HESA Information Requirements and the Web Recruitment Process

The University is required to send annual returns of staff information to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA). Some of the information required by HESA is collected during recruitment. These items are described below.

Research Assistant Status

The "Research Assistant" status of staff on Research only contracts can be set on appointment, in the Web Recruitment System. This should be done by reference to the guidance for determining whether that member of staff is considered to be independent, in accordance with the Code of Practice and with reference to the PD33.

In the Web Recruitment offers process, a default value for Research Assistant status will be shown in the HESA section of Step 6 Appointment Request based on the pay rate attached to the vacancy. If the default status shown is incorrect, or if no default appears, please select the most appropriate status from the drop-down list. A value must be provided here; if you are unsure of the correct one, please consult the appropriate departmental contact responsible for the recruitment. 

Unit of Assessment

For independent researchers, whether on Research only or Teaching or Research contracts, there is also a section in the Web Recruitment System which asks for Unit of Assessment. In the majority of cases, a default option is offered based on a standard mapping, which can either be accepted or changed.  Where this is not offered, the most appropriate value should be selected from the options available.  A full list of the Units in REF 2021 can be found here https://www.ref.ac.uk/panels/units-of-assessment/ (in 2021 Cambridge did not submit to any of the following Units; 3, 20, 24, or 34) and these will be used until any revised structure is announced.

The Unit of Assessment (UoA) is also required by the HESA Student return for for staff with responsibility for the supervision of post graduate students. All new academic and senior research appointments must have the UoA set. Some departments will have a direct relationship with a REF UoA (e.g. Earth Sciences or History), some will have a small number of staff for whom a different UoA will be more appropriate and some departments have no default value and staff will be assigned on a one to one basis based on academic discipline. The final character recorded in the REF2021 UoA field is the letter denoting that multiple submissions were made in that department. A 'Z' suffix indicates that no multiple submission was made.

According to HESA, staff with significant responsibility for research are those for whom explicit time and resources are made available to engage actively in independent research, and that is an expectation of their job role. It may be appropriate at an even earlier stage to consider whether a particular contract type accurately reflects the responsibility for independent research involved in the position, and where for example the research activity of teaching only or academic-related staff may be under-represented. It is also highly advisable to consider the implications of "cloning" roles, extending existing ones, or filling an existing position when the new position or post-holder may have a substantially different level of responsibility for research, whether by the degree of independence required or perhaps due to a more administrative focus.