Its aim was to establish what type of employment or further study they were engaged in, and their income, on one specific day in the survey period.
Since 2008 the DLHE survey included directly funded HE students at Further Education Colleges (FECs) and has been conducted by International Graduate Insight Group (i-graduate).
Target response rates were set to ensure that detailed data could be published and that the results of the survey genuinely reflected the outcomes for students leaving institutions.
[2] As the survey is highly influential in certain league tables, some universities devote considerable effort into ensuring the best possible outcome within the regulations set by HESA.
Other universities, for example Plymouth,[4] actively and publicly encourage participation making it clear that it affects the league table position of the students' alma mater.