HESA opened a consultation in March 2026 to seek views from providers on the proposed alternative to collecting status data for in-year data collections.
This consultation is the fourth in a series of consultations with the sector to support the transition from an annual retrospective student data collection to a cumulative in-year student data collection model. These consultations are all working towards an announcement of the requirements for the 2028/29 Student in-year data specification by 31 July 2026.
This consultation ran from 27 March 2026 to 27 April 2026.
Our response
IHE supports the move of status reporting from StudentCourseSession to Engagement, and welcomes the principle of ‘active by default’ as a pragmatic point‑in‑time reporting approach. Given that there can be delays between students disengaging and formal breaks in study being approved, we stress the need for clear and practical guidance from HESA on how EngagementStatus data will be used in‑year, including expectations around backdating and revisions of dormancy reporting. Clear articulation of these principles will be essential to avoid misunderstanding or inappropriate use of the data, particularly by external users.
We also highlight the anticipated burden of these proposals at the point of implementation, with supplier readiness and resourcing posing a key risk to successful delivery, particularly for small and independent providers who rely heavily on third‑party systems or manual processes for data returns. We call for early, stable technical specifications, realistic lead‑in time, and opportunities for testing to mitigate this risk.
Read our full response using the download link below.