HEAR

What is a HEAR?

The Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) provides Keele undergraduates with a single record of academic and other achievements during their time at University.

Your HEAR will provide you with two things:

1. A formal University-verified document which will help you to maximise your employability by including all verifiable University achievements onto one document that employers will be able to access.
    
2. An opportunity for you to demonstrate and communicate your experiences and achievements throughout your studies at University in a meaningful way, that will help you to understand  and articulate your skills and development to others.

Who is a HEAR for?

The HEAR is a national scheme that is being introduced for all undergraduate degree students.

At Keele, HEARs will be issued to students who will graduate from Keele in Summer 2014 and any students who graduate thereafter.

If this isn't you - don't panic - there are still benefits for you of knowing about the HEAR - click here to find out how.

What will be in my HEAR?

The HEAR is made up of 8 sections:

1) Information about you - including your name, date of birth and student number

2) Information about your Qualification - the name, fields of study and University awarding the qualification

3) Information on the level of your Qualification - including the length and level of study

4) Information on the content of your studies and the results - this section includes details about your programme, grading structure and the results you have obtained

5) Information on the function of your qualification - this is where any further study opportunity or professional status will be recorded

6) Additional Information - this section is where verified additional activities can be recorded, for example KeeleSU society roles or awards and prizes achieved during your studies. For more details on this section please see the KeeleSU web-pages to find out about KeeleSU HEAR recordable activities or the Records and Examinations web-pages to find out about the HEAR recordable awards and prizes.

7) Certification of the HEAR - this section confirms that your HEAR has been certified by the University

8) Information on the national higher education system - including information designed to provide employers with a general understanding of higher education.

Why should I have a HEAR?

Having a HEAR has lots of benefits!

• It is an excellent way for you to articulate the skills obtained throughout your studies to other people, including employers
   
• Having a HEAR helps you to understand what skills you have obtained in undertaking co-curricular activities
   
• Employers will be interested to receive a verified list of activities that you have undertaken at University and will use these to identify your suitability for their roles
   
• A HEAR will help to form the basis of your CV, providing you with the language required to articulate your competencies and abilities.
   
• You have control over section 6 (your extra-curricular activities)!! HEAR recordable activities are only added to this section if you ask for them to be and additionally, you can opt out of them being included on your HEAR, if you don't want them to appear for any reason.

What achievements will be recorded on my HEAR?

Section 6.1 is where some of your co-curricular achievements will be recorded. A large number of activities are HEAR recordable and a full listing of these can be found here.

Details on KeeleSU activities on your HEAR can be found on the KeeleSU web-pages.

How do I access my HEAR?

Keele University is currently developing the HEAR so that this can be issued to undergraduate degree students graduating from the summer of 2014 onwards.  Further information on how you will access your HEAR will be provided at a later date.   

Remember, activities can only be validated and recorded on your HEAR by the University or KeeleSU and therefore, you will need to follow the steps outlined on these pages, if you wish to validate an activity.