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- Data Updates
- Get ready for the Higher Education Track extract for the 2025 Cycle
To prepare for the upcoming Higher Education (HE) Track, please make sure to review any Student and Ambassador records you would like to include by Monday 30th November 2026
Your evaluation is most valuable when it is supported by accurate and complete data. Taking time now to upload, clean and review your data for the HE Track will help ensure that your organisation can maximise the rich dataset returned to you through tracking into HE, and gain a clearer understanding of the impact your work has on those you have engaged in your programmes.
All data to be included in the HE Track must be on the database by Monday 30th November 2026. This Data Update contains all the information you need to prepare your data for the 2025 cycle HE Track.
Who’s included in the 2025 HE Track Cycle?
For Student records to be included in the extract, they must meet all the following criteria:
- Their ‘Expected HE Entry Year’ is between 2015 and 2025
- They have a ‘Complete’ record and ‘Permission to Track’ = Yes
- Their record state is ‘Current’
For Ambassador records to be included in the extract, they must meet all of the following criteria:
- They have a ‘Complete’ record and ‘Permission to Track’ = Yes
- Their record state is ‘Current’ or ‘Archived’
How do I go about preparing my data?
To get your records ready for tracking, will need to ensure all relevant data is uploaded to the database and is checked for accuracy and completeness by the end of November deadline.
To see which Student records currently meet the tracking criteria for the 2025 cycle and are therefore due for extraction, please use the following link to the Students area of the database (members only).
If you would like to limit your search/export to those Students who have not already been tracked in a previous HE Track cycle, you can also apply the additional ‘Tracked into HE’ = No, filter to your search with the following search filter link (members only).
Alternatively, you may want to review Student records who are missing the required ‘Complete’ record state or ‘Permission to Track’ to ensure they are not excluded from the next HE Track cycle due to data entry errors using the following links (members only).
Get the most out the HEAT Track
Looking for updates on the Key Stage 4 Attainment Track or the Key Stage 5 Attainment Track? Find out more in the links below.
Get ready for the Key Stage 4 Attainment Track extract for the 2026 exam year- Get ready for the Key Stage 5 Attainment Track extract for the 2026 exam year
If you have any feedback or queries regarding the content of this update, please contact HEAT Support.
Frequently Asked Questions
After the deadline, the HEAT Data Team will:
- Extract eligible Student and Ambassador records from the database
- Submit records data to Jisc for matching into the HE population
- Receive students’ data indicating HE entry, continuation, degree qualification and graduate outcome data
- Prepare this data for upload onto the database
To match HEAT records with those in the HE population, Jisc use five different match types. These range from highly reliable matches based on exactly matching name, date of birth and postcode, to more flexible matches using partial postcodes or similar-sounding names. Stronger matches are prioritised, while ‘fuzzy’ matches are only used when exact matches are not available.
Accurate and complete data is key to increasing your chances of records being successfully found in HE. As a result of members improving their data quality, over the last three cycles, we have experienced a steady increase in matches using our most confident match type, which now makes up over 80% of matches.
Learn more about the five match types in the Matching Criteria User Guide (members only).
Yes, to be submitted for tracking into HE, Student records do not have to be attached to Activity records at the end of November deadline. Just make sure you attach students to any relevant activity before generating a Student HE Track Report once the latest HE Track data has been uploaded to the database – this ensures you can fully benefit from our HE Track Dashboard to support the evaluation of your activities.
Ambassador records also do not have to be linked to Work Opportunities or Activities to submitted for tracking.
They will not be included in the current HE Track cycle, but if they meet tracking criteria for the following cycle at the next deadline, they will be submitted for tracking in the next round. Records keep being tracked if they are eligible, to build up a full picture of them entering HE, their success in HE, and their future graduate outcomes.
Student and Ambassador records who have been classified as ‘Expired’ and moved into the Retention Tool will not be extracted from the database nor included in any tracking submissions.
- HE Track Webinar (members only): Catch up on our latest webinar, which showcases the full range of resources available to you to help you get the most from your students’ HE Track data.
- HE Track Online Course: Complete our interactive online course, which is designed to help all users to confidently use the HE Track Dashboard to analyse their students’ HE Track data, whether they are new to HEAT, new to evaluation or an experienced user. Guided by example impact claims, it introduces the basics of getting started with the dashboard and progresses to more advanced features for experienced members.
- Student HE Track User Guide (members only): A detailed user guide is also available, providing guidance on accessing HE Track data for your Student records, setting up and using the HE Track Dashboard for evaluation, and preparing for upcoming HE Track cycles.
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