22 October 2026

UCAS data import

With the UCASHEConnector licence, you can use EBS to import applicant data for your higher education (HE) courses from UCAS. The import is one-way, EBS imports data from UCAS but does not send data back.

Depending on the available data, the import creates some or all of the following records:

• Applicant data (people information)

• Applications

• Attainments (prior qualifications)

• Addresses

• Disabilities

Set up the UCAS data import

1. Set up a UCAS account with permission to access the XML-Link data.

   Make a note of the username and password. You will need these credentials when you configure the institution settings.

2. Set up an EBS account that can access EBS through the REST services.

   Assign the following roles to the account:

   • Full Application

   • Full Attainments

   • Full People

   Make a note of the username and password. You will need these credentials when you configure the institution settings.

3. Configure UCAS course matching. Ensure that each HE course has the correct UCAS details:

   • UCAS Course Code: Enter the four-character UCAS course code at unit instance level.

   • UCAS Year: Enter the two-digit UCAS application year at unit instance occurrence level. For example, enter 23 for 2023. When checking the year, take account of the applicant’s derived entry year, including deferred entry.

   • Course Month: If your institution matches courses by entry month, check that the start month identifies the correct occurrence.

   • UCAS Campus: If your institution matches courses by campus, check that the relevant organisation or study location maps to the correct UCAS campus.

   EBS uses this curriculum information to match each UCAS application to a unit instance occurrence. EBS creates an application only when it finds exactly one matching occurrence. If it finds no matching occurrences or multiple matching occurrences, it does not create the application.

   The UCAS details in EBS must match the corresponding details held by UCAS. To check your course-matching data, go to, EBS Central > Reporting > Data Miner > Curriculum context > UCAS Courses. For more information, see UCAS course matching.

4. In EBS Central, go to > Institution settings > UCAS HE institution settings, and then complete the fields with your institution’s details. For more information, see UCAS HE institution settings.

5. Configure the UCAS import schedule. By default, the UCAS import workflow runs every day at 06:00.

   To change the schedule, in EBS Central, go to System > Workflow Manager and enter UCAS in the search box. Then, select UCAS XML-Link Data Load and change the workflow schedule to the required time and frequency. The image below shows an example of the workflow schedule.