Graduate Outcomes - the changes and challenges

This year we welcome the last ever set of DLHE data and prepare for the introduction of Graduate Outcomes - but what will really change, and what challenges and opportunities will this transition bring?

Since 2002, DLHE has been used by careers professionals, students and HE providers to inform strategy and develop an understanding of graduate destinations.

In the intervening years the graduate labour market has evolved, and the time has come for a survey with data that is more appropriate for recording the outcomes of today's graduates. The transition from DLHE to Graduate Outcomes, following HESA's extensive review, will mark a major change in the collection of HE data in the UK.

At a HESA conference in Manchester on 14 June, sponsored by Prospects Luminate, representatives of key stakeholders - including HESA, AGCAS, Jisc, HESPA, the ONS, and HE providers - set out the most important changes, benefits and challenges of the new survey.

Time for change

Opening the event, Dan Cook, head of data policy and development at HESA, reflected on the long journey to Graduate Outcomes. Discussing the key issue of public trust and confidence in DLHE, he emphasised the need for future proofing and efficient data collection, stating that the new survey is more suitable to the nature of the graduate labour market today - while acknowledging there are significant challenges involved too. 'We are building something big here - it is new, interesting and slightly terrifying,' he joked.

Radical transformation

One of the biggest changes will be the shift to surveying graduates 15 months after graduation (as opposed to six months for DLHE), but aside from this, how different will Graduate Outcomes be?

Rachel Hewitt, data policy and governance manager at HESA, outlined the main innovations in the new survey:

• A name change, which graduates felt better reflected their outcomes.
• New questions asking graduates about the length of time with their employer, how many jobs they've had since graduating, and whether they have had responsibility for supervising staff in their role.
• Re-wording of certain questions to ensure they're more suitable for those who were self-employed or freelancing.
• Replacement of salary data with LEO data in the future.
• Reduction of further study questions and using student record data to find this information.
• Opt-in questions giving providers the opportunity to ask graduates additional questions.
• The inclusion of graduate voice and well-tested subjective wellbeing measures, developed by the ONS.

It will be interesting to see how this data will be used to develop an understanding of graduate success (as valued by them) and what they gain from higher education aside from employment. As Anita Jackson, director of planning at the University of Kent and HESPA executive committee member said, 'It's not just about whether you're in a graduate-level job or how much you earn. Does your value to society really get counted in that way?'

The full range of Graduate Outcomes questions and changes can be found on the HESA website.

Modification of the questionnaire isn't the only change. Salah Merad, principal methodologist at the ONS, discussed the new methodological approach that will be implemented. This includes a model of open centralisation and a push for web data collection, using call centres for non-respondents.

HESA also announced Confirmit as the software used to conduct the survey with graduates:

'The Confirmit system is widely used to conduct surveys by leading sector bodies, including the Office for National Statistics. It conducts the management of survey contact with graduates both online and for telephone interviewers, meaning there is live interaction between the different methodologies. This was crucial to us when selecting a system, to ensure as soon as a graduate has completed online they will be pulled from the call queue and vice versa.'

Challenges

The event also explored the potential challenges surrounding the new data collection model and how to ensure Graduate Outcomes is a success.

For example, Salah Merad raised the issue of timings. The change to surveying 15 months after graduation could increase non-response rates and allow the survey to become less salient.

A key point was made that not all graduates will remain in the same location, so it is important that HE providers maintain up-to-date contact details of their graduates.

The steps careers services can take moving forward were outlined by Andrew Whitmore, co-chair of the AGCAS Graduate Employability and Outcomes Data Group. He stressed the need to work with students, inform them about the new survey and encourage them to update their contact details.

Opportunities

What opportunities does this new dataset bring? For Anita Jackson, it's about 'not just chasing the metrics'. In other words, Graduate Outcomes gets us to the stage where success is determined by the graduate, and not measured solely on salaries. The new survey will improve our use of data to inform student choices. She said:

'We need the visible benefits of this survey to be there to students before they graduate. We can hustle them with calls and emails as much as we like, but there's nothing like giving back to a system that gave to you. That's the positive thing about this survey, it is not about the league tables, and the real value is about what we do for our students.'

Preparations for the first survey are now under way. The Graduate Outcomes Provider portal opens in September and surveying will begin in December this year, with the results for the first collection expected in January 2020.

Written by

Laura Greaves

Information analyst

Prospects