Dear students,
As you will probably know, we are accountable to a number of external bodies within the higher education sector, and particularly so now that we have successfully gained registration with the Office for Students (http://www.queens.ac.uk/news/successful-registration-with-the-office-for-students). A key element to this accountability is the provision of data to these bodies, and participation in the accompanying surveys, notably the HESA student record (soon to become Data Futures), the National Student Survey (NSS) and the Graduate Outcomes process (run after students have left their place of study).
For most institutions, much of this initial HESA info is gathered and passed on to them by UCAS, and the university/college merely receives it directly as part of the application process. We, however, do not use UCAS for applications, and thus have to come to your good selves to procure the relevant information, and are grateful for the way in which you have responded to requests to complete HESA surveys, either online or in person.
This data gathering process has expanded in recent years, and will continue to do so as the Data Futures information increases. We will need to take more account than previously, for example, of level 3 qualifications (e.g. A Levels), and Data Futures simply just asks more questions of students. We can’t change or define the questions, unfortunately, but still need to provide the information, and are obliged to keep asking until you reply (!).
We have used several approaches to gather the information and thanks very much for your patience and support in completing them. Such processes have included:
- Completion of a Moodle HESA Survey for new students in 2018-19.
- Completion of a Moodle HESA Additional Survey for continuing students in 2018-19. This is different from any HESA Survey you will have completed in previous academic years.
- A paper form asking for Level 3 / A-Level equivalent qualifications (used if Level 3 qualifications are not available from other documentation).
- A paper form asking some additional questions about background and reasons for studying at Queen’s.
As with all processes, there will be people who have slipped through the net (for whatever reason) and/or whose responses we might need to confirm/check (e.g. we can’t read the writing!). To this end, we will be getting in touch with students on a 1-to-1 basis over the next few weeks to verify/gather up any missing data. One of our Registry members of staff - Dr Rosie Miles – will be leading on this, so please do respond if/when she is in contact (it will be by either email or phone). We are obliged to provide information on all students connected with Queen’s, in whatever guise or role; therefore, whilst you may feel that you have ‘left’ Queen’s, please be assured that if we do get in touch, it is only because we still have reporting obligation in respect of you, and thus we would be grateful for your co-operation accordingly.
A number of you will also have been contacted by IPOS MORI re: completion of the National Student Survey (we will have been in contact with you about that previously). There are response rates which we need to meet for this, so if you haven’t yet done so, please could you complete it – it should only take a few minutes. We don’t get to know who has/hasn’t completed the survey, hence the general message.
Again, thanks for your co-operation and support in these processes
With best wishes
Dave