Frequently asked questions

The Higher Education Achievement Record provides students with a comprehensive record of academic and personal achievements, including module grades, in a document verified by the University. Most universities in the UK now provide a HEAR for their students. The HEAR is intended to help potential employers and other universities to gain more detailed information about programmes of study and the achievements of graduates. It is envisaged that the HEAR will enhance employability and education opportunities, as it contains more information about graduates than the traditional transcript. 

The HEAR is made up of numerous sections:

• Personal information including your name and date of birth.
• Details of your qualifications - the award name, class/mark, the field of study and the awarding University.
• Details about the level of your qualification and the duration.
• Details of your studies and the result - the structure of your program, the mark structure and the result you have obtained.
• The function of your qualification - any further stages in the Higher Education Qualification Framework.
• Additional information - verified additional achievements.
• Certification of the HEAR by the awarding institution.
• Details of the National Higher Education system - Providing potential employers with a general understanding of Higher Education.

Highlighting the skills you have acquired whilst at University of Staffordshire can be used to market yourself and boost your graduate prospects. HEAR can aid in this as it provides details of your academic and non-academic achievements.

To improve your HEAR you could:

• Get involved with extra-circular activities through the Students’ Union or university societies. Help organise events or become an official representative of the University. Visit our Students' Union website for more information.
• Volunteer at one of the many events that take place on Campus, or undertake work experience to develop extra skills. Visit the Unitemps website for more details.

GradIntel is a service that University of Staffordshire is using to publish your HEAR electronically and which allows you to share your HEAR with others such as potential employers or other Universities. A number of Universities are using the GradIntel service to publish HEAR’s for their students.

The HEAR Provides a more detailed description of the student's achievements and their experience whilst studying at University. This then can be used to support an application during the recruitment and selection process. 

Your HEAR is an official document which can be electronically shared with any desired third party, including employers and other institutions, through the GradIntel service.

Any documents shared though this service should be recognised as a verified university transcript, but are only considered valid in their digital form.

The procedure for sharing your documents is as follows:

1. Log into your account via www.gradintel.com.
2. On the left hand menu under University Services click on ‘Documents’. This will show a list of all your available documents.
3. Click on the ‘Share’ icon of your chosen document.
4. This will take you into a ‘Share Document’ screen. Complete each field to specify the share parameters and recipient information, and click ‘Continue’.
5. On the next page, check your details are entered correctly, tick the box if you consent to your document being shared, and click ‘Share Now’.

That will then send an e-mail, which includes a document access token, to the recipient’s e-mail address. The recipient will then be able to view your document(s).

The HEAR is a University verified document which is electronically available to all qualifying students. This includes, details of your academic achievements as well as any other additional activities you may have undertaken during your time at University of Staffordshire, for example student representation or part-time work.

Your HEAR is a digitally signed document and is designed to be viewed electronically and shared securely with others such as potential employers or other universities.

All students who receive a HEAR will not automatically get a duplicate transcript. This is a significant step in the University drive to become carbon neutral. If you do need a paper transcript, you can request this by visiting our Certificates and Transcripts page for further information.

Any queries relating to the HEAR, such as missing or incorrect data, should be directed to hear@staffs.ac.uk.

Any queries relating to other services offered by GradIntel should be directed to customerservices@gradintel.com.