How Higher Education can use the service
Find out about the services and the potential benefits of these services that are available for Higher education.
Any Higher Education Institution can register as a Learner Registration Body (LRB) with the LRS and use students’ Unique Learner Numbers(ULNs) to access their Personal Learning Records (PLRs) and verify details of qualifications and awards.
HEFCE
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) suggests that Higher Education Institutions use the PLR to confirm numbers of ‘AAB+ equivalent students’ for funding purposes. The PLR is of particular value to Higher Education when considering students with BTEC qualifications and mature students who may have gained additional qualifications outside the school environment.
HESA
Under the sponsorship of HEFCE and JISC, the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA), as part of the work they have been doing in their Information Landscape Project (external link) have reviewed the ULN as the unversal student identifier going forward and their recommendation will be made during 2012. A preliminary report is to be found here (external link).
UCAS
Working with the University and College Admissions Service (UCAS), the LRS is also investigating how to streamline the process of learners applying for University. Applicants could, in future, be able to access their Personal Learning Record (PLR) through the UCAS online Apply service.
Applicants would be able to select which of their previous qualifications they wished to include in their applications, knowing that the data they chose was both accurate and authoritative.
A prototype system has been developed by UCAS, which has been used by a number of volunteer students to test the usefulness of the PLR for University Application online. Nine schools, academies, sixth-form colleges and general FE colleges were involved in the trials, which ran during May and June 2011. A report on the results of these trials was published in September 2011.
JISC
The LRS is also looking at the possilibity of extending the PLR to include HE achievement. Some work has already been published by the University of Manchester with JISC on linking the ULN to the Higher Education Achievement Report: Manchester University Case Study (external link).
Registering for our services
Further information
If you have any queries about registering,
email the Learning Records Service Customer Help Desk or phone 0845 602 2589.
Related links
External links
