The date to which the collection refers. Reference dates are specified in the Higher Education Data Collection – Reporting Requirements.
Applications, preferences and offers
Applications and preferences submitted by students after the reference date are not part of the collection and must not be submitted. Offers made by providers or TACs after the reference date also must not be submitted.
Please also note that the scope of the collection is for applications and offers to study in the first teaching period of the year (semester 1 or trimester 1 2022) so it would be quite unusual for a student to apply in late May to study in the first teaching period. Applications and offers for later teaching periods (semester 2, trimesters 2 and 3, or winter school) are not in scope and do not get reported to TCSI.
Full-time staff packet
The reference date refers to the full-time and fractional full-time staff employed on that date. A staff member must not be included in that year if they ceased employment before the reference date (even if they were employed for most of the preceding year). Staff members must also not be included if they employment commences the day after the reference date.