2007-08 statistics derived from HESA data for monitoring and allocation of funding (HEFCE 2009/22)

1. Do we have to make a response to HEFCE 2009/22?

A letter was sent to heads of institutions, HESES and RAS contacts on 4 June 2009 to inform institutions if we require a response. All institutions may respond, if they wish, to comment on any element of the exercise.

2. I cannot open the individualised file as a .csv file.

We have the file extension .ind for the individualised file. This means that Excel will not automatically detect it as a comma-separated file and will not format it correctly. To open the file correctly, launch Excel first, then, click File, Open. You will need to specify 'All Files' in the 'Files of type' box before the individualised file will appear in the file listing. Once you have selected the file, the Text Import Wizard will appear. Ensure that Delimited is selected near the top of the window, then click Next. On the next page, uncheck Tab and check Comma. Click Finish to open the file.

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3. I keep losing the leading zeros in my amendment files.

If the file was created in Excel, make sure that the column that has leading zeros is in the Text format. When saving the file, save it as a .csv file, making sure to preserve the .csv features. If the file was created in a text editor such as Notepad, save it as a .csv file. When re-opening the file in Excel, Excel will drop the leading zeros from the number. This can be prevented by opening the file in a text editor. Otherwise, follow the following steps to open the files in Excel but still keep the leading zeros and number formats:

1. Make sure the .csv file is renamed so it has a .txt extension so that Excel starts the Text Import Wizard.
2. Within Excel, open the amendment file (renamed file in step 1).
3. Make sure the Delimited choice is selected, then click on Next. Excel displays the Step 2 of 3 dialog box.
4. Make sure Comma is selected as a delimiter, then click on Next. Excel displays the Step 3 of 3 dialog box. The data in your .txt file should be displayed at the bottom of the dialog box, including any leading zeros in your fields.
5. At the bottom of the dialog box, click on the field that has leading zeros. The entire column should now be selected.
6. In the Column Data Format area, make sure the Text radio button is selected.
7. Repeat steps 8 and 9 for any other fields that have leading zeros.
8. Click on Finish. Your file is imported, with leading zeros still intact.

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4. How do I view the data for my institution?

Data files can be accessed from the HEFCE extranet at https://extranet.hedata.ac.uk. Before you are able to access the HEFCE extranet site, you will need to have registered. Instructions on how to access the HEFCE extranet are provided in Annex G of HEFCE 2009/22. You will require an 'organisation key' and a 'group key', details of which were provided in a letter sent by Ewa Wawrzynska on 27 April 2009 to heads of institutions, HESES, RAS and RAS and CFEE contacts.

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5. How do I view the data in the individualised files?

All records with a value in a specific field may be found in the following way:

1. Open an individualised file, from the list in Microsoft Excel and click File, Open. You will need to specify 'All Files' in the 'Files of type' box before the individualised file will appear in the file listing. Once you have selected the file, the Text Import Wizard will appear. Ensure that Delimited is selected near the top of the window, then click Next. On the next page, uncheck Tab and check Comma. Click Finish to open the file.
2. Select the row containing the field headings.
3. Select Filter from the Data menu and then Autofilter.
4. Click on the arrow in the column containing the data which you want to filter.
5. Either select a specific value or select Custom to apply a comparison operator other than equality.
6. To select records using multiple fields, repeat steps d and e for each field.

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6. How do I identify the students with undetermined completion status figure that is included on the coversheet of Output 1 from the HESES07 re-creation individualised file?

Select HESEXCL=0, FUNDCOMP=3 and HESTYPE=HOMEF and STUBID ≠1.

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7. When I try to use the 'Select HESA fields' or 'Select derived fields' buttons on the action plan I get a visual basic error. How can I fix this?

In Excel, go to Tools, Macro, Visual Basic Editor. Then Go to Tools, References. The first five tick boxes should be ticked. If the text 'MISSING' appears next to one of the first five tick boxes, untick the box, close Excel, then open again. You should find that all five boxes are then ticked and none say 'MISSING'.

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8. My institution is a lead of a HEFCE-recognised funding consortium and wishes to make amendments to college data. What do I need to do?

If you have been formally selected to respond to the exercise and are required to submit an APHEIR07XXXX.xls action and implementation plan, or require to make amendments to college member data and submit an APILR07XXXX.xls action plan, you need to download these from the HEFCE extranet on the '2007-08 Statistics derived from HESA data' page. Instructions on how to do this are given in paragraph 9 of Annex H of HEFCE 2009/22.

Once completed, you then need to upload them via the extranet. First, join the group '2007-08 Statistics derived from ILR data' using the relevant group key. Once you have joined the group click 'HEFCE Resources' under the Folders heading to be directed to the 'HEFCE extranet – HEFCE resources' page. Next click '2007-08 Statistics derived from ILR data’ to be directed to the 'HEFCE extranet – 2007-08 Statistics derived from ILR data’ page. Click the appropriate link to the action plan (for example the 'APHEIR07 data collection' link). Next click the Upload button, browse to the location that the action and implementation plan is saved and click Upload.

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9. In the indicative widening participation output, what is the TESSXXXX worksheet?

In August 2008 we published a consultation on changes to the teaching funding method that would lead to a new targeted allocation to support teaching enhancement and student success (TESS): 'Future support for teaching enhancement and widening participation' (HEFCE 2008/28). This targeted allocation has been introduced from 2009-10 onwards and has three elements: improving retention, institutional learning and teaching strategies and research informed teaching. Although the methodology has not changed, from 2009-10 the improving retention element has been moved out of widening participation and into the TESS allocation. Further information on the TESS allocation can be found in paragraphs 45-46 of 'Recurrent grants for 2009-10' (HEFCE 2009/08).

We have therefore created a new worksheet in the WP07XXXX.xls workbook called TESSXXXX which shows the indicative 2009-10 improving retention allocations. The other two elements of TESS (institutional learning and teaching strategies, and research-informed teaching) are not informed by HESA student data so we have not shown them in the indicative TESS allocations.

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10. Where can I find a full list of QUALTYPE and QUALGRADE pairings and the associated tariff?

In the full-time improving retention element of the TESS allocations we assign students whose highest qualifications on entry are A-Levels, Scottish Highers or something equivalent to risk groups according to the tariff points of the student. To do this we use the HESA fields QUALTYPE, QUALGRADE and QUALSBJ (please see the algorithm for ADJTAR in paragraph 53 of Appendix 7 for further information on how we do this) and a full list of QUALTYPE and QUALGRADE pairings and the associated tariff can be found below. It is this list that is used in both the 2009-10 indicative TESS output (the TESSXXXX worksheet in the WP07XXXX.xls output of the 2007-08 derived statistics) and the March announcement of 2009-10 TESS allocations. This list will be updated if improvements to the tariff calculation are identified.

Full list of QUALTYPE and QUALGRADE pairings and the associated tariff

[ MS Excel 122K ]

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