The Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) condenses a lot of data about your studies - The Frequently asked questions below may answer queries you have about this.
We understand your Higher Education Achievement Report (HEAR) is an expansive document and as such, you may have queries regarding what it covers, how to access it and the uses it may have for various circumstances. The Frequently asked questions below should cover the vast variety of these queries.
We know not all these frequently asked questions may be relevant for you, by pressing ctrl + F and typing the keyword attached to your question, your computer should filter those questions with your keywords for you.
Queen Mary University of London first introduced the HEAR in summer 2017 for most undergraduate and postgraduate taught programmes who were awarded that summer or who were progressing into the next academic year.
It was later introduced for students undertaking BDS, Intercalated and Joint-China programmes (BUPT, Nanchang & NPU) who were awarded in summer 2019 or later and DClinDent students who were awarded in autumn 2019 or later.
The following students are excluded from the HEAR and should read on for information on how to obtain a transcript:
Please be advised that we cannot create a Gradintelligence account or HEAR for a student who was awarded prior to when it became available for their programme of study.
If you are not eligible for a HEAR but need a transcript or documentation that confirms your modules/award:
Your HEAR is issued to you as a digitally signed electronic document. Queen Mary University of London is working with a company called Gradintelligence to provide this service. You can also save it as a PDF.
Yes, you have the ability to print your HEAR. You can print directly from your internet browser or you may find that you need to save your HEAR (it saves as a PDF) before printing.
However, please be advised that if you are sharing your HEAR electronically, QMUL can only verify that the data is correct if it is shared via the secure Gradintelligence platform. We understand that there may be times that you need to provide a physical or PDF copy of your HEAR and therefore we are able to verify your award to third parties.
Please note that QMUL do not print HEAR's as standard as it is a self-serve document. However, we are able to print, stamp and seal your HEAR for you for a charge. Or, if preferred, you can also order a transcript which is printed on QMUL headed paper and is stamped and sealed.
The HEAR is a Diploma Supplement and is an explanatory document attached to any higher education qualification, acting as a supplementary explanation of the qualification. The name ‘Diploma Supplement’ derives from the common European practice to refer to any qualification generally as a ‘diploma’ and therefore it is important not to confuse the Diploma Supplement with any one particular qualification. Students awarded at undergraduate and/or postgraduate levels (e.g. Bachelor's and Master's degrees) can receive a HEAR (Diploma Supplement) and the document itself describes details such as the name, level and classification of the award.
The HEAR provides a standardised description of the nature, level, content and status of the studies completed by its holder according to standards agreed by the Commission, the Council of Europe and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
HEAR's are published several times a year and it is dependent upon which programme you are on as to when yours will be released. The main dates of publication occur shortly after the official results release date for your programme and will be advertised on our HEAR publication dates webpage when available.
Students on a joint-China programme (BUPT /Nanchang / NPU) should be advised that your HEAR may be published at different times than recorded on the publication dates webpage and you should contact your departmental administrators for guidance on when your results will be officially released to you.
Your HEAR will not be updated with your Sem A examination results from January until all of your results (including Sem B assessment results from May/June) have been considered and confirmed by your School/Institute's examination board/s in the summer. They will be officially released to you via MySIS on the official results release date for your programme and, following this, your HEAR will be published.
Until the examination board/s in the summer have taken place, any results are considered to be provisional (subject to change) and the Student Enquiry Centre/Academic Registry are not at liberty to provide students with provisional results via a physical transcript or the HEAR.
It is at the discretion of your School/Institute as to whether and when they provide you with provisional results so please contact your departmental administrative team directly to ask about this.
As the HEAR is published following official results release dates, it will show official, confirmed results only. Please note that you may have provisional results released to you via MySIS and, as these are subject to change, they will not appear on your HEAR.
The Student Enquiry Centre/Academic Registry are not at liberty to provide students with provisional results via a physical transcript or the HEAR. It is at the discretion of your School/Institute as to whether and when they provide you with provisional results so please contact your departmental administrative team directly to ask about this.
All students should be advised that the Student Enquiry Centre/Academic Registry cannot provide you with any documentation that displays your provisional results.
If you are in your first year then we are unable to provide you with a HEAR until the first point of HEAR publication, as you would not have any marks to display as the HEAR does not show provisional results. The first point of HEAR publication follows the official release of your results - please see the HEAR publication dates for guidance. Instead, you can request a letter from the Student Enquiry Centre that confirms your modules for the current academic year.
For students in other years, your most recently published HEAR acts as an interim transcript, showing your results from the years you have completed. Please be advised that your HEAR will not show any provisional marks from the current academic year, although you can request that it is updated to show your current module registration.
Please note that there are times when no HEAR's/transcripts can be produced, known as periods of transcript embargo.
If you are an incoming student enrolled on a Study Abroad programme studying at Queen Mary on a 1 semester or 1 year programme (e.g. Autumn Associates, Full Year Associates etc.) then unfortunately you are not eligible for a HEAR. However, from July 2021, students enrolled with us from 2020/21 onwards will be provided with an electronic transcript via their Gradintelligence account.
Your transcript is an official record of all modules taken and results received whilst studying with us and, when shared via the Gradintelligence platform, is verified by Queen Mary. Transcripts will be published to your Gradintelligence account shortly after your results have been officially released to you via MySIS in the summer. We will also share your transcript with your home institution via their own Gradintelligence account.
Please see our webpages for guidance if you require support in accessing your Gradintelligence account or would like to share your transcript with third parties.
Outgoing Study Abroad Students: Please be advised that when you finish your studies at a partner institution, they should provide you with a transcript of your results. Later, when your HEAR is published, an averaged mark/grade will be applied to the block of credit that will represent your semester/year abroad rather than individual marks for each module being recorded. If you have any specific questions about how your study abroad results are calculated or recorded, please see the Global Opportunities website.
From 2019/20 onwards, module results may be suffixed with an ‘(ME)’. This denotes that the module was completely or partially excluded from classification due to changes in our assessment criteria resulting from the Coronavirus pandemic.
Continuing students have a formative HEAR which can be updated with module results and extracurricular activities etc., whereas a final HEAR cannot be amended once it displays your award details. The HEAR will remain formative until you are awarded, after which it will become final.
You might need to share your HEAR with a third party for reasons such as employment or further study applications*. From your Gradintelligence dashboard, you can issue a 'share' token to third parties. The 'share' button is next to the 'view' button. Once you have clicked on 'share' you can specify who the document is to be shared with, how many times it can be viewed and how long they have to access your document. You can also set an alert so that you can be notified when your document has been viewed.
The recipient will receive an email with the subject line 'Gradintelligence Data Access Token' sent from 'Gradintelligence Document Services <documentservices@gradintel.com>'.
When shared electronically via Gradintelligence, the HEAR is a secure and verified document. Please see our HEAR Webpage for information on sharing your HEAR.
You can also save your HEAR as a PDF document or print it out.
However, please be advised that if shared by any means other than via Gradintelligence, QMUL cannot verify the authenticity of the HEAR and therefore welcome third parties to request a verification check.
*Please be advised that it is your responsibility to check whether the third party will accept the HEAR/has a preferred format to receive the HEAR.
If your HEAR is marked as revoked, it means that it has been withdrawn from your Gradintelligence dashboard and you will not be able to view or share it until it has been made accessible to you again by QMUL.
The main reason a HEAR will be revoked is if you have a tuition fee debt. You are able to pay any tuition fee debts online. Once you have paid, your HEAR will be re-published within 5 working days as long as we are not in a period of transcript embargo.
We may also revoke your HEAR if it contains incorrect data that we need to update before re-publishing.
If your HEAR has been revoked and you are not sure why, then please do get in contact with the Student Enquiry Centre so that we can advise you.
Only students who have an enrolment record for 2016/17* or later have been registered with Gradintelligence for a HEAR as this is the academic year the HEAR was implemented. Therefore, undergraduate and postgraduate taught students who were awarded prior to July 2017 are not eligible for a HEAR and can request a physical copy of your transcript instead.
*It was later introduced for students undertaking BDS, Intercalated and Joint-China programmes (BUPT, Nanchang & NPU) who were awarded in summer 2019 or later and DClinDent students who were awarded in Autumn 2019 or later. The following students are excluded from the HEAR, regardless of whether they have an enrolment record for 2016/17 or later:
Yes, over half the higher education sector is now involved in HEAR development work. For more information visit the National HEAR website.
Your HEAR is available to you via your Gradintelligence account. QMUL will register you for your account (normally shortly after your full enrolment) and we ask that you activate your account within 30 days so that you have access to your Student Status Letter in the first instance and then your HEAR after your first year. Full instructions on how to activate your account can be found on our 'Accessing your Gradintelligence account' webpage.
The first HEAR's were published in July 2017 for undergraduate and postgraduate students enrolled in the academic year 2016/17, excluding those on the following programmes: Postgraduate Research (PhD), DClinDent, MBBS, BDS, Joint-China Programmes (BUPT, Nanchang & NPU), Associates and those on non-award-bearing programmes.
In 2018/19, the HEAR was introduced for students enrolled on the BDS, Joint-China and DClinDent programmes.
Therefore, you may not have a HEAR because it was introduced after you were awarded. Please see our page for Graduate documents instead.
Please note that the HEAR is a large document and it takes several days for the thousands of HEAR's to be uploaded and released. Therefore, although you may receive your HEAR at an earlier or later time that your peers, we do aim to have the HEAR released to everyone by the advertised publish date. If you are concerned that your HEAR has not been updated, please check the HEAR publication dates.
If the HEAR publish date has passed and you have not received your updated HEAR (and you are not a debtor), please contact the Student Enquiry Centre.
No. Graduates still receive their degree certificate at the point of Graduation. The HEAR is your academic transcript also referred to as a 'Diploma Supplement'. This means that it can accompany your certificate as an explanatory document, providing a standardised description of the nature, level, content and status of the qualification completed.
It is a decision to be made by a third party as to whether they accept a printed copy of your HEAR. If you are a current student you can request a physical interim transcript via the Student Enquiry Centre. We can also produce physical transcripts for Graduates at request.
If the HEAR is shared electronically via Gradintel then it is a secure document that has been digitally signed and therefore we do not envisage that employers or other third parties would wish to contact Queen Mary for verification. However, if you are providing your HEAR as a paper or PDF copy then we can provide verification of the contents of your HEAR.
A list of extracurricular achievements that are eligible for HEAR recognition is available on our HEAR Extracurricular Activities page and we have a dedicated HEAR Extracurricular Activities FAQ page to help answer your questions.
The HEAR is not a replacement for a CV or job application statement; these are still the most important documents as far as employers are concerned. Instead it will sit alongside these as a complementary document, providing official evidence of the range of knowledge, skills and experience you have developed at university.
You have the right to see what personal information Gradintelligence hold about you and ask for this data to be rectified, restricted from further processing, erased or provided to you in a portable format. We call this a Data Request Service.
Regarding understanding the personal information that Gradintel holds for you or if you would like to request that the data Gradintel holds for you is permanently deleted (data erasure request), please visit their 'Data Request Service' webpage for support.
On activating your Gradintel account you will be asked to change your username. Please note that any usernames with special characters (e.g. Chinese or Turkish characters) may cause an error when uploading your electronic status letter and HEAR (if eligible), as the UTF-8 encoding system used cannot recognise them. Therefore, we recommend that you create a username that can be typed using a standard British keyboard.
If you do create a username that uses a special character or includes a space, we request that you contact Gradintel and ask them to change your username on your behalf as neither you nor QMUL have the ability to do this.
Gradintel customer services: customerservices@gradintel.com
Please remember to include your full name, student ID number and inform them that you are a student at QMUL.
If you have previously activated your Gradintel account and forgotten your login details, you can receive a reminder of your username and reset your password by visiting Gradintel.com, clicking 'Login' then 'Lost Account Details' and then following the steps.
If you are finding it difficult to reset your details, please contact Gradintel customer services who will be able to help you: customerservices@gradintel.com.
The activation links to Gradintel expire after 30 days. If your link has expired, you should follow the account recovery process to gain access to your account:
Note: If you no longer have access to the account-linked email address or mobile number indicated by the hint, please contact the Student Enquiry Centre to request an update to your email address for a new activation link to then be provided.
You are able to merge multiple Gradintelligence accounts. You can do this by logging into your account using your unique login details and then navigating to 'User settings' which can be found in the right top corner under the settings tab.
We can only upload your documents into the Gradintel account that we create for you. When we have registered you with Gradintel, we will send an activation link to your QMUL email address (the sender is 'Gradintelligence Account Activation' and the email address is 'noreply@qmul.ac.uk') so that you can complete the activation of your account.
If you do register yourself/sign yourself up for a Gradintelligence account directly through gradintel.com and not via the activation link received from 'Gradintelligence Account Activation', we ask that you please do not link your self-made account to your QMUL email address as this will block us from registering you and providing you with your documents.
If you do link your self-created account to your QMUL email address, you will be able to change the email address by logging into Gradintel and editing it within 'User Settings' (accessed via the cog in the top right of the Gradintel portal).
If you are experiencing issues changing your email address or would like to delete your self-made account, please contact Gradintel customer services for support: customerservices@gradintel.com
During the account activation process you are asked if you wish to receive communications relating to job opportunities and marketing from selected service providers via email/text.
You are free to turn these communications on/off or update the settings to match your preferences by logging into your Gradintel account and clicking on 'User Settings', which is accessed via the cog in the top right corner of your dashboard.
You should then click on 'Communications' to update the type (email/SMS) and/or frequency (daily/weekly) of communications that you receive.
If you would like any further information about the communications that you might receive from Gradintel, please contact their customer services team for support: customerservices@gradintel.com
If you query has not been answered above, you can contact the Student Enquiry Centre in the next instance to see if they are able to assist further. They can be contacted not only via their physical front facing service, but via email at studentenquiry@qmul.ac.uk.