Estates Management Report (EMR) data – latest

One of the biggest items on our agenda this year has been to work with decision-makers around the sector to reinforce the value of the Estates Management dataset. As you know, this is collected by HESA, and Directors of Estates use the data from the Estates Management Report. AUDE and the constituent Directors’ long-standing position is that this is a vital dataset, and needs to be collected in every UK university, so that individual universities can benchmark their estates activity against similar institutions. The decision earlier this year by the Office for Students to make the collection of the data non-mandatory in English universities has created a risk of the data devaluing over time, if English universities opt out, or become less engaged in its collection. Providers in Northern Ireland are also not mandated to collect this data. Collection of the data remains mandatory in Scotland and Wales. But clearly if some English and Northern Irish universities are missing from future datasets, the whole no longer acts as a comparable UK-wide dataset.

So, what have AUDE and HESA been doing?

We’ve been working throughout the year to lobby in favour of the collection of the dataset remaining mandatory. It’s not proven possible to get that result. Instead, we’ve worked with colleagues at HESA and UUK to work out the best possible process for the future. UUK are supportive of the following and will be communicating with VCs around the issue.

HESA are constrained by the nature of their regulation (under the Higher Education Reform Act) – they legally have to recover overhead costs by apportioning them appropriately across all data collection services, statutory and non-statutory. Today they are writing to universities to explain the fee structure (non-statutory or “English optional service rates”) they’ve developed for next year’s EMR data collection, as an element within their overall annual subscription.

In England the next HESA subscription invoices (being issued now) distinguish between statutory and optional services and will include an itemised line for collection of the EMR, in order to meet their obligation to charge a fee. This cost has always formed part of the HESA subscriptions (for those submitting EMR data), but it has never been identified before.

However, the cost of this item on the invoice will effectively be offset by a reduction in the overall statutory subscription level in England and Northern Ireland, with a result that the overall HESA subscription level will not change from what it would have been if the EMR data collection had remained mandatory.

We want to make three main points about this:

• The fees structure that has been developed follows the AUDE subscription, in banding universities according to turnover. This is the most transparently fair fee structure we can devise.
• It is important to note that due to the way that the HESA must structure the subscription, it is not possible to draw a direct comparison between the subscription fee paid this year and in previous years – so this factor may not be immediately visible.
• If all providers choose not to subscribe to the English optional service rate (the EMR data collection), the overall fee to HESA will not reduce by the full amount.The overheads apportioned to the EMR record would have to be recovered through another collection and as such the cost of other HESA services would increase. That is, as a sector we’ll pay a similar overall HESA subscription, but for a less complete service, as it will miss the collection of the EMR dataset.

It is therefore our firm recommendation that English and Nrthern Irish universities subscribe for continued collection of the data that is so vital to the EMR by opting-in to the “English optional service rates”.

What next?

English and Northern Irish universities

Ensure that you have opted-in to the to EMR as one of the “English optional service rates” through the HESA subscription agreement. If they have not a variation form can be submitted, to ensure inclusion on the collection.

This is the only way to ensure we all still benefit from a 100% accurate EMR dataset. There is no new cost to you in doing this. Talk to your Responsible Officer now to make sure this has been done for your institution.

Scottish and Welsh universities

We are sending this information to you, so you remain informed about the issue. There is no specific action for you. We are grateful for the support you have given in helping us to maintain our position that EMR data collection is important and that the value of the UK-wide dataset is high.