UK Performance Indicators - archive of governance information
From 1998 to 2019 the UK Performance Indicators were specified by the UK Performance Indicators Steering Group (UKPISG) and the UK Performance Indicators Technical Group (UKPITG). These groups last met in 2017.
This page links to published governance material from 2011 to 2017.
The specification for the production of the indicators was determined by the UK Performance Indicators Steering Group (UKPISG) which was set up in 1998. UKPISG's original brief was to take forward the recommendations of the National Committee of Inquiry into Higher Education, and the request of the Secretary of State for Education and Employment to develop appropriate UK Performance Indicators and benchmarks for families of HE providers with similar characteristics and aspirations.
Initially the indicators were restricted to HE providers funded by the former HEFCE, HEFCW and DFE(NI). In 2000, SHEFC formally requested that the UKPISG (formally PISG) work on Performance Indicators was extended to embrace HE providers in Scotland and from that point forward UKPISG considered indicators covering the whole of the UK.
Since its inception, UKPISG considered both policy and technical aspects of the UK Performance Indicators within a single group, with meetings two or three times a year.
In 2011, a sub-group of the UKPISG, the UK Performance Indicators Technical Group (UKPITG formally PITG) was set up to provide technical advice to the UKPISG while the role of the UKPISG became more policy focused.
The role of UKPISG was to oversee the implementation, management and ongoing development of the UK Performance Indicators for HE providers through the advice it provided to the UK funding bodies and other relevant bodies. Through the advice it provided, the UKPITG supported the UKPISG in its role. For more information, see the terms of reference[pdf 56 KB].
The UKPISG met once or twice per year with the UKPITG meeting a minimum of twice per year. The first meeting of the UKPISG took place on 28 March 2011 and UKPITG on 30 June 2011. The full set of UKPISG papers from the second meeting (29 July 2011) onwards is available from the links below.
The membership of UKPISG was drawn from government departments, the funding councils and representative bodies who were suitability placed to take a strategic view with regard to issues surrounding UK HE Performance Indicators. UKPITG membership included nominated members from the funding bodies, government departments, Higher Education Statistics Agency and UCAS. As of their dissolution the members of each group were drawn from the organisations below, with secretariat services provided by HEFCE.
UKPISG
Higher Education Funding Council for England [Chair]
Office for Fair Access (OFFA)
Universities Scotland
UCAS
Welsh Government
Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW)
Department for Employment and Learning, Northern Ireland
Higher Education Wales
Universities UK
Department for Education (DfE)
Scottish Government
Scottish Funding Council (SFC)
HESA
National Union of Students
Guild HE
UKPITG
HESA [Chair]
Scottish Funding Council (SFC)
Department for Education (DfE)
HESA
Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW)
Welsh Government
Universities UK
Universities Scotland
Higher Education Wales
Guild HE
Department for the Economy, Northern Ireland (DfE(NI))
Higher Education Funding Council for England
UCAS
UKPISG - 17 June 2016
The Higher Education and Research Bill: implications for UKPIs (UKPISG 16/01)
Progress to date on the review of the benchmarking approach (UKPISG 16/03)
UKPITG - 8 June 2016
Progress to date on the review of the benchmarking approach (UKPITG 16/06)
UKPITG - 10 February 2016
Suppression thresholds within the UKPIs (UKPITG 16/01) [pdf 148 KB]
Progress to date on the development of new WP indicators (UKPITG 16/02) [pdf 215 KB]
Progress to date on the review of the benchmarking approach (UKPITG 16/03) [pdf 148 KB]
UKPITG - 10 December 2015
Progress to date on the review of the benchmarking approach (UKPITG 15/08)
Technical issues relating to the UK Performance Indicators 2014/15 (UKPITG 15/10) [pdf 46 KB]
UKPISG - 26 October 2015
Responses to "Invitation to comment on future changes to the UKPIs (UKPISG 15/04)
UKPITG - 20 July 2015
Next steps in the review of the benchmarking approach (UKPITG 15/05)
UKPISG - 27 April 2015
Review of the WP indicators, and next steps (UKPISG 15/01) [pdf 103 KB]
Incorporation of HE in FECs into future UKPIs (UKPISG 15/02) [pdf 17 KB]
Incorporation of HE in APs into future UKPIs (UKPISG 15/03) [pdf 29 KB]
UKPITG - 11 February 2015
Update on progress in the review of the WP indicators, and next steps (UKPITG 15/01) [pdf 86 KB]
Review of benchmarking approach (UKPITG 15/02)
Publication dates of the 2015 UK Performance Indicators (UKPITG 15/03) [pdf 7 KB]
Technical changes to the UKPIs (UKPITG 15/04) [pdf 16 KB]
UKPITG - 7 March 2014
Next steps in the review of the WP indicators (UKPITG 14/01) [pdf 15 KB]
Review of benchmarking approach (UKPITG 14/02) [pdf 10 KB]
Incorporation of HE in FECs into future UKPIs (UKPITG 14/03) [pdf 33 KB]
UKPISG - 21 February 2014
Review of the Widening Participation UK Performance Indicators (UKPISG 14/01) [pdf 58 KB]
Fit of the current widening participation UKPIs to principles (UKPISG 14/01) [xlsx 27 KB]
Responses to the “Invitation to comment” (UKPISG 14/02) [pdf 93 KB]
Guiding principles for the UK Performance Indicators (agreed February 2014) [pdf 16 KB]
UKPITG - 18 November 2013
In-depth review of the Widening Participation UK Performance Indicators (UKPITG 13/10) [pdf 15 KB]
Impact of increasing the suppression threshold to 52.5 (UKPITG 13/11) [pdf 165 KB]
Options with regard to the use of linked pre-HE administrative data in the UKPIs (UKPITG 13/12)
Changes in the factors used in the benchmarks 2012/13 (UKPITG 13/13) [pdf 75 KB]
Publication dates of the 2014 UK Performance Indicators (UKPITG 13/14) [pdf 129 KB]
UKPISG - 16 September 2013
Fundamental review of the Performance Indicators (PISG 13/01) [pdf 98 KB]
PITG - 28 February 2013
Suppressed data in totals and benchmark calculations (PITG 13/01) [pdf 65 KB]
Assessment of Data Protection risk in PIs (PITG 13/02) [pdf 124 KB]
Unknown information in the benchmarking groups (PITG 13/03) [pdf 71 KB]
Use of POLAR in table series T2 (PITG 13/04) [pdf 285 KB]
Entry qualifications for use with T5, T7 and E1 (PITG 13/05) [pdf 389 KB]
Rates of qualification from postgraduate research degrees (PITG 13/08) [pdf 135 KB]
PITG - December 2012
Summary of business by correspondence [pdf 226 KB]
Technical changes to the Performance Indicators (PITG 12/06) [pdf 125 KB]
Performance Indicators contextual information and commentary (PITG 12/07) [pdf 77 KB]
PISG - October 2012
Summary of business by correspondence [pdf 254 KB]
Recommendations by correspondence [pdf 255 KB]
PITG - 29 June 2012
Incorporation of HE provision registered at further education colleges (PITG 12/01) [pdf 121 KB]
Introduction of POLAR3 (PITG 12/02) [pdf 12 KB]
Advising on the review of the Performance Indicators (PITG 12/03) [pdf 9 KB]
Update on changes to the contextual information and commentary (PITG 12/04) [pdf 83 KB]
Technical changes to the Performance Indicators (PITG 12/05) [pdf 118 KB]
PISG - 20 January 2012
Benchmarks and A level subject information (PISG 12/01) [pdf 185 KB]
Review of the widening participation and research Performance Indicators (PISG 12/02) [pdf 177 KB]
Performance Indicators contextual information and commentary (PISG 12/03) [pdf 91 KB]
Publication dates of the 2012 Performance Indicators (PISG 12/04) [pdf 77 KB]
PITG - 25 November 2011