The designated data body

The DDB is responsible for collecting individualised and aggregate data about:

• students and their courses
• staff and employment characteristics
• provider‑level structures and profiles
• graduate outcomes
• transnational and offshore provision.

For providers registered with the OfS these returns are mandatory under condition of registration F4, which requires providers to submit data in the form, manner and timescales specified by the DDB.

The DDB publishes detailed data specifications, coding manuals and submission timetables, and provides the technical systems through which data is returned.

The DDB designs, maintains and operates systems and platforms used to submit and sign off the statutory data returns it collects (for example, the HESA Data Platform for the Student record).

As part of this, the DDB:

• applies automated and manual quality assurance checks
• works with providers to resolve data quality issues
• monitors provider readiness and progress during collections
• manages amendments and resubmissions in line with OfS requirements.

While the DDB actively supports providers to achieve timely, high quality returns, responsibility for the accuracy and completeness of data rests with providers themselves.

Once collected and assured, the DDB provides datasets and data products to statutory customers, including:

• the Office for Students
• UK Research and Innovation
• the Department for Education.

These data supplies underpin a wide range of regulatory, funding, policy, accountability and public interest uses, such as monitoring registration conditions, informing funding decisions, supporting research assessment exercises, and enabling longitudinal analysis.

The DDB does not control how these organisations interpret or act on the data once it has been supplied.

The DDB publishes a large body of official and accredited official statistics, as well as open datasets, about higher education providers and the sector as a whole.

In doing so, the DDB must:

• comply with the Code of Practice for Statistics
• ensure transparency around methods, definitions and limitations
• consider what information is helpful to students, providers, employers and the public
• consult appropriately on changes to publications.

Where we have specified that certain information should be published by the DDB, publication decisions – particularly where provider-level data is involved – are made in accordance with OfS requirements and reserved decision making, rather than at the DDB’s discretion alone.

The DDB operates certain statutory surveys, most notably the Graduate Outcomes survey, which gathers information directly from graduates around 15 months after course completion.

This includes:

• collecting and managing graduate contact details supplied by providers
• commissioning and overseeing survey delivery
• assuring and publishing the resulting data and statistics.

These surveys form part of the DDB’s statutory information gathering duties under HERA.

The DDB is permitted to charge fees to providers to recover no more than the full cost of delivering its statutory DDB activities.

As part of this obligation, the DDB must:

• clearly distinguish DDB fees from any charges for non‑DDB services
• publish information explaining how fees are calculated
• ensure that non‑DDB activities are not subsidised by DDB income.

The DDB does not decide what data is required for regulation or funding, why the data is collected, or how the data is used for regulatory or funding purposes.

These decisions are made by the OfS (and other statutory customers) as part of their statutory responsibilities. While the DDB advises on feasibility, burden and data quality, it acts on formal requirements set by others.

Where concerns arise about data quality, timeliness or non‑submission, the DDB shares this information with the OfS, which determines any regulatory response.

This separation helps maintain clear accountability and avoids confusion between data provision and regulatory judgement.

Jisc offers a wide range of services beyond its role as the DDB. However:

• participation in non‑DDB services is always optional
• providers’ engagement with non‑DDB services does not affect their obligations or treatment as part of DDB activity
• DDB data may not be exploited for non‑DDB purposes in a way that undermines DDB delivery or provider trust.

Clear separation between DDB and non‑DDB activities is a core expectation.

Some data submitted by providers, such as certain funding returns or surveys, is collected directly by the OfS or other government bodies, not by the DDB. The DDB may later receive or publish outputs derived from these data, but it is not always the original data collector.