June 2007/13 (web only)
Core funding/operations
Assurance and funding

This report is for information and guidance

---

2006-07 statistics derived from ILR data
Guide to HEFCE web facility

This document is a guide to HEFCE's web facility, which generates several types of analysis from the Learning and Skills Council's Individualised Learner Record (ILR). Use of the web facility will help further education colleges to return accurate higher education data to the Learning and Skills Council, prepare for the 2008 National Student Survey and to identify errors and forecasting discrepancies in their student data return to HEFCE.

---

To:	Heads of further education colleges directly funded by HEFCE Heads of lead institutions of HEFCE-recognised funding consortia Heads of member colleges of HEFCE-recognised funding consortia
Of interest to those responsible for:	Student data, Audit, Finance
Reference:	2007/13
Publication date:	June 2007
Enquiries to:	For enquiries on the HEIFES06 comparison, 2008 National Student Survey target lists or Lifelong Learning Network student summaries, contact: Peter McMahon tel 0117 931 7338 Rebecca Thomas tel 0117 931 7338 e-mail ilr_heifes_stats@hefce.ac.uk For enquiries on the use of ILR data to inform the 2008-09 widening participation allocations, contact: Christine Daniel tel 0117 931 7373 e-mail ilr_heifes_stats@hefce.ac.uk For enquiries on the use of ILR data to inform the Unistats summaries, contact: Ben Grassby tel 0117 931 7493 e-mail ilr_heifes_stats@hefce.ac.uk For enquiries on the use of ILR data in HEFCE publications and to inform policy, contact: Lisa Readdy tel 0117 931 7492 e-mail ilr_heifes_stats@hefce.ac.uk

---

Executive summary (read online)

---

Download entire document as a zip file

[ Zipped PDF 1.7Mb ]

---

Contents

• Executive summary
• Introduction

Annexes

• Annex A   Summary of changes since publication of HEFCE 2006/22
• Annex B   Using the HEFCE web facility
• Annex C   Comparison of HEIFES06 and the HEIFES06 re-creation
• Annex D   Derived statistics likely to inform the 2008-09 widening participation allocations
• Annex E   Information for leads and members of HEFCE-recognised funding consortia
• Annex F   Unistats summaries
• Annex G   2008 National Student Survey target list
• Annex H   HEFCE statistics used for publication and to inform policy
• Annex I    Lifelong Learning Network student summaries
• Annex J    Submitting overrides to derived fields
• Annex K   HEIFES07 non-completion toolkit
• List of abbreviations

Technical appendices

• Appendix 1    HEIFES06 re-creation algorithms
• Appendix 2    Troubleshooting the differences between HEIFES06 and the HEIFES06 re-creation
• Appendix 3    Problems of fit with the HEIFES06 re-creation algorithms
• Appendix 4    Derived statistics likely to inform the 2008-09 widening participation allocation algorithms
• Appendix 5    Unistats data algorithms
• Appendix 6    Generating Unistats outputs
• Appendix 7    2008 National Student Survey (NSS) target list algorithms
• Appendix 8    LLN summary algorithms
• Appendix 9    Algorithms for HEFCE statistics used for publication and to inform policy
• Appendix 10  HEIFES06 non-completion toolkit algorithms
• Appendix 11  Index of derived fields

---

Executive summary

Purpose

1.   This document is a guide to HEFCE's web facility, which further education colleges should use to check their Learning and Skills Council (LSC) Individualised Learner Record (ILR). It is expected that colleges will use this facility before submitting their 2006-07 ILR F04 and F05 returns to the LSC. It generates the following derived statistics:

1. Higher Education in Further Education: Students Survey 2006-07 (HEIFES06) re-creation.
2. Derived statistics that are likely to be used to inform the 2008-09 widening participation allocations.
3. Summaries of data for the Unistats web-site (the new name for the Teaching Quality Information site).
4. A target list of students to be included in the 2008 National Student Survey (NSS).
5. HEFCE statistics used for publication and to inform policy.
6. Lifelong Learning Network student summaries.
7. A non-completion toolkit for the Higher Education in Further Education: Students Survey 2007-08 (HEIFES07).

Key points

2.   The use of the web facility is strongly encouraged as it will help colleges to:

• return accurate data to the LSC
• reduce the likelihood of selection for the derived statistics exercise for 2006-07 (selected colleges are typically subject to considerable additional work and potential funding adjustments)
• identify discrepancies between forecasts in HEIFES06 and the outturn position for 2006-07 as generated from their ILR F04 return
• identify errors in HEIFES06
• prepare for the 2008 NSS
• ensure that Unistats summaries are fit for publication
• make informed estimations of non-completion rates for HEIFES07.

3.   This document (including the technical appendices which can be downloaded separately) provides:

• guidance on using the web facility
• details of the algorithms used for generating the derived statistics
• guidance on troubleshooting the differences between HEIFES06 and the HEIFES06 re-creation
• details of problems of fit with HEIFES06 re-creation algorithms
• guidance for submitting overrides to our algorithms, and information on when this is appropriate
• guidance for using the HEIFES07 non-completion toolkit.

New outputs

4.   This year's web facility will produce the following new outputs:

• Unistats summaries (see paragraph 25)
• target lists for the 2008 NSS (see paragraph 27)
• Lifelong Learning Network student summaries (see paragraph 30).

We intend to publish the Unistats summaries in 2008. This will be the only opportunity for colleges to ensure that these summaries are suitable for publication.

Action required

5.   HEFCE-funded colleges and members of HEFCE-recognised consortia are required to use the web facility to generate 2008 NSS target lists. Further details about the arrangements for the 2008 NSS will be published later this summer.

6.   We strongly encourage colleges to use the web facility as part of their data quality processes. Recent reviews have confirmed that it is an essential element of most HEFCE-funded colleges' ILR data quality processes, and that colleges that do not use the facility are more likely to be selected for the monitoring exercise described in paragraphs 7 and 8.

Relationship with 'Statistics derived from ILR data'

7.   Each year we publish 'Statistics derived from ILR data for the monitoring and allocation of funding in FECs' (see HEFCE 2007/05) in which we monitor further education colleges' HEIFES returns using ILR F04 data which we receive from the LSC. If we find, either through comparisons with ILR data or any data audit, that erroneous data have resulted in colleges receiving incorrect funding allocations (including for widening participation) then we will adjust their funding accordingly (subject to the appeals process and the availability of our funds).

8.   Any funding adjustments following the comparison of 2006-07 ILR F04 data with HEIFES06 are likely to affect the funding previously announced for 2006-07 and all subsequent years, and WP funding for 2007-08. Colleges selected to make a response to the exercise must typically undertake a substantial amount of work to reconcile their data, which may take several months to complete. While the web facility is provided to complement the monitoring exercise, it does not replace it.

9.   Colleges that are members of a HEFCE-recognised funding consortium should also use this web facility to ensure that ILR data errors do not cause their consortium to be selected for our monitoring exercises.