Data Quality – Destinations of Leavers from Higher Education

Fiona SandfordLucy Burrows

Destinations of Graduates: key facts

We have to achieve a response rate of: 80% for UK-domiciled full time 50% for all other EU students 80% for Research Council funded students

We are not required (yet) to follow up non-EU graduates (but we do!)

Two collection periods – January and April First by email ~ 40% response – then telephone

Quiz 1The highest salaries last year were £500,000 and £270,000. Which courses? What are they doing?

£500,000 MSc Human Rights £270,000 BSc International Relations

Advising Hedge Funds on emerging markets Catwalk and Campaign Model (who deferred her

job offer from I-Bank for a year)

Destinations of Graduates: league tables

Based only on UK first degree leavers – 592 graduates

Graduate prospects = (n graduates in ‘graduate level work + n graduates in full time study/total replies)

So ‘graduate level’ work is critical.

Coding Quiz Trader for Madison Tyler

Assistant to Chief Executive Civitas

Sales trainee Ondra

a. Market traderb. Share dealerc. Financial Analyst

a. Personal Assistantb. Executive Assistantc. Otherd. (Social Science Researcher)

e. Sales related occupationf. Otherg. (Financial Analyst)

“Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense.”

Prince Gautama Siddharta, the founder of Buddhism, 563-483 B.C.

Our data checks Timescales

Set in stone,~6 months after they graduate with a defined date ‘what were you doing on…’

Method All responses checked for inconsistencies, logged to monitor response

rates. Running checks on n responses per course, and unemployment status. All those reporting unemployed are followed up by a careers adviser

Coding and Inputting All coding done by careers advisers, for their departments. Coding

seminars run regularly (ish) Returning data to HESA

Amending / checking contradictory details

Standard methodology for data generation Good collaborative effort across the School

Standard checking criteria/documentary guidance

Pretty sound

Checks by senior staff 8/10

Single point of failure x Too reliant on one person

Sufficient statistical training Full use of LSE Excel training

Good clarification of responsibility of data providers and users ? Room for improvement

Data treated as part of standard management information

yes

Sufficient appreciation of “political” dimension of data ? Needs constant reinforcing

• Good data costs

DLHE = 51MSLs for a Band 6 + ~ £6500 for student callers + 47 * 2.5 hours evening shifts of supervision by

members of team. + hours of coding by Careers Advisers (band 7) + hours of time from ARD

• Three most important things

All staff understand the importance of the ‘political’ nature of the data

Common sense! Data quality relies on good base data (and, for us,

good contact information)

Finally..

DLHE return only as good as SITS data We rely (heavily) on accurate contact information

using LFY and Advance – any help from departments MOST gratefully received!

LSE post graduate internship scheme helped last year to get unemployment under 7% (beating Imperial for the first time)

Please take more interns next year!!