Consultation on public information about HE

With Universities UK and GuildHE we set out proposals to improve the accessibility and usefulness of information published by all higher and further education institutions in England that are subject to review by the Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA).

About the consultation

This consultation on public information about higher education (HE) ran from November 2010 to March 2011. It was developed with advice and guidance from the Higher Education Public Information Steering Group, the Quality in Higher Education Group, and the QAA.

The National Union of Students, Association of Colleges and representatives of employer-related organisations (such as the Confederation of British Industry and the UK Commission for Employment and Skills) also contributed to discussions.

Read the consultation

Proposals

Higher education institutions (HEIs) and further education colleges (FECs) are required to publish certain details about their HE provision. The consultation focused on three key themes relating to this:

Key Information Set (KIS)
These would be comparable sets of standardised information for each undergraduate course. They would be made available via institution's web-sites. They would provide prospective students with information about the HE experience that we know they find useful, in places we know they look for it. The concept of the KIS and its content arose from recommendations in an independent report on understanding the information needs of users of public information about HE.
A wider information set
The consultation proposed making it easier to access the existing, wider set of information that HE providers must publish about their HE provision. This is information that the QAA examines as part of the quality assurance process and which is of interest to more diverse audiences. The consultation proposed to publish this as part of the package of information on institutional web-sites.
Enhancements to the National Student Survey
The consultation also proposed that student unions, in consultation with their institutions, should be invited to recommend one of the 13 optional banks of questions in the survey. This was recommended in an independent report on enhancing and developing the NSS.

Outcomes, analysis and next steps

The consultation received 215 responses, from a wide range of sources. Two consultation events were hosted, both well attended. We have now published an analysis of consultation responses.

The Boards of HEFCE and UUK, and the GuildHE Executive considered the proposals that resulted from the consultation. We have now also published details of these proposals and next steps. We will publish technical guidance which relates specifically to the development of Key Information Sets in September 2010.