Reference Requests and Third Party Verification of Studies

Information for Employers/Agencies/Embassies

Verification of quantitative information on a student's profile, for example, enrolment dates, course name and achievement

 The University is not able to respond directly to third party enquirers such as employers, agencies and embassies. Enquirers must verify attendance and awards from our university with Prospects Hedd. A Hedd verification confirms the candidate’s name, qualification type, course name, year of award, classification obtained and dates of attendance. Please visit www.hedd.ac.uk to register. There is a small charge for each enquiry and the written consent of the individual must be provided. To prevent delays, please enter the candidate’s details as they appear on their degree certificate. Enquiries are checked and completed by the University’s Registry team. The due date for a response will be listed on your enquiry. If you require further assistance, please email heddhelp@prospects.ac.uk.

Request for an academic/detailed reference for a current or former student, for example, information on absences and skills

For a check requiring an academic or personal character reference, current or former students should first make contact with an appropriate professional or academic staff member to ask permission, prior to any documentation being sent by a third party. For GDPR purposes, students will also be required to provide written consent allowing the University to release information to a third party. Please liaise with the student in the first instance to identify an appropriate member of staff they can contact to make this request.

Information for Current/Former Students

Do you need confirmation of your studies, for example, enrolment dates, course name and achievement?

 If you’re a current student you can access your enrolment confirmation letter via the eVision tile on Portal. You can download this document, it will confirm your current status and you can share this with employers and agencies if requested.

 For current and former students we are able to provide verification of your studies, including your course details, attendance and award (if you’ve completed your studies) with Prospects Hedd. Any requests must be made on this system by third party enquirers such as employers or agencies, we cannot respond directly to requests from students or third parties.

A Hedd verification will confirm your name, qualification type, course name, year of award, classification obtained and dates of attendance (if applicable). If you are asked by an employer or agency for this information please ask them to visit www.hedd.ac.uk to register and submit their request. You will be asked to provide written consent for the enquirer to request this information. The third party enquirer will be asked to pay a small fee for using the system. Enquiries are checked and completed by the University’s Registry team.

Do you need verification of your final award?

If you are a past student, you will be able to share access to your digital award documentation via Gradintelligence. All documents issued by Gradintelligence are digitally signed with an electronic seal; an advanced electronic signature (AdES) with a qualified electronic certificate (QES). These digital credentials are compliant with international standards and are legally valid, tamper-proof documents that you can freely share with third parties, whenever they want, through the Gradintelligence share process.

If your award was made in or after June 2024 you will already have access to your Digital Award Certificates Diploma Supplements through Gradintelligence. To access this, go to Login - Gradintelligence.

 If your award was made after October 2012 but before June 2024 you can request a digital version from the University’s Online Shop.

 Students awarded prior to October 2012 are currently unable to access digital versions of their documentation therefore any third parties needing verification of your award should request this via www.hedd.ac.uk

Further information is available on our webpages: Access your Digital Award

Do you need an academic/detailed reference that requires information on your skills and suitability e.g. for a university place?

Before asking the University for an academic or detailed reference please check with the third-party enquirer that this is definitely required. If they are willing to accept verification of your studies as an alternative source of confirmation, then this can be done more promptly via the Prospects Hedd system (see above for details).  

If an academic/detailed reference is required, this will need to be requested from your academic division. You can contact a relevant academic staff member from your studies such as your Personal Academic Tutor, Course Leader or Dissertation Supervisor, or you can contact your faculty connect team and ask them to forward on your request.

You will need to ask whether the staff member is willing and able to provide a reference, also include your name, student number and course details. You should also indicate who and what the reference is for. Please be aware that academic staff will have their own workloads to consider and therefore it may take time for them to provide a reference, if they are able.