Data collection

The data collected in the Higher Education Students Early Statistics 2025-26 (HESES25) survey will have multiplication factors applied to it in order to determine funding full-time equivalent (FTE) values for 2025-26. 

Up to and including the HESES22 return, the data collected included completion and FTE assessments. These FTEs were used to determine funding for the following academic year.

Changes to the HESES23 return meant that FTEs were not collected. Since then, we have instead used multiplication factors to determine the fundable FTEs for providers, used to calculate funding allocations. FTEs derived from HESES25 will inform our calculation of funding for the 2026-27 academic year.

For each provider, we will take the count of years of engagement recorded in HESES25 and apply their multiplication factors to determine FTE values. Discrete multiplication factors are applied to different combinations of mode, price group, level of study and (for table 4 of the HESES25 return only) healthcare profession. 

The multiplication factors used were agreed with providers in April 2025 as representative of their provision for the 2024-25 academic year. They have been adjusted to align with the new format of the HESES25 return. 

Where a provider has recorded new provision in HESES25, we will apply a multiplication factor based on their historical data. Where sufficient data is unavailable, we will use sector average data to inform the multiplication factor. 

Making representations

On 16 October 2025 we announced the representations process for multiplication factors being applied to HESES25 data. See the full guidance below. 

As noted above, our initial multiplication factors for deriving funding FTEs from HESES25 will be those agreed with providers in April 2025 as representative of the 2024-25 provision. However, we are aware that provision at higher education providers can change from year-to-year.

Significant changes to provision may mean the multiplication factors agreed in April are no longer appropriate for determining FTE values for a provider. To account for these changes, providers are able to submit representations, requesting that the multiplication factors be updated to better reflect their provision in 2025-26.

Providers should review the proposed multiplication factors - these can be found in Section C of Tables 3 and 4 in their HESES25 workbook (available on the new OfS portal). If the proposed multiplication factors are considered to be an appropriate representation of a provider’s provision for the 2025-26 academic year, then no action is required.

If a provider believes that one or more of the multiplication factors may no longer be appropriate then representations can be submitted to the OfS for consideration.

Important dates in the representations process

Archive for previous years