What is the difference between explicit refusal and just not sending the questionnaire back?
An explicit refusal is where a leaver either sends back the questionnaire marking it as a refusal or writes a letter including a statement that they do not wish to be included in the survey. An explicit refusal can result from a telephone conversation where the leaver verbally states that they do not wish to be included in the survey. A leaver who does not send back the questionnaire and/or is un-contactable by telephone should not have a DLHE record returned to HESA, and is not regarded as having explicitly refused. • In this year’s FDS there was an increasing trend towards leavers working in order to raise funds to go off travelling or to undertake more studying next year. This response/option is not in the ‘Why did you take this job’ question so will we get a true picture of the situation? This option did not come to light as needed during the review. However, we will include this suggestion for consideration when reviewing the questionnaire for the future.
