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- Technical Updates
- Winter 2025 Update
Information for HEAT members
This page lists the items due for release as part of the Winter 2025 Technical Update. This update will be released to the DEMO and LIVE databases on the following dates:
- The DEMO release will be deployed on Tuesday 11th November at 11 AM for membership testing
- The LIVE release will be deployed on Tuesday 9th December 2025 at 11 AM
If you have reported a bug to HEAT Support and it has been addressed within this update, you will be notified via your Helpdesk ticket.
Possible LIVE system disruptions during release
We are releasing this update to the LIVE database midweek on the morning of Tuesday 9th December and there may be possible disruptions to the system for up to 1-2 hours during and after deployment. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
Please Note: The following list of items are subject to change
Key Items
Introducing the new Higher Education Evaluation Library (HEEL)
Why are we making this change?
The Winter 2025 Update focuses primarily on the Higher Education Evaluation Library (HEEL) Submission Form, an exciting joint venture between HEAT and TASO, designed to benefit the wider sector.
Currently, significant time is spent across the sector developing theories of change, establishing sound rationales and assumptions, and designing suitable methods of data collection. It therefore makes sense to share this knowledge through a dedicated evaluation library.
HEAT has been working in collaboration with TASO to create this resource, and the first phase of this project introduces the HEEL Submission Form, hosted within the HEAT system.
See our website for more information regarding the HEEL.
Where are we making this change?
This is a new part of the HEAT database and will be available from the main menu.
There will be no impact on data, import templates, exports, reports or the API.
Roles and Permissions
Access to the HEEL will be available to users with the following standard roles: Coordinator/Coordinator Lite, Lead/Lead Lite. These roles will automatically have permission to view and interact with HEEL submissions.
For organisations using Custom Roles, the following new permissions can be assigned as required:
- View HEEL Submissions
- Edit HEEL Submissions
- Delete HEEL Submissions
- Publish HEEL Submissions
These new permissions allow Institutions to manage access to HEEL submissions and ensure appropriate control over submission creation, editing, and publishing.
New Institution Fields: Office for Students Provider Typology
Why are we making this change?
This change supports the HEEL, ensuring that key provider information is automatically available for inclusion within the HEEL submission form. By introducing five new Office for Students (OfS) Provider fields, the update enhances contextual information about each institution, helping members understand institutional relationships and collaborations more clearly. The data will be drawn directly from the OfS dataset, ensuring accuracy and consistency across institutions.
Where are we making this change?
These fields will be implemented on the Institution record, About tab. They will be made available through the Institution Export, allowing members to view and download this new provider information across multiple institutions simultaneously.
The following new fields are being added:
- Provider Type
- Specialist Status
- HEP Size
- Financial Group
Is this a breaking change that affects the API?
This is not a breaking change, but it does add new fields to the Institution endpoint within the API. API users may need to review and, if necessary, update their data mapping to include the additional fields.
Does this change affect the structure of Import and Export templates?
Yes, the Institution Export template will be updated to include the five new OfS Provider fields. No other imports or exports are affected.
Does this change affect any data values on the database?
No.
Activity record update: ‘Inreach’ ‘Category’ changing to ‘Post-Entry’
Why are we making this change?
As part of the work to extend our research into the post-entry space and prepare the database for recording post-entry data, we are renaming the Activity ‘Category’ field value of ‘Inreach’ to ‘Post-Entry’ to better indicate its purpose.
The definition of the field value, as indicated in the field i-Button, remains the same: ‘Activity delivered to students enrolled in a Higher Education Provider, with an aim to increase retention, attainment and progression in Higher Education.’ It is important that any organisations who have historically used this value should now only use it for post-entry data moving forward.
For more information regarding this change, see the ‘Inreach’ Category changing to ‘Post-Entry’ update post.
Is this a breaking change that affects the API?
This may potentially be a change that affects the API, please check your process if your organisation is looking for the Inreach value in the payload via the:
- /Activity endpoint
Does this change affect the structure of Import and Export templates?
A new Activity Import Template must be downloaded to include the new ‘Category’ value of ‘Post-Entry’. The ‘Key’ sheet will change to reflect the renaming of the field value, although the code for the value will remain the same. If you use custom import templates, these will need to be updated to reflect this change.
Does this change affect any data values on the database?
Yes, the renaming of the ‘Inreach’ value to ‘Post-Entry’ means that all historic Activities will be given the new field value.
Notable Items
Institution record: Addition of ‘Service Children Percentage’ field
Why are we making this change?
As part of the Beyond the Barracks project, this update introduces a new ‘Service Children Percentage’ field on the Institution Record (Characteristics tab). This field complements the existing Count of Service Children data and will offer additional insight for both institutional analysis and research into Service Children in higher education.
The presence of both a count and a percentage value will provide meaningful context for research and targeting activities, particularly within the Service Children project, supporting members in understanding institutional demographics more effectively.
Where are we making this change?
The new ‘Service Children Percentage’ field will appear on:
- The Institution record Characteristics tab in the database
- The Institution Profile Report, allowing members to view and export this information across multiple institutions
Is this a breaking change that affects the API?
This is not a breaking change, it does however add a new field to the Institution dataset available via the API. API users may wish to review the new field list and update any mappings or queries accordingly.
Does this change affect the structure of Import and Export templates?
Yes, this change will affect the structure of Institution export and Institution Profile Report output. However, this will not affect any Import Templates.
Does this change affect any data values on the database?
No.
Institution Profile Report: Formatting and Dataset Template Updates
Why are we making this change?
This update aims to improve the presentation and consistency of the Institution Profile Report, while also enhancing how the underlying dataset handles blank and varying data values.
These changes will ensure that percentage fields are formatted consistently across the report with some backend refinements to give the HEAT Team greater flexibility and control over which Institution records are displayed in specific sections of the report.
Where are we making this change?
The changes apply primarily to:
- The Institution Profile Report, particularly the About tab
- The Institution record Attainment and Destination tabs, which will receive updates to improve representation of blank values
There will be no impact on import templates, exports, or the API.
Does this change affect any data values on the database?
This does not affect any data, however blank source values will now be represented explicitly where they occur in Department for Education data, improving transparency for users.
Support menu and Login page: Improved navigation and accessibility
Why are we making this change?
Selecting the Support button on the left-hand menu in the database will now take you straight through to the HEAT website Contact Us page, allowing users to find help by choosing from the options available. We are working with the website developers to improve the contact form and offer a suite of support options, including email to our Helpdesk or booking a Helpdesk Meeting.
Additionally, we have made changes to our database Login page, where selecting the HEAT logo will navigate you to the HEAT website. Under the login details form, we also have prompts for Student Ambassadors and Referees to navigate them to the Ambassador and Referee Portal.
Where are we making this change?
These changes affect:
- The Support option in the left-hand navigation menu within the HEAT database
- The HEAT database login page
There will be no impact on data, import templates, exports, reports, or the API.
Activity record Programme Title field to use Semi-Colon (;) as List Delimiter
Why are we making this change?
We are looking to standardise how multi-select field values are separated within the database. Different delimiters (such as commas and square-bracket logic) are used inconsistently across export fields. Moving to a single, uniform delimiter, the semi-colon (;), will improve data consistency. As a pilot, we are changing the Activity ‘Programme Title’ field within this update with a view to changing all multi-select fields subsequently.
By adopting the semi-colon format, HEAT will also be able to simplify how multi-value fields are parsed in automated reporting, supporting future scalability and more robust data integration.
Where are we making this change?
This will impact the ‘Programme Title’ field in the General tab of the Activity record. In addition, Field List value entries where semi-colons are used will no longer be permitted.
For more information, please see the Upcoming development: Activity ‘Programme Title’ multi-select field to use a semi-colon to separate list values Data Update.
Is this a breaking change that affects the API?
No.
Does this change affect the structure of Import and Export templates?
Yes, this change will have the following effects:
- Any export containing the Activity ‘Programme Title’ field will now use semi-colons (;) instead of commas to separate values in multi-select fields and square brackets where there is a value with a comma
- Importing multiple values within the Activity ‘Programme Title’ field requires a semi-colon (;) to delineate the values entered. The import validation will assume that any entry with commas is one value
Does this change affect any data values on the database?
This change does not alter existing stored data values. However, it introduces a restriction preventing the future use of semi-colons within Field List values to preserve the delimiter’s integrity on the system.
Minor Items
Student record: New field for recording ‘APP Target’
Why are we making this change?
As part of the work to extend our research into the post-entry space and prepare the database for recording post-entry data, a new field is being introduced in the Student record to record whether this individual is being targeted within your organisation’s Access and Participation Plan (APP). This field can be used to indicate a Student has been targeted because of an APP target, whether that is through a pre or post-entry activity or programme.
For more information about the work we have undertaken to support members to record, monitor and evaluate post-entry interventions, read the Using HEAT to record and evaluate Post-Entry Interventions Research Blog.
Where are we making this change?
This update will be to the ‘APP Target’ field in the Education tab of the Student record.
Is this a breaking change that affects the API?
No.
Does this change affect the structure of Import and Export templates?
Yes, the addition of a new ‘Home/Overseas’ field impacts the Student Import and Export template as well as the Activities (with Students) Export templates.
Once the Winter Update is released to the database, your organisation will need to download new Import templates to ensure that the current values are used going forward. If you use custom import templates, these will need to be updated to reflect the changes released.
If you use Export templates in other software, this change needs to be considered.
Does this change affect any data values on the database?
No.
Student record: New values added to ‘Last Known Phase’ field to enable recording of Undergraduate and Postgraduate phase
Why are we making this change?
As part of HEAT’s ongoing work to extend research into the post-entry space, new values are being added to the ‘Last Known Phase’ field in the Student record. The addition of ‘Undergraduate’ and ‘Postgraduate’ values prepare the database for recording and analysing post-entry interventions and enable members to capture a student’s progression beyond pre-entry stages.
For more information about the work we have undertaken to support members to record, monitor and evaluate post-entry interventions, read the Using HEAT to record and evaluate Post-Entry Interventions Research Blog.
Where are we making this change?
This update will be to the ‘Last Known Phase’ field in the General tab of the Student record.
Is this a breaking change that affects the API?
No.
Does this change affect the structure of Import and Export templates?
Yes, the addition of new values to the ‘Last Known Phase’ field impacts the Student Import and Export template as well as the Activities (with Students) Export templates.
Once the Winter Update is released to the database, your organisation will need to download new Import templates to ensure that the current values are used going forward. If you use custom import templates, these will need to be updated to reflect the changes released.
If you use Export templates in other software, this change needs to be considered.
Does this change affect any data values on the database?
No.
User record: New value added to the ‘Point of Contact field’ for a ‘Post-Entry’ Point of Contact
Why are we making this change?
As part of the work to extend our research into the post-entry space and prepare the database for recording post-entry data, we are introducing the ability for your organisation to nominate a ‘Post-Entry’ Point of Contact if required, which we can record on their User record. As this field is managed by HEAT, you will need to contact HEAT Support if you would like to nominate a Point of Contact.
Where are we making this change?
This update applies to the User Record within the HEAT database, specifically the ‘Point of Contact’ field.
There will be no impact on data, import templates, exports, reports or the API.
Role Permission: Field name change from ‘Manage Custom Lookups’ to ‘Manage Field Lists’
Why are we making this change?
This update aligns HEAT’s terminology with the current language used within the system. The Field Lists area in My HEAT was previously called Custom Lookups, and this change ensures the role permission label now reflects the correct terminology.
Where are we making this change?
This change applies to the Role Privilege settings within the HEAT system. Only the field name is being updated, functionality and access will remain the same.
There will be no impact on data, import templates, exports, reports or the API.
Reports menu visibility: Introduction of new ‘View Reports’ Permission
Why are we making this change?
Any user with permission to ‘View Any Report’ sees the Reports option in the main menu. Improvements to how we present Reports, particularly the provision of File Store links on the New Report page meant that roles with access to File Store and without any report permission saw the Reports option on the main menu.
Where are we making this change?
This change applies to the main menu and the Reports option within the HEAT database. It affects how visibility of the Reports menu item is determined based on user role permissions.
There will be no impact on data, import templates, exports, reports or the API.
Roles and Permissions
- A new ‘View Reports’ permission has been created.
- Any role that currently has at least one report-related permission (including custom roles) will automatically be assigned this new permission.
Language update: Replacing ‘HESA’ with ‘Higher Education Track’
Why are we making this change?
To better reflect the evolving purpose of the HEAT Track and improve member understanding, references to ‘HESA’ will be updated to ‘Higher Education Track’. This language change ensures consistent and clear communication across the database, including reports and exports, aligning with the current focus on tracking higher education outcomes and engagement.
This update affects terminology and display text only. All underlying data remains identical at this time. We will be reviewing all fields supplied by JISC/HESA in due course.
Where are we making this change?
This update applies across several areas of the HEAT database and related exports:
- Home page: ‘Student HESA Tracking’ tab renamed to ‘Student Higher Education Tracking’ tab
- Ambassadors: ‘HESA’ tab renamed to ‘Higher Education’ tab
- Students: ‘HESA’ tab renamed to ‘Higher Education’ tab
- Exports: ‘Activities Include students with HESA’ renamed to ‘Activities Include students with Higher Education Track’
- Reports: References to ‘HESA Track’ updated to ‘Higher Education Track’
For more information, please see the Upcoming development: Database language change from HESA to Higher Education Track Data Update.
There will be no impact on data, import templates, exports, reports or the API.
API: Addition of TUNDRA MSOA Quintile fields to Postcode and Student payloads
Why are we making this change?
This update ensures consistent access to TUNDRA data across API endpoints. The inclusion of TUNDRA MSOA to the Student endpoint and the Postcode Data endpoint allows HEAT to provide a more complete dataset for members conducting analysis of Student outcomes by location and deprivation quintile.
Where are we making this change?
API: Postcode Data endpoint
- New field: tundra_quintile_msoa
- New field: tundra_quintile_lsoa
- Obsolete field: tundra_quintile. This field will remain available but marked as obsolete. It will be retained for a minimum of one year and thereafter removed.
API: Students endpoint
- New field: tundraQuintileMSOA
- New field: tundraQuintileLSOA
- Obsolete field: tundraQuintile. This field will remain available but marked as obsolete. It will be retained fora minimum of 1 year and thereafter removed
These fields expose the TUNDRA MSOA quintile value associated with each Student or postcode record.
Is this a breaking change that affects the API?
Yes. The marking of ‘tundraQuintile’ within the Students endpoint and ‘tundra_quintile’ within the Postcode Data endpoint as obsolete means that these fields will be in use for a minimum of one year but thereafter be removed. Any API using these fields require updating.
Role Permissions
Any new permissions added to the system will automatically be included in the appropriate default HEAT Roles (members only). Any members who use Custom Roles will need to consider whether to update their Custom Roles with any new permissions.
New permissions added to HEAT Roles:
- View Reports: All roles with any Report option ticked will automatically be assigned the ‘View Reports’ permission. Any future updating of Custom Roles will need to consider the ‘View Reports’ permission.
The following roles will be given access to the HEEL submission:
- Coordinator
- Coordinator Lite
- Lead
- Lead Lite
New permissions to consider for Custom Roles:
- View HEEL Submissions
- Edit HEEL Submissions
- Delete HEEL Submissions
- Publish HEEL Submissions
API
For those using the HEAT API, it is important to familiarise yourself with the following changes and review any potential impacts on your integrations.
Yes, these are breaking API changes:
The following update may require members to review their API processes or data handling procedures:
No, these API changes are good to be aware of:
The following updates are not breaking changes, but API users may wish to review their processes or data mapping:
System and Performance
Cognitive search: Expansion to include Referee and Ambassador accounts
Why are we making this change?
As part of ongoing system optimisation and performance improvement work, the Cognitive Search framework within HEAT is being expanded to include Referee and Ambassador account types. This enhancement ensures that search and retrieval operations across Ambassador and Referee user records are more efficient, supporting faster access and future functionality improvements.
There will be no impact on data, import templates, exports, reports or the API.
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