK began life as the Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Principals of the Universities of the United Kingdom in the nineteenth century when there were informal meetings involving Vice-Chancellors of a number of universities and Principals of university colleges...
- GuildHEGuildHEGuildHE, formerly the Standing Conference of Principals , is a British membership organisation representing the heads of higher education institutions - from some of the most recently designated universities and university colleges, specialist colleges and other bodies providing higher education...
- UCASUCASThe Universities and Colleges Admissions Service is the British admission service for students applying to university and college. UCAS is primarily funded by students who pay a fee when they apply and a capitation fee from universities for each student they accept..-Location:UCAS is based near...
- JISCJoint Information Systems CommitteeJISC is a United Kingdom non-departmental public body whose role is to support post-16 and higher education and research by providing leadership in the use of ICT in learning, teaching, research and administration...
- QAAQuality Assurance Agency for Higher EducationEstablished in 1997, the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education works to ensure that higher education qualifications in the United Kingdom are of a sound standard. It protects the public interest by checking how universities and colleges maintain their academic standards and quality...
- Department for Business, Innovation and SkillsDepartment for Business, Innovation and SkillsThe Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government created on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform .-Ministers:The BIS...