Menu
Close
- Data Updates
- HESA Track: Update on timeline for future tracking cohorts
Following our meeting with Jisc, we now have a clear plan to resolve the delays to the HESA Track data and restore our usual timeline. As part of this, we are proposing to remove DLHE data from our linking, and request any members who may be impacted to contact HEAT Support by Tuesday 30th September 2025
Following the successful delivery of the delayed HEAT-HESA Track data (now available on the HEAT database), we have agreed a plan with Jisc to ‘catch up’ on the affected tracking cycles and return to our regular annual release schedule by June 2026.
This means that between September 2025 and June 2026, HEAT members will have received three HESA Track data updates:
HESA Track Cycle |
Data Release Date |
Data Entry Deadline** |
| 2022/23* | Now Available (Released 1st Sept 2025) | |
| 2023/24* | Jan/Feb 2026 (Estimated) | End of September 2025 |
| 2024/25* | June 2026 (Estimated) | End of November 2025 |
| 2025/26* | June 2027 (Estimated) | End of November 2026 |
* Includes the latest Expected HE Entry Year cohort (i.e., the cycle year) and all previously tracked cohorts back to Expected HE Entry in 2015/16.
** Data releases include only those tracking-eligible records on the system by the data entry deadline.
We would like thank Jisc for working closely with us to restore this timeline following the sector-wide Data Futures delays, which have led to additional work to retain the integrity of our longitudinal dataset.
Removal of DLHE (Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education) data
To help streamline the tracking process, we are introducing several backend improvements –most of which will not affect members or the final datasets. However, one proposed change will impact the dataset.
We are proposing to remove DLHE (Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education) data fields from future HESA Track datasets. These are the 19 fields labelled as Blocks 7 and 8 in your latest data download. These fields are no longer being updated, as they were replaced by the Graduate Outcomes Survey. We are therefore proposing to remove them from the next HESA Track data release in January/February 2026.
If you are currently using DLHE data for evaluation purposes and this change would cause issues, please contact us by Tuesday 30th September 2025 so we can discuss your needs.
We will also review whether further fields could be removed in the future, in line with data minimisation principles. However, no other changes will be made to the dataset due to be released in January/February 2026 dataset.
If you have any questions about this update, please contact us via HEAT Support.
Back