The Data Assurance Team aims to help providers to submit data that is fit for purpose, by relevant annual deadlines.
After the provider initially submits data to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) or the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA), and before it is formally signed off, we carry out data verification checks. Ultimately, responsibility for ensuring the data is fit for purpose lies with the provider.
HESA data verification
We aim to assist providers in submitting data to HESA that is fit-for-purpose by the HESA sign-off deadline in November.
All queries are raised through the HESA Issue Management System. The responses to queries raised by HESA in which we are interested are highlighted by HESA in their queries. We review the responses and follow them up if necessary. We need to be satisfied with the response to the query before it is closed.
There are some apparent anomalies in data that HESA does not specifically query, but due to the potential impact on the use of the data by the OfS we ask for explanations. In such cases, we raise queries through the Issue Management system, specifically identifying them as OfS queries. We review the responses and follow them up if necessary. We need to be satisfied with the response to the query before it is closed.
2020-21 HESA student data checking tool: Sample data verification queries
2020-21 HESA student alternative data checking tool: Sample data verification queries
ILR data verification
We aim to assist colleges in providing the R14 data for submission to the Education and Skills Funding Agency (ESFA) that is fit-for-purpose, by the deadline in October each year, through the ILR data checking tool.
Once data is submitted to the ILR data checking tool, a number of queries will be generated to which we need responses, or a request for data resubmission. See the process for viewing and responding to ILR data verification queries.
It is essential that the same data is submitted to both the data checking tool for review, and to the ESFA.
2020-21 ILR data checking tool: Sample data verification queries
