The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is the official agency for the collection, analysis and dissemination of quantitative information about higher education in the UK. It was set up, by agreement between the relevant government departments, the higher education funding councils and the universities and colleges, in 1993, following the White Paper Higher Education, a new framework, which called for more coherence in HE statistics, and the 1992 Further and Higher Education Acts, which established an integrated higher education system throughout the United Kingdom.
In line with the statutory framework within which HESA operates the mission of HESA is:
To provide a system of data collection, analysis, and dissemination in relation to higher education in the whole of the United Kingdom that:
On 4 October 2022 HESA merged with Jisc. HESA is now part of Jisc, a not-for-profit company limited by guarantee, registered in England (company number: 05747339; charity number: 1149740). This means that Jisc is now the data controller for all data sent to HESA.
The University is required by law to send some of your personal data annually to HESA/Jisc. HESA/Jisc holds coded information on students and staff in Universities and Higher Education (HE) Colleges, known as Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). HESA/Jisc uses the records for statistical analysis, statistical data for research and commercial uses under strict conditions (see Section 4 – Further Information for Students and Section 5 - Further Information for Staff below). Individuals are allowed to withdraw their record from HESA/Jisc analyses.
Further information on this and on the categories of information held by HESA/Jisc (for both Student and Staff) is available via the HESA/Jisc website.
The categories of special category data (which are subject to stricter conditions of processing) collected by HESA/Jisc are ethnicity and disability. Sensitive data is collected for participation monitoring required by government. The University is obliged to ask staff and students for this information, however staff and students may refuse to give it.
The first data protection principle established by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the Data Protection Act 2018 (“the Act”) requires information to be provided, or made readily available to data subjects so that they are not deceived or misled as to the purposes for which their data is to be processed. The Scope of what is done with your personal information by HESA/Jisc after it has been submitted by the University is set out in the following Collection Notices:
The Collection Notices also contains the contact details for HESA/Jisc for access requests to your information held by HESA/Jisc.
From 4 October 2022, any personal data processed by HESA as controller has now transferred to Jisc and Jisc is now the controller of this personal data. For more information please see the relevant collection notices.
Your record will be added to a database that will be passed to the central government departments and agencies and devolved administrations that need the data to carry out their functions under the statutory framework governing the UK Higher Education sector. The data will also be used in an anonymised form for statistical analysis by HESA/Jisc and the above bodies, the result of which will be published and released to other approved non-statutory users, including academic researchers and commercial bodies.
Your personal information is sent to HESA/Jisc annually, in a coded and anonymised form. Your record is added to a database that is passed to central government departments and agencies and devolved administrations that need the data to carry out their functions under the statutory framework governing the UK Higher Education sector. It is also used for statistical analysis by HESA/Jisc and the above bodies, the result of which will be published and released to other approved non-statutory users, including academic researchers and unions.
