Data collection

The data collected in the Higher Education Students Early Statistics 2024-25 (HESES24) survey will have multiplication factors applied to it in order to determine funding full-time equivalent (FTE) values for 2024-25. 

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.

The removal of Columns 3, 4 and 4a meant that FTEs were not collected from the HESES23 return and a different method was required to determine the fundable FTEs for providers to calculate funding allocations with a method consistent with previous years.

To determine FTEs from HESES24 for funding purposes, we will take the count of years of engagement recorded in HESES24 by each provider and apply multiplication factors agreed as representative of the 2023-24 academic year following the representation process in May 2024. Where providers did not have a particular multiplication factor agreed in May 2024, this will be determined as set out in Appendix 6: How the multiplication factors have been calculated (available on the HESES data collection page).

Making representations

On 16 September 2024 we announced the representations process for multiplication factors being applied to HESES24 data.  We will use multiplication factors agreed as representative of the 2023-24 academic year following the representation process in May 2024 to determine FTEs from data submitted in HESES24.

We are aware that provision at higher education providers can change from year-to-year. Significant changes to provision in 2024-25 may mean the multiplication factors agreed in May 2024 may no longer be appropriate for determining the total FTE at a provider. To account for year-to-year changes, providers are able to submit representations about the OfS calculated multiplication factors.

Providers should review the proposed multiplication factors - these can be accessed in the FTE tables in their HESES24 on the OfS portal (once released in late October). If the proposed multiplication factors are considered to be an appropriate representation of a provider’s provision for the 2024-25 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