Data Used in the KIS

DATA USED IN THE KIS

Intro

Course-level Key Information Sets (KIS) are available for all undergraduate courses, including foundation degrees and integrated masters [footnote: short courses (one year equivalent (120 credits) or less), postgraduate courses, those delivered wholly overseas and closed courses do not require a KIS.]. They are intended to enhance the public information available about higher education courses by giving prospective students access to reliable and comparable information to help them make informed decisions about what and where to study.

A course KIS is attached to the online prospectus page for each course that universities and colleges offer, and provide prospective applicants with specified information in a standardised format. The KIS contains information which prospective students have identified as useful, such as student satisfaction, graduate outcomes, learning and teaching activities, assessment methods, tuition fees and student finance, accommodation, and professional accreditation.

All undergraduate courses at the University that recruit directly or via UCAS are required to have a KIS.

The QAA considers how the University manages the quality of its public information (which includes the KIS) as part of the Institutional Review process. Course teams can view their course KIS via http://unistats.direct.gov.uk/

Information covered in a course KIS

1.Graduate destinations

Source: Destination of Leavers from Higher Education

The information provided by HESA to explain how NSS and DLHE data are represented in the KIS is available at the following URL:

This explanation provides technical detail for those interested. A summary of this information is provided below.

DLHE data is represented in much the same way as the NSS data. One main difference is the publication thresholds. Only DLHE data for full time students will be included, unless the course is only offered part time in which case data for part time students will be included. The publication thresholds for the DLHE differ in that the number of students covered by the indicator must be at least 23 (a 50% threshold is not applied). However, for salary information, at least 50% of the students who are employed full-time i.e. the population of the statistic, must have given a salary. Thus, for salary data to be published at least 23 students who are employed full-time must have given a salary and these must represent at least 50% of the students employed full-time.

The aggregation to meet publication thresholds is applied to the NSS and DLHE separately. Therefore it is possible that NSS data and DLHE data will be displayed at different points in the hierarchy depending on the numbers responding to each survey.

For published NSS and DLHE data for each KIS course on UNISTATs, the following information has been provided in accompanying tables:

This information allows us to be very clear how the NSS and DLHE scores have been calculated for each KIS course.

2.Professional accreditation

Source: Institutional returns to HEFCE based on information held at faculty and institutional level

Where a course is accredited by a professional, statutory or regulatory body (PSRB), details are included in the KIS. This includes a statement on the nature of accreditation. The list of PSRBs which can be included in the KIS is prescribed and all PSRBs on the list meet HEFCE criteria for inclusion in the KIS as accrediting bodies. The list is updated annually and where a course has accreditation from a PSRB not included in the list, the University can apply to have it added for the following year.

3.Student satisfaction

Source: National Student Survey

The information provided by HESA to explain how NSS and DLHE data are represented in the KIS is available at the following URL:

This explanation provides technical detail for those interested. A summary of this information is provided below.

The NSS results are subject to publication thresholds to ensure the data protection of respondents. Results are provided to the institution at department level only where 10 or more students have responded. (Department codes are assigned to University of Brighton courses by registry solely for the purpose of the NSS, in most cases, but not exclusively matching our course codes) ‘Department’ or ‘course’ level results are not publicly available, and are not intended for use in marketing materials. NSS department/course level results are for internal use only.

If a course does not receive 10 or more respondents, the responses are aggregated into JACS Subject groups. Results at JACS subject levels are subject to a publication threshold of at least 50% of the eligible sample and at least 23 respondents. Responses are published at JACS level 1, 2 or 3 depending on where the threshold is met. All JACS Subject level NSS results are publicly available and are used on UNISTATs.

An NSS result is published on UNISTATs for all KIS courses. The NSS score viewed on UNISTATs may differ from what is expected for several reasons outlined below.

Several courses with different course codes may be linked together to form a KIS course. This could be courses which have several intakes or routes but the same qualification aim, or where a course ID has been changed or updated. The KIS course is intended to reflect the course advertised on UCAS or on the University’s course finder pages, so may differ to the department code specified for the purposes of the NSS. NSS data will be included in the KIS course by aggregating the students registered on each of the component courses.

In populating the KIS, the NSS data for full time and part time students is combined.

Where NSS data for a particular course fails to meet the publication thresholds then data is aggregated in the following order until data that meets the thresholds are achieved:

• Course level most recent two years
• JACS subject level 3 most recent year
• JACS subject level 3 most recent two years
• JACS subject level 2 most recent year
• JACS subject level 2 most recent two years
• JACS subject level 1 most recent year
• JACS subject level 1 most recent two years

For multiple subject courses that meet the threshold to have a separate KIS the aggregation approach outlined above will be applied to each subject separately. Thus, a multiple subject course KIS may include up to three sets of NSS and/or DLHE data. Where data are aggregated by subject and two or more of the subjects included in the course map to the same subject at the next level in the JACS hierarchy a single figure will be given. For example, a Physics and Chemistry course does not have sufficient NSS data to be published neither do the JACS level 3 subjects of Chemistry or Physics and Astronomy, in which case a single set of data for the JACS level 2 subject Physical sciences would be produced.

For published NSS and DLHE data for each KIS course on UNISTATs, the following information has been provided in accompanying tables:

This information allows us to be very clear how the NSS and DLHE scores have been calculated for each KIS course.

4.Accommodation

Source: Institutional returns to HEFCE based on information held at institutional level

Accommodation costs and numbers are calculated by the University’s Accommodation Office. They reflect the upper quartile cost of institution owned/ sponsored beds from the previous academic year rounded to the nearest £100. Figures include the full costs of an academic year and all compulsory charges. Where rooms are available for differing periods (e.g. full-time or term-time only), then the lower cost is given to the extent that rooms are available on that basis. So if half the rooms are only available for term-time and the remainder are let for 52 weeks, then the calculation of the quartile would include 50% at the lower term-time cost and 50% at the full-year cost.

Institution owned/ sponsored accommodation includes bed spaces available to students registered at the University irrespective of management, operating and marketing arrangements. Existing housing supply available to students on a shared house basis (typically residential properties owned and managed by private landlords and agents) is included in the calculation and is based on information drawn from local letting agents and their accommodation offices. Only those places available to undergraduates are included in accommodation costs and numbers.

For KIS 2013, the costs reflected the cost of provision of accommodation at all University sites (Brighton, Eastbourne and Hastings) as well as franchised colleges, and were read as a representation of the cost of accommodation for students across the University rather than an indication of the cost at each individual site or campus.

From KIS 2014, the costs reflect the cost of provision of accommodation at the University site at which the course is taught.

5.Tuition fees and student finance

Source: Institutional returns to HEFCE based on information held at institutional level

The University has four categories of tuition fee:

i) Standard fees for undergraduate courses

ii) NHS-funded courses which attract no fee

iii) Partner college courses for which a lower fee may be charged

iv) Part-time courses where the fee is calculated as an average for the full-time year equivalent

In the majority of cases, the standard fee for full-time undergraduate courses will appear.

6.LTA: Learning and teaching activities

Source: Institutional returns to HEFCE based on information held at course level

Information about learning and teaching activities is presented by course stage. It reflects an aggregate of the typical module diet of students at each stage based on the most popular module choices made by students registered in the previous academic year. The percentage values for each category are weighted by the notional teaching hours associated with the credit value for each module in the typical module diet at a particular course stage.

For example, the 2014 KIS draws course stage percentage values for learning and teaching activities from modules which students took in the academic year 2012-13.

Where a typical module diet cannot be established, the KIS will reflect estimated values. Estimated values for learning and teaching activities would appear in the course KIS for:

i) new courses where there is no previous typical module diet from which to draw information (for instance, where a new course comprises new modules);

ii) courses which have changed significantly (following periodic review for instance) and for which the existing module diet is no longer representative of the course content.

Estimated values are calculated using the anticipated module diet on the new/ revised course and reflect realistic planning assumptions.

The KIS reflects three types of learning activity:

i) Scheduled activities which refer to any activity that students are required to attend at a fixed point and where students have access to an available member of staff. This includes lectures, tutorials, seminars, online discussion seminars, field trips, and practical classes and workshops.

ii) Guided independent study refers to activities that students undertake independently but with appropriate support from the University. This may include online or group work, wider reading or practice, completion of summative assessment tasks, and revision.

iii) Placement, work-based learning or study abroad.

7.LTA: Assessment methods

Source: Institutional returns to HEFCE based on information held at course level

Information about assessment methods reflects the proportion of summative assessment by assessment method at each course stage. The percentage values for each category are calculated as the aggregate of the typical module diet of students at each stage based on the most popular module choices made by registered students in the previous academic year. The algorithm used to calculate the aggregate weights modules by credit value at each course stage.

For example, the 2014 KIS draws course stage percentage values for assessment methods from modules which students took in the academic year 2012-13.

Where a typical module diet cannot be established, the KIS will reflect estimated values. Estimated values for assessment methods would appear in the course KIS for:

i) new courses where there is no previous typical module diet from which to draw information (for instance, where a new course comprises new modules);

ii) courses which have changed significantly (following periodic review for instance) and for which the existing module diet is no longer representative of the course content.

Estimated values are calculated using the anticipated module diet on the new/ revised course and reflect realistic planning assumptions.

The KIS reflects three types of assessment method:

i) Written covers written exams (usually taken at the end of a period of learning and under timed conditions).

ii) Coursework covers summative assessment tasks such as essays, reports, dissertations, portfolios and project putputs.

iii) Practical includes oral assessment and presentations, and practical skills assessments.

8.Entry information, class of degree and continuation

Source: Institutional returns to HESA based on information held at institutional level

Information on the entry qualifications, UCAS tariff score, class of degree of graduates and continuation/ retention are drawn from the annual HESA Student Return. As with the NSS and DLHE, HESA have established publication thresholds for the display of course level information. Where there are insufficient data to present the information at course level, the data are aggregated at subject level.

Academic Standards and Partnership/ TG

Strategic Planning Office/ PJ

Jun 2013

Page 1 of 6