Review of students destinations and outcomes data

The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) commissioned the Warwick Institute for Employment Research (IER) at the University of Warwick to undertak a review of students' and graduates' destinations and outcomes data. HESA is leading a review to find out what future requirements there will be for data on the destinations and outcomes for students leaving Higher Education (HE). To help inform the Review, HESA wanted to find out particular information from students and graduates, so a number of focus groups were undertaken by IER.

What was the study about?

HESA commissioned this research to find out from students and graduates:

• What information do they want when considering and reflecting upon their future careers and next steps?
• What information do they want in terms of the value of HE?
• How did students and graduates identify or achieve their goals – and what role did HE play?
• Would graduates, with the benefit of hindsight, make different choices about their HE studies?
• What would graduates have wanted to know when studying or making study decisions in order to make these different choices?
• Thinking of the long-term future, what effects do students and graduates think their HE study might have, compared to others who didn’t undertake HE study?

Outputs

Lyonette, C., Atfield, G. and Barnes, S-A. (2016). Richer Information on Student Views - Supporting the HESA Review of Destinations and Outcomes Data. Cheltenham: HESA.

Project team

Clare Lyonette

Gaby Atfield

Sally-Anne Barnes

Project sponsor

HESA

Project duration

May-July 2016