Higher Education Achievement Report
We and the other UK funding bodies are providing funding for the development of the Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR). The HEAR will provide detailed information about a student's learning and achievement to supplement the traditional degree classification.
The report will provide a broader range of information than the existing academic transcript and will include the European Diploma Supplement. It will be issued to graduates across the sector from 2012-13, although some institutions - particularly those that have been involved in trials - will be issuing it before then.
About the HEAR
The HEAR was recommended by the Measuring and Recording Student Achievement Steering Group ('Burgess Group'), chaired by Professor Bob Burgess, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Leicester. In their report, 'Beyond the honours degree classification' (Adobe PDF) the group concluded that the current classification system was in urgent need of modernisation, and that both students and employers deserved a more detailed record of achievement.
The group recommended that in the short to medium term, the HEAR should contain the existing honours degree classification received by the student. But they anticipated that alternatives to the present system may develop in the future.
Development
The Centre for Recording Achievement, the Higher Education Academy (the Academy), and the Joint Information Systems Committee are developing the HEAR. This is being overseen by the Burgess Implementation Steering Group, which includes representatives of the HE sector, students and employers.
A pilot group of 18 institutions, using data from students who graduated in 2008 in four subject areas, trialled the report in 2008-09. A second trial, involving more institutions and using data from current students took place in 2009-10. In total 30 institutions have been involved in the trials.
The Academy held a national conference in November 2010 to report on progress on the development of the HEAR to support higher education institutions in developing strategies and practices for implementation.
The Burgess Implementation Steering Group have invited institutions interested in developing the HEAR to register for a HEAR 'starter pack' which includes guidance to institutions. Information on this is available from Universities UK.
Further information
- 'Measuring and recording student achievement' (the first report of the Burgess Group)
- Professor Bob Burgess's submission to the Innovation, Universities, Science and Skills Committee ( January 2009)
- Article by Professor Bob Burgess (November 2009)
For more information about the HEAR, contact Sheila Wolfenden tel 0117 931 7301 e-mail s.wolfenden@hefce.ac.uk.
Last updated 6 September 2011