When we started asking users about their needs for data on higher education (HE) staff, many people mentioned a need for longitudinal data. Data users wanted to be able to track staff members between years of the record, following their careers as they move between contracts, between providers, and between HE and other sectors.
Longitudinal tracking has a number of possible benefits. It can give us information about career progression pathways, from the typical stages of an academic career, to how long staff members stay at each stage, to how often career progression is linked to a change in employer. In an age of growing interest in the relationship between HE and industry, longitudinal data can also provide us with information about movement into and out of the HE sector.
Some groups approach career tracking with a view towards advocating for improved working conditions and terms of employment, while others look towards promoting staff recruitment and retention. Tracking staff careers can also provide valuable information about equality of opportunity in the HE sector, as we see whether some staff are more likely to progress in their careers than others.
