Achievement Information Working Group
THIS PAGE IS SUPERSEDED AND SHOULD NOT BE USED. THE LATEST VERSION OF THE HEAR TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION AS OF MARCH 31ST 2011 MAY BE FOUND AT http://www.xcri.org/wiki/index.php/HEAR
This is a draft for discussion produced by JISC CETIS on behalf of JISC for the HEAR implementation projects. Its content is non-normative and intended for prototyping work carried out by projects and suppliers with a view towards informing specifications in the future.
The overall approach we have taken in this document is to develop an application profile of existing specifications for representing HEAR information. The HEAR itself is constituted of these main components:
The components can be either combined into a single composite document, or split into several documents, all of which could be individually shared. For example:
This makes finer-grained access control on documents possible if desired by implementers.
For the information about the person, we adopt properties defined by the existing MIAP CDD 2.0 Person specification.
For information about the programme and components, we profile the XCRI 1.1 specification. XCRI contains the majority of the information needed for the record, and is being harmonized with other EU specifications into an EU standard for representing course information (EN for Metadata For Learning Opportunities).
Additional properties required the creation of a small number of very limited data models, largely derived from the Dublin Core Element Set.
Development of the profile has also taken account of the evolution of the MIAP Learner Record by LogicaCMG.
The profile for the HEAR has been developed using terms and guidance from the Singapore Framework for application profiles developed by the Dublin Core Metadata Initiative (DCMI-SF).
The HEAR profile presented in this document has been designed with extensibility in mind, and it is likely that institutions, vendors, and other parties will develop their own profiles based on this one, adding in information types suitable for their intended use of the HEAR. However for interoperability purposes, all derived profiles MUST also conform to this profile.
CDD 2.0 is a UK specification developed by MIAP (Managing Information Across Partners) to harmonize common data models found across different departments and sectors in the UK. The MIAP CDD provides one set of common definitions for basic data related to education, including learners.
XCRI CAP 1.1 is a UK specification developed with the support JISC and JISC CETIS for the description of courses and course units primarily for the purposes of advertising study opportunities. It is the UK profile of the planned European Standard, Metadata For Learning Opportunities.
Dublin Core Element Set is an international specification, ratified as ISO 15836, for common basic metadata elements used for resources, including identifiers, titles, descriptions and other core properties.
The HEAR information model profile consists of an AchievementReport consisting of:
plus one or more of the following:
The diagram below illustrates the domain model in UML format.
The status of a result; legal values of this vocabulary are:
Literal Any literal value such as a string or a number
Description Encoding Type A description encoding type contains either
Date Encoding Type
A Date or DateTime literal conforming to ISO 8601
Label Encoding Type A String literal with an optional language qualifier attribute
| URI | Label | Cardinality | Type | Usage |
| TBC#AdditionalInformation | Additional Information | 0..1 | Description encoding type | See HEAR section 6.1 |
| TBC#FurtherInformation | Further Information Sources | 0..1 | Description encoding type | See HEAR section 6.2 |
| TBC#Description | Description | 0..1 | Description encoding type | General description of the report, such as the "description of the HE system" in See HEAR section 8. |
| http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/date | Date | 1 | Date encoding type | The date at which the Achievement Report is issued. |
|
URI |
Label |
Cardinality |
Type |
Usage |
|
Identifier |
1..* |
Literal |
The student identification number. See HEAR section 1.4. See Usage for further guidance. |
|
|
Person Given Name |
1..* |
Literal |
The legal given name or forename of the individual (not common contractions). See HEAR section 1.2. |
|
|
Person Family Name |
1..* |
Literal |
The legal family name of the individual (as written). That part of a person's name which is used to describe family, clan, tribal group, or marital association. . See HEAR section 1.1. |
|
|
Person Birth Date |
1 |
Date encoding type |
Birth date of the learner. See HEAR section 1.3. |
|
URI |
Label |
Cardinality |
Type |
Usage |
|
Identifier |
1 |
Literal |
The identifier for the provider. See Usage Pofile for additional guidance |
|
|
Title |
1 |
Label encoding type |
The title of the provider. See HEAR section 2.3. |
|
|
Description |
1 |
Description encoding type |
Brief description of the status of the institution. See HEAR section 2.3. |
|
URI |
Label |
Cardinality |
Type |
Usage |
|
Identifier |
1..* |
Literal |
The identifier for the programme. See Usage Pofile for additional guidance |
|
|
Title |
1 |
Label encoding type |
The title of the programme. See HEAR section 2.2. |
|
|
TBC#accessRequirements |
Access Requirements |
1 |
Description encoding type |
Description of the programme access requirements. See HEAR section 3.3 |
|
Description |
1 |
Description encoding type |
Description of the programme requirements. See HEAR section 4.2 |
|
|
TBC#gradingScheme |
Grading Scheme |
1 |
Description encoding type |
Information on the grading scheme used and grade distribution guidance. See HEAR section 4.4 |
|
TBC#furtherStudy |
Access To Further Study |
1 |
Description encoding type |
Information on access to further study. See HEAR section 5.1 |
|
TBC#professionalStatus |
Professional Status |
1 |
Description encoding type |
Information on the professional status of the qualification awarded by the programme. See HEAR section 5.2 |
|
TBC#Result |
Result |
0..1 |
Literal with optional status attribute |
Overall classification of the qualification. See HEAR section 4.5. If omitted, the result is not known. |
|
URI |
Label |
Cardinality |
Type |
Usage |
|
Language of Instruction |
1 |
Literal value formatted according to ISO-639 |
The primary language in which the programme is taught. See HEAR section 2.5. |
|
|
Language of Assessment |
1 |
Literal value formatted according to ISO-639 |
The primary language in which the programme is assessed. See HEAR section 2.5 |
|
|
Duration |
1 |
Label encoding type |
Official length of the programme. See HEAR section 3.2. |
|
|
Study Mode |
1 |
Label encoding type |
The primary mode of study for the programme. See HEAR section 4.1 |
|
URI |
Label |
Cardinality |
Type |
Usage |
|
Identifier |
1 |
Literal |
The identifier for the qualification. See Usage Pofile for additional guidance |
|
|
Title |
1 |
Label encoding type |
The title of the qualification; see HEAR section 2.1 |
|
|
Level |
1 |
Literal |
Level of qualification. See HEAR section 3.1 |
The Transcript section of the HEAR represents the component structure of the programme. This section defines the profile for a traditional modular degree programme; however any structure may be used provided that it conforms to the XCRI specification.
|
URI |
Label |
Cardinality |
Type |
Usage |
|
Identifier |
1 |
Literal |
The identifier for the programme year. See Usage Pofile for additional guidance |
|
|
Title |
1 |
Label encoding type |
The title of the year session, typically the primary subject studied |
|
|
TBC#HasComponent |
Has Component |
1..* |
A component of the programme year, typically representing a unit of study |
|
URI |
Label |
Cardinality |
Type |
Usage |
|
Study Mode |
1 |
Label encoding type |
The primary mode of study for the programme year. |
|
|
Start |
1 |
Date encoding type |
The date the programme year commenced from. |
|
|
End |
1 |
Date encoding type |
The date the programme year ended. |
|
URI |
Label |
Cardinality |
Type |
Usage |
|
Identifier |
1 |
Literal |
The identifier for the programme unit. See Usage Pofile for additional guidance |
|
|
Title |
1 |
Label encoding type |
The title of the programme unit. |
|
|
TBC#Result |
Result |
0..1 |
Literal with optional status attribute |
Result for the learner for the programme unit. If omitted, the result is not known |
|
URI |
Label |
Cardinality |
Type |
Usage |
|
Level |
1 |
Literal |
The level at which credit is awarded. |
|
|
Scheme |
1 |
Literal |
The scheme under which credit is awarded. Typical values include "UK", and "ECTS" |
|
|
Value |
1 |
Literal |
The value of credit awarded. |
A number of options are available for personal identifiers, including:
The binding allows any number of identifiers to be offered for each learner. A HEAR XML document instance SHOULD provide both the HESA number AND the ULN.
Each identifier MUST be contained in its own Identifier element.
Each identifier type SHOULD use a specific value space declared in the document, e.g.
<identifier>909090900</identifier> <identifier xsi:type="HesaUniqueStudentIdentifier">1234567890000</identifier> <miap:UniqueLearnerNumber">1234567890</miap:UniqueLearnerNumber>
Where no identifier type is declared, then processors SHOULD assume that the content is an institution-specific local identifier.
The UK Provider Reference Number (UKPRN) is a unique identifier issued for each education provider in the UK, and is managed by the UK Register of Learning Providers. To use a UKPRN within the hear, the identifier for the Provider instance bound as follows:
<identifier xsi:type="UKPRN">123456</identifier>
To obtain the UKPRN for a university, go to http://www.ukrlp.co.uk/
As the HEAR is typically a long-lived document with legal status, it is recommended that where any identifiers or URLs are included that these are under a long-term identifier/locator maintenance policy and will not be invalidated in the lifetime of the HEAR.
Where resources associated with the HEAR are of a more transient nature, it is recommended that institutions enable learners to make profiles available that point to these resources and to the HEAR separately rather than attempt to embed links within the HEAR itself, potentially invalidating it in the future.
It is valid to create HEAR documents that are either interim results or are not complete reports; this is because:
Where a component of the transcript is offered by another institution, the HEAR document needs to ensure that the component makes reference to the Provider that offered the course, and may additionally provide a link to the related HEAR document from the other institution.
To represent this:
The example below is based on the illustration in Appendix D of the HEAR report ("Year 3" from "University HIJK"):
<transcript>
<xcri:course>
<xcri:title>Programme Yr 3 BA French and Management Studies</xcri:title>
<xcri:relation>http://www.hijk.ac.uk/hear/1221211.xml</xcri:relation>
<xcri:relation xsi:type="hasComponent">
<xcri:course>
<xcri:identifier>FREN 9001</xcri:identifier>
<xcri:title>Year Abroad (A)</xcri:title>
<result>P</result>
<xcri:credit>
<xcri:scheme>Default</xcri:scheme>
<xcri:level>N/A</xcri:level>
<xcri:value>60</xcri:value>
</xcri:credit>
<xcri:credit>
<xcri:scheme>ECTS</xcri:scheme>
<xcri:level>N/A</xcri:level>
<xcri:value>30</xcri:value>
</xcri:credit>
</xcri:course>
</xcri:relation>
<xcri:presentation>
<xcri:start>2004-01-01</xcri:start>
<xcri:end>2005-01-01</xcri:end>
<xcri:studyMode>Full-time</xcri:studyMode>
<xcri:venue>
<xcri:identifier xsi:type="UKPRN">900900</xcri:identifier>
<xcri:title>University of HIJK</xcri:title>
</xcri:venue>
</xcri:presentation>
</xcri:course>
</transcript>
In this scenario, the learner transfers from another institution, and the detailed component grades are either missing or have been replaced with an overall APL credit.
To represent this
The example below is based on the illustration given in Appendix D of he HEAR report ("Year 1" from "University EFG".)
<transcript>
<xcri:course>
<xcri:title>Programme Year 1 BA French and Management</xcri:title>
<xcri:relation>http://www.efg.ac.uk/hear/1221211.xml</xcri:relation>
<xcri:relation xsi:type="hasComponent">
<xcri:course>
<xcri:title>Admitted with Advanced Standing From: University of EFG (see its transcript for further information)</xcri:title>
<xcri:credit>
<xcri:scheme>Default</xcri:scheme>
<xcri:level>C</xcri:level>
<xcri:value>120</xcri:value>
</xcri:credit>
<xcri:credit>
<xcri:scheme>ECTS</xcri:scheme>
<xcri:level>C</xcri:level>
<xcri:value>60</xcri:value>
</xcri:credit>
</xcri:course>
</xcri:relation>
<xcri:presentation>
<xcri:venue>
<xcri:identifier xsi:type="UKPRN">600600</xcri:identifier>
<xcri:title>University of EFG</xcri:title>
</xcri:venue>
</xcri:presentation>
</xcri:course>
</transcript>
In this scenario, the learner begins the course with recognition of experiential or other learning from an employer or other organisation, and an overall APEL credit is given.
To represent this
The example below illustrates this scenario:
<transcript>
<xcri:course>
<xcri:title>Year 1 BA French and Management</xcri:title>
<xcri:relation xsi:type="hasComponent">
<xcri:course>
<xcri:title>Recognition by APEL of workplace training and experience verified by LMN Limited.</xcri:title>
<xcri:credit>
<xcri:scheme>Default</xcri:scheme>
<xcri:level>C</xcri:level>
<xcri:value>120</xcri:value>
</xcri:credit>
<xcri:credit>
<xcri:scheme>ECTS</xcri:scheme>
<xcri:level>C</xcri:level>
<xcri:value>60</xcri:value>
</xcri:credit>
</xcri:course>
</xcri:relation>
<xcri:presentation>
<xcri:venue>
<xcri:identifier>http://www.lmn.co.uk</xcri:identifier>
<xcri:title>LMN Limited</xcri:title>
</xcri:venue>
</xcri:presentation>
</xcri:course>
</transcript>
