Click to edit Master title style Key Information Sets Dr Jeremy Ovenden.

Click to edit Master title style

Key Information Sets

Dr Jeremy Ovenden

Page 2

Contents

• Introduction

• Origins

• What is KIS?

• Coverage of KIS record

• Information Detail

• What will KIS look like

• Widget

• Sample

• Publishing KIS

• Timescales

• Verification/Audit

• Web links

• Discussion

NSS 2011

KIS – origins (1)

‘I am committed to improving the information available to prospective students and their parents… it is in everyone's interest that students make well-informed decisions about what and where to study…we need to do better on careers advice and information’

David Willets, September 2010

‘The relationship between the student and the institution will be at the heart of the system….There will be improvements in the information and guidance given to students when they are choosing courses’

Browne Review, October 2010

KIS – origins (2)

We consider it essential that the KIS for all higher education courses should be available from a central point, in a form which allows direct comparisons to be made between courses and institutions. We are encouraged by references in Students at the heart of the system to interest from organisations such as OpinionPanel, Push, the Student Room and Which? in providing such a comparison service.

The private sector may be in a good position to deliver this service quickly and efficiently. We recommend that, as a priority, Government engages with these companies to develop an effective and impartial comparison site as soon as possible. Government reform of Higher Education - Business, Innovation and Skills Committee

What is KIS? (1)

• Key Information Sets are comparable sets of standardised information about undergraduate courses

• They are designed to meet the information needs of prospective students and will be published 'in context' on the web-sites of universities and colleges

• They allow HEI’s to show the quality of the experience offered

• Data collected from HEIs to supplement data from HEFCE/HESA – HEFCE responsible for the first year, HESA thereafter

• Overseen by HE Public Information Steering Committee (HEPISG)

Coverage of the KIS

• Mandatory for institutions in England, Northern Ireland Scotland, and Wales

• KIS 2012/3 data collection covers FT & PT undergraduate courses - incl. integrated Masters - starting 1 August 2013 to 31 July 2014

• Includes new programmes coming on stream in 2013/4

• Required for all courses of more than 1 year FT (120 credits)

• KIS records for franchised courses must be provided by the franchising institution that is responsible for registering students and returning them to HESA

Coverage of the KIS ? – Course Definition

• A programme of study that a student can apply to either through UCAS or directly to the institution.

• If students can apply separately to courses in Physics, Chemistry and Biology each would require a separate KIS, whereas if students could only apply to a course in Science and later choose to specialise, then only a single KIS needs to be produced.

• If a student can apply for either MEng and BEng then two separate KIS are needed. If all apply for MEng with a possibility of leaving with a BEng then only one KIS is needed

• A separate KIS must be produced for two presentations of a course if the fees differ

Coverage of the KIS

A KIS is not required for

• Courses where the total FTE of the course is one year or less when studied full-time (i.e.120 credits or less for its entirety)

• Closed courses - courses that are not open to any suitably qualified candidate

• Courses offered mainly overseas (over 50%of their study is overseas).

• Part-time courses that are also offered on a full-time basis and a KIS is produced for the full-time course

• Courses run in the UK but for international students only

• Postgraduate Courses

Coverage of the KIS

The KIS will contain areas of information that students have identified as useful;

Institution Level

- accommodation costs & units available

- satisfaction with students' union

Course Level

- student satisfaction

- Programme information (L&T activity/assessment/accreditation)

- financial information (fees/financial support)

- employment and salary data

KIS – Information Detail (1) - HEIs provide

Institution• Institution owned/sponsored accommodation: average

annual costs - upper and lower quartiles, and number of units (to which UG students can reasonably expect to have access)

• Private rental accommodation: average annual costs - upper and lower quartiles

Course• Financial support available from the institution: whether it

offers a fee waiver; means-tested support; non means-tested support; National Scholarship Programme; and a link to more detailed information

• Fees per year for England domiciled applicants

KIS – Information Detail NSS (2) - HEFCE

• Results from the following NSS questions (course level):

• Staff are good at explaining things

• Staff have made the subject interesting

• Overall, I am satisfied with the quality of my course

• I have received sufficient advice and support with my studies

• Feedback on my work has been prompt

• Feedback on my work has helped me clarify things I did not understand

• The library resources are good enough for my needs

• I have been able to access general IT resources when I needed to

• Satisfaction with SU – new question for 2012 (institution level)

KIS – Information Detail (3) - HEIs provide

By Course

• Proportion of time spent in various learning and teaching activities – by year/stage of study, with a link to further detail (2011/12 AY)

• Mix of summative assessment methods – by year/stage of study (2011/12 AY)

• Professional bodies that recognise this course, with a link to further detail

KIS – Information Detail (4) – Categorising T&L methods

Activity type KIS category

Lecture Scheduled

Seminar Scheduled

Tutorial Scheduled

Project supervision Scheduled

Demonstration Scheduled

Practical classes and workshops

Scheduled

Supervised time in studio/workshop

Scheduled

Fieldwork Scheduled

External visits Scheduled

Work based learning Scheduled

Guided independent study Independent

Placement Placement

Year abroad Placement

KIS – Information Detail (5) – T&L Method

1. Determine the modules that are available to a KISCourse

2. Rank modules in the order of the number of students taking each in the relevant year

3. Determine the most popular modules that contribute to 1 FTE/120 credits

4. Calculate an average value from these modules…

5. If the process above leads to the inclusion of modules on which less than 10% of students are registered, institutions should make a reasonable judgement as to whether the selection of modules is representative

KIS – Information Detail (6) – Example

ModuleCredit value

Number of students

Proportion in scheduled teaching and learning

Proportion in independent study

Placement

Physics 1 30 100 60 40 0

Maths 1 30 100 50 50 0

Computing 1

20 100 30 70 0

Computing 2

10 40 30 70 0

Maths 2 30 30 40 60 0

Physics 2 20 20 Disregard

Project 10 10 Disregard

For scheduled teaching and learning:

((30*60)+(30*50)+(20*30)+(10*30)+(30*40))/120 = 45

KIS – Information Detail (7) – Categorising Assessment Methods

Activity type KIS category

Written exam Written

Written assignment, including essay Coursework

Report Coursework

Dissertation Coursework

Portfolio Coursework

Project output (other than dissertation)

Coursework

Oral assessment and presentation Practical

Practical skills assessment Practical

KIS – Information Detail (8) - DLHE• The destinations of graduates six months after completing their

course – comprising working, studying, working and studying, unemployed, and not available for work

• Of those in employment, the proportion in managerial/professional jobs six months after graduation.

• Salary data:

• upper quartile, median and lower quartile six months after graduation from the course at the institution displaying the KIS

• upper quartile, median and lower quartile for the subject across all institutions six months after graduation

• upper quartile, median and lower quartile for the subject across all institutions at 40 months after graduation

Determining KIS Types

There are three different types of KIS records that can be returned for any given course.

• A course can have only 1 KIS type

• The type used will depend on the nature of the course

• The three types are:

- KISTYPE 1 - Full course level KIS

- KISTYPE 2 - Multiple subject course placeholder KIS

- KISTYPE 3 - Subject level KIS

KIS TYPE 1 (Full Course Level KIS)

KISTYPE 1 records are full KIS records. Mandatory for:

• All single subject courses (only one JACS code) • All multiple subject courses (more than one JACS code)

where the intake size is greater than 20 students

(Note - Institutions may choose to produce a KIS TYPE1 where the intake is fewer than 20 students if course is viewed, marketed and managed as a single indivisible entity)

• All teacher training courses and some medical programmes

KIS TYPE 2 (Multiple Subject Course - Placeholder KIS)

KISTYPE 2 records are 'placeholders' for multiple subject courses for which a KISTYPE 1 record is not required. i.e.

– intake size less than 20 students– Multi subject course not treated as one course

• KISTYPE 2 records include links to the relevant KIS Course ID and to related KISTYPE 1 or KISTYPE 3 KIS records

• Each KISTYPE 2 KIS record can be linked to up to three KISTYPE 1 or three KISTYPE 3 KIS records but not a mixture of both types

KIS TYPE 3 (Subject Level KIS)

• KISTYPE 3 records provide information about a subject that forms part of a multiple subject course for which no KISTYPE 1 has been produced

• Subject level KIS should be produced for every JACS level 2 subject that is included within a multiple subject course

• except where a KISTYPE1 exists for each of the subjects that make up the multiple subject course

KIS TYPE - FLOW CHART

KIS TYPE - Example (1)

• University X has a joint honours French and Music course with an intake of only 10 students and therefore completes a KISTYPE 2 KIS record.

• University X offers a single honours French course (KISTYPE 1 KIS record) but does not offer a single honours Music course. The institution will therefore have to link the KISTYPE 2 course to KISTYPE 3 records as there is not a complete set of KISTYPE 1 records

KIS TYPE - Example (2)

What will KIS look like? - KIS WIDGET

What will KIS look like? (2)

What will KIS look like? (3)

What will KIS look like? (4)

Publication of KIS

KIS to be published:

• In context, on HEI’s websites via a KIS widget

• On a new web site allowing search and comparisons

• On a redeveloped UCAS site

• Through third party search and compare software

KIS widget will be a compulsory element to unifying the KIS presentation

• Visually neutral but clearly identifiable

• Cause minimum disruption to web pages

Jan Feb March April May June July Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec

Key dates for KIS 2012Data should be uploaded

to HEFCE extranet(29 Mar–22 Aug)

Site preview for institutions

(17 Sept)

KIS widgets should be available

on all HEIs’ web-sites (31 Oct)

Technical guidance published

(29 March)

New website goes live(week commencing 24 Sept)

including KIS widgets on course sites

KIS and Unistats early evaluation

(Sept 2012 – Jan 2013)

NSS and DLHE data added to

HEFCE extranet

Verification/Audit

• Heads of HEI’s sign off data in Autumn

• HESA will check HEI’s KIS returns against their list of ‘KISable’ programmes from HESA returns. Where no match, validation will fail

• QAA add KIS data to list of items in Institutional Review

• Early evaluation of 2012/3 – Is it working?

• Data Audits

Links

HESA

• http://www.hesa.ac.uk/index.php?option=com_studrec&Itemid=232&mnl=12061

HEFCE

• http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/infohe/kis.htm

• e-mail [email protected]

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Discussion