Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR)

The Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) provides verified information about students’ academic and college approved/verified non-degree related achievements.

The HEAR is designed to encourage a more sophisticated approach to recording your achievement, it acknowledges fully the range of opportunities that the College offers to our students.

It is an electronic document that will be available to you in perpetuity. You will be issued with an updated ‘Interim HEAR’ annually in July/August, and a ‘Final HEAR’ will be issued when you graduate.

HEARs are designed to give potential employers and other educational establishments more insight into programme contents and individual student achievements that have been verified by the College.

The HEAR is designed to:

Be shared securely with others, for example with a potential employer or future postgraduate tutor
Fully capture your academic performance and a range of non-academic achievements, thereby enhancing employability
Enable you to review progress and plan future activities, whether individually or with support from a tutor
Support your engagement in opportunities beyond the curriculum and act as a reminder when making applications for jobs and further study

Who receives a HEAR?

You are eligible for a HEAR if you are:

An undergraduate student completing your course June 2016 onwards

This does not include students/graduates of the following:

Continuing professional development courses
Students whose programme started before 2014
Some Higher National, Advanced Diploma and Certificate programmes (Please confirm eligibility with your programme leader)
Students who do not achieve their qualification*

If you are not currently eligible for a HEAR you might be interested in a range of free services that Gradintelligence has to offer. You can register for these services directly at Gradintelligence.

The College has no access to information posted by individual students to the Gradintelligence website.

*This does not include students who are eligible for an exit award i.e. An Unnamed Certification or Diploma of Higher Education. Please note that any student who does not qualify for an award may request a HEAR be created (for the modules they have passed) from transcriptrequests@blackpool.ac.uk.

What will my HEAR look like?

The HEAR is a national requirement.

The layout and format has been prescribed at a national level by the ‘Measuring and Recording Student Achievement Steering Group’ (Burgess Group).

This layout and format has been copyrighted. It is to be provided as an electronic document.

The service the College is using to provide students with a HEAR is Gradintelligence, part of the Tribal Group and in partnership to provide students and graduates with on-line access to the official record of their higher education achievements. Students and graduates can use Gradintelligence to share these verified documents in support of further study and job applications to evidence their credentials.

What information does a HEAR contain?

Throughout your academic career your HEAR will develop as more information is added to it. Only information verified by the College will be included on the HEAR.

Types of Information Recorded

Marks and grades
Classifications
Non-degree achievements

What are Non-Degree Achievements?

The College's Academic Standards and Development Committee is responsible for approving the types of non-degree related achievements that can be considered in a HEAR with reference to the principles below:

College prize or academic role
Sporting achievement/volunteering
External awards recognised by the College

In addition items should be:

Open to all students, in principle
Verifiable and endorsed by the College
Information presented should be factual, not opinionated.

What does the HEAR mean for both students and graduates?

The HEAR is issued on graduation for you to access as an electronic, lifelong document.

Email notification will be sent to your College email account with details of how to access the report. Access and use of Gradintelligence services is free for students.

You have control of who sees your documents with the potential to send quickly to multiple destinations so that they can view this secure, authenticated document and confirm the award you have received.

Students who wish to share their HEAR with third parties such as prospective employers, other higher education institutions or any other third party can do so by issuing them with a secure logon.

Third parties, who have access permissions issued by students, may view the verified HEAR and print a copy, but it should be noted that the printed version is no longer a verified record by the College.

How can HEARs be shared with third parties?

You can issue a token to third parties and specify how many times it can be viewed. More information about this is available from Gradintelligence.

What does the HEAR mean for employers?

Ease of authentication will be a real benefit to employers.

Information supplied on application forms or CVs can easily be verified through a simple registration system to view the secure HEAR document on the Gradintelligence.

Waiting time for confirmation of award will also be reduced.

Students who wish to share their HEAR with third parties such as prospective employers, other higher education institutions or any other third party can do so by issuing them with a secure logon. Third parties, who have a access permissions issued by students, may view the verified HEAR and print a copy, but it should be noted that the printed version is no longer a verified record by the College.

How do I access my HEAR?

HEARs are provided in electronic format.

You can view your HEAR at www.gradintel.com We will create an account for you as part of your registration at the College and contact you through your College email when it is ready to be activated.

Gradintelligence’s services, including access to the HEAR, are free for students.

The College will publish HEARs on Gradintelligence’s site once a year. Students will be made aware that HEARs are available through their College email by the Student Administration Team unless they have updated their email address on the Gradintel system.

Only in exceptional circumstances will a paper copy HEAR be provided. Students who require a paper copy should email transcriptrequests@blackpool.ac.uk.

Gradintelligence provides other services and students who are currently not eligible for a HEAR can register directly with Gradintelligence. These services are also free for students. The College has no access to any information posted by individual students to the Gradintelligence website.

What happens to HEARs when I leave the College?

When you graduate, or leave for any other reason, a final version of your HEAR will be published. From then on, you will be able to access your HEAR on Gradintelligence.

What is Gradintelligence?

Gradintelligence is the service the College is using to publish the HEAR electronically.

The service allows you to share your HEAR with others such as potential employers or other institutions. More information is available from Gradintelligence.

Why have Gradintel accounts been set up?

The College is working in partnership with Gradintelligence, part of the Tribal Group who supply the College student records system, to produce HEARs.These are virtual documents that can be accessed when the College issues you with your account activation email.

Why is it necessary to register with Gradintelligence?

You need to register with Gradintelligence so that you have a secure way of accessing your HEAR.

Who do I contact if the HEAR is not accurate?

If you believe there is an error on your HEAR please contact the Student Administration Team - transcriptrequests@blackpool.ac.uk

Who do I contact if the academic achievements, such as (examination/assessment results), are not accurate?

If you think that the information about your academic achievements are incorrect, you should email transcriptrequests@blackpool.ac.uk in the first instance.

Who do I contact if the non-degree related achievements are not accurate, including missing achievements?

If you think that the information about your non-degree related achievements are incorrect, you should contact transcriptrequests@blackpool.ac.uk.

Must I accept all of the information published on a HEAR?

Your academic achievements, such as (examination/assessment results) will be published on a HEAR by the College. Any queries relating to this information should be directed to transcriptrequests@blackpool.ac.uk in the first instance.