HEIFES12 (HEFCE 2012/24)

1.   Is there a full list of learndirect codes and associated subject descriptions?

The file below contains a full list of Learn Direct Classification System (LDCS) codes and associated subject descriptions, as mentioned in paragraph 2, Annex L of the HEIFES12 publication (HEFCE 2012/24). The table is based on a file extracted on 3 October 2011 from the Learning Aims Reference Application - LARA downloads area of the Data Service's provider extranet. We will not routinely update the file to incorporate any amendments.

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2.   Is there a list of EU and EEA countries?

European Union (EU) members

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Cyprus
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• United Kingdom

European Economic Area (EEA) members

• EU members
• Iceland
• Liechtenstein
• Norway

Students from Switzerland should be treated as if their country was a member of the EEA, but not the EU.

Students from Gibraltar should be treated as if they came from an EU country. 

Croatia is expected to accede to the EU on 1 July 2013. Years of programme of study for students from that country should be treated as Home and EU if they commence on or after that date, including for the purpose of completing Table 7.

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3.   Where can I find the Fees and Awards Regulations?

The Education (Fees and Awards) (England) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007 No. 779) can be found on the National Archives’ Legislation web-site.

Amendments to date are:

• Education (Student Fees, Awards and Support) (Amendment) (No. 2) Regulations 2007 (SI 2007 No. 2263)
• The Education (Student Fees, Awards and Support) (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011 No. 87)
• The Education (Fees and Awards) (England) Regulations 2007 (Amendment) Regulations 2011 (SI 2011 No. 1987)
• The Education (Student Fees, Awards and Support) (Amendment) Regulations 2012 (SI 2012 No. 1653)

Institutions should seek advice from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) on interpretation of these regulations where appropriate.

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4.   Is there a list of overseas territories?

Students from the following overseas territories should be considered as Home and EU in HEIFES12 if they meet the criteria set out in the regulations in question 3.

British Overseas Territories

• Anguilla
• Bermuda
• British Antarctic Territory
• British Indian Ocean Territory
• British Virgin Islands
• Cayman Islands
• Ducie Island
• Falkland Islands
• Henderson Island
• Montserrat
• Oeno Island
• Pitcairn Island
• South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands
• St Helena and its Dependencies
• Turks and Caicos Islands

French possessions

• French Polynesia
• French Southern and Antarctic Territories
• Mayotte
• New Caledonia and its Dependencies
• Saint-Barthélemy
• Saint-Pierre et Miquelon
• Wallis and Futuna

Overseas Territories of other EU Member States

• Aruba (Netherlands)
• Greenland & Faeroe Isles (Denmark)
• Netherlands Antilles (Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St Eustatius and St Marten) (Netherlands) 

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5.   How are standard and non-standard years of programme of study returned on HEIFES, Tables 1-5?

The following download gives examples of standard and non-standard years of programme of study and how they should be returned in Tables 1-5 of HEIFES12.

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6.   How should courses with some modules funded by the Strategic Health Authority (SHA) be treated?

All Home and EU students on pre-registration nursing or midwifery courses, and courses (including postgraduate courses) leading to a recognised professional qualification in dietetics, speech and language therapy, chiropody/podiatry, or prosthetics and orthotics should be recorded as HEFCE non-fundable, irrespective of whether or not they are funded to any extent through NHS sources. For old-regime students on other courses, where some modules of a course are funded by the SHA, a proportion of the old-regime students should be returned as HEFCE-fundable, and a proportion as non-fundable. This is a particular example of provision that is funded from another EU public source, but at a lower rate than the HEFCE standard resource. The number of students to be returned as non-fundable should be calculated according to the guidance given in paragraphs 37 to 43 of Annex K. There is also an Excel template which will perform the calculation (see question 7).

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7.   Is there an Excel template to calculate the number of old-regime students who are non-fundable in individual cases, where there is funding from another EU public source?

The Excel template below calculates the number of non-fundable old-regime students in individual cases, as described in Annex K, paragraph 37 of HEIFES12. This template should not be used for new-regime students.

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8.   Is there further guidance on what constitutes a closed course?

Annex K paragraph 10h of HEIFES12 states that students on closed courses are not eligible for HEFCE recurrent funding for teaching. The factors we use in determining whether a course is open or closed include:

• How the programme is marketed: Are there entry restrictions/requirements that suggest it is not open to any suitably qualified candidate? Is it advertised widely, including in general prospectuses, as would be expected of other open courses?
• To what extent is the course content tailored towards the needs of particular, named employers?
• Where there is a requirement for particular workplace experience/learning, what arrangements are there to ensure all students have an opportunity for an equivalent experience, irrespective of their existing employment circumstances?
• What is the make-up of the student population on the course? If answers to the previous questions suggested that a course was open, but we then found that all the students on the course were employees of a single company, how had that outcome arisen? 

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9.   What is the relationship between the INSET (QTS) price group and the Teaching Agency's Postgraduate Professional Development (PPD) provision? 

The In-service Education and Training (qualified teacher status) (INSET (QTS)) price group includes, but is not limited to, PPD provision funded by the Teaching Agency. If a student with QTS is on an undergraduate or postgraduate course whose primary purpose is to improve the effectiveness of teachers, lecturers or trainers, they should be returned in the INSET (QTS) price group, irrespective of whether or not their provision is being funded by the Teaching Agency. This reflects the basis on which the transfer of funding was determined from HEFCE to the former Teacher Training Agency when INSET provision was reviewed during 1997-98.

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10.   What is the process for obtaining approval to count as HEFCE-fundable old-regime students whose provision is franchised to an institution that is not an HEI or FEC supported from public funds?

Complete the approval form for franchises to non-public HEIs or FECs and send it, along with a copy of the contractual agreement between your institution and the organisation to which the provision is franchised, to recurrentgrant@hefce.ac.uk. Approval of such arrangements is not automatic: we will wish to be assured, for example, about quality assurance arrangements for the provision, that HEFCE funding is being used appropriately to support the provision for the students, and that there are no concerns about propriety.

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11.   How do I determine the academic level of professional qualifications when assessing a student’s ELQ status?

Annex K paragraph 28 of HEIFES12 explains that UK NARIC (www.naric.org.uk) can advise on the relative level of qualifications when assessing a student's ELQ status. Other sources of information which may help in determining the academic level of qualifications include:

• Register of Regulated Qualifications
• Learning Aims Reference Application (LARA) Database

The level given for a qualification on each of these databases can be used to measure equivalency with the levels on the Framework for Higher Education Qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (FHEQ).

Ofqual has published a table which shows how the levels in the FHEQ are equivalent to levels in other frameworks.

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12.   Which courses can be considered to be NHS bursaried?

NHS-bursaried courses need to be considered in relation to ELQ exemptions in the HEIFES12 guidance. Those that are on a year of course for which an NHS bursary is payable are exempt from the ELQ policy (paragraph 18d of Annex K, HEIFES12). Note that this applies to students on NHS-bursaried years of courses for which an NHS bursary is payable, even if the individual student does not receive, or is not eligible for, the bursary.

An NHS-bursaried course is one that is eligible for an NHS bursary. However, students that are NHS funded or have their tuition fees paid by the NHS will not necessarily be on an NHS-bursaried course (or year of course). Likewise students on an NHS-bursaried course will not necessarily be NHS funded or have their tuition fees paid by the NHS. General guidance on NHS bursaries can be found on the NHSBSA web-site.

The Financial Help for Healthcare Students booklet on the Student Bursaries web-site provides a list of the courses that are funded through the NHS Bursary Scheme. An introduction to course eligibility is available on the NHSBSA web-site. The booklet also lists the other bursary eligibility requirements relating to applicants' residence and immigration status in the UK.

In addition, there are social work bursaries which are administered through the NHS bursary scheme. Although these are not NHS bursaries, for the purposes of recording the students' activity in HEIFES, these should be considered as NHS bursaries.

For queries on eligibility of a course or student for a bursary, contact NHS bursaries. Note that if a year of a course is eligible for a bursary, then students on that course would be exempt from the ELQ policy for that year.

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13.   What should I do if I wish to register a new learning aim on the Learning Aims Reference Application (LARA)?

Learning aim information such as qualification type and Learndirect code(s) enable colleges to determine whether a course is classed as recognised HE (see paragraph 4 of Annex G of HEIFES12) and determine the price group assignment for a year of programme of study (see paragraph 2 of Annex L of HEIFES12) when completing the HEIFES return. Therefore, it is essential that colleges ensure that learning aims are registered on the Learning Aims Reference Application with the appropriate information present in time for data returns.

Please note that the time taken to add an aim will depend on the volume of work going through the Data Service, hence institutions should apply when they set up the course rather than when they first need to return data. Hence, as soon as an institution has set up the course, they should contact the Data Service via their Service desk (servicedesk@thedataservice.org.uk) to indicate that they wish to register a new aim and requesting that they be sent the official form for completion.

The form will ask for the following information:

• learning aim title
• awarding body
• awarding body reference (if known)
• the academic year for which the aim is to be added (the aim will then remain on the LARA for subsequent years).

Documentary evidence must also be submitted to demonstrate that the aim identified:

• is a valid and current award as issued by a recognised body (as listed in paragraph 3 Annex G of HEIFES12)
• has been authorised by the higher education institution for delivery by the provider.

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14. Do I need to ensure that our recognised HE learning aim is listed on LARA?

Yes. We use information from LARA to help establish which learning aims are recognised courses of HE and to determine the appropriate price group(s) for the activity. If a particular course is not listed on LARA then this may reduce our ability to provide quick and accurate responses to HEIFES queries, and will affect the onward use of ILR data to inform and monitor HEFCE funding allocations. The Data Service web site includes guidance for requesting missing HE learning aims on LARA. In particular:

• Guidance for Requesting Missing HE Learning Aims
• Form to Request Missing HE Learning Aims 
• HE Approval Letter (template) 

Please note that the time it takes to add a learning aim to LARA will depend on the volume of work going through the Data Service at the time of request. Therefore both the Data Service and HEFCE advise colleges to apply for the learning aim to be added when they set up the course rather than when they first need to return data on HEIFES or the ILR.

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15. How should students who withdraw from or intermit their studies be returned in Table 6?

Paragraph 27 of Annex H is clear that if, for example, a student commences a full-time undergraduate course in September 2011 (having never been registered at the institution before) but withdraws from the course in December 2011 due to illness and returns to re-start the course in September 2012 then:

1. The first year of instance (where the student withdrew) should have been included in Table 6 of HEIFES11.
2. The second year of instance (where the student returns) should not be returned in Table 6 of HEIFES12.

This example covers cases where the student intermits their studies more than two weeks after commencing their course.

If instead in the example above the student intermitted their studies within two weeks of commencing the course in September 2011 and did not return from intermission until at least the following September then:

1. The first year of instance (where the student intermits) should not have been included in Table 6 of HEIFES11.
2. The second year of instance (where the student returns) should be returned in Table 6 of HEIFES12.

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16. What principles should be used when determining the number of non-fundable old-regime students, when funding from another EU public source is available?

HEIFES12, Annex K, paragraph 10a, states that old-regime students on courses that are otherwise HEFCE-fundable but whose places are funded at the standard HEFCE rate, or higher, from another EU public source should be recorded as non-fundable. It also sets out that if funds from another EU public source are available and this is in addition to the mandatory or recommended fees but falls short of the HEFCE standard rate per student then the old-regime students that are not covered by the public source funding are eligible for HEFCE recurrent funding.

Annex K, paragraph 37, contains more details on how to form this calculation. It contains examples and a link to the template in question 7 above that can be used to work out the number of non-fundable students given money from another EU public source.

However, before using the template, there are some principles that should be considered. Firstly, you need to establish what the public source funding is intending to cover. Does it cover a specific number of students, or is it a lump sum of money intended to cover the course as a whole and the number of students may vary on the course? This will depend on the arrangement you have with the organisation(s) providing funds.

If the money from the public source is intended to cover a specific number of students on a course then you would need to treat these students and the money separately from others on the course when calculating how many students are non-fundable. Otherwise you should consider all students on the course and the money coming in for the course together in the template.

In the case when students are considered to be aiming for an ELQ, again you would need to consider if the money coming in from the public source is for specific students or for the course as a whole. If the former, then you would remove the ELQ students and the money from the public source for each of those students before using the template. If the latter then you would need to calculate the standard resource for each of the ELQ students and then remove the total standard resource for the ELQ students and the number of ELQ students before using the template.

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17. Where can I find a list of AAB equivalences for use in completing Table 6?

Paragraph 22 of Annex H of HEIFES12 explains that to inform calculations of student number control limits for 2013-14, undergraduates in Table 6 need to be disaggregated between those students entering with the equivalent of AAB grades at A-level or higher (the AAB+ equivalent population), and those without such entry qualifications. 

Annex C of ‘Teaching funding and student number controls: consultation on changes to be implemented in 2012-13’ (HEFCE 2011/20) set out an initial list of AAB+ equivalent qualification and grade combinations. Following the consultation, this initial list of equivalencies has been updated and the updated list can be found in the section of this site about New arrangements for teaching funding under ‘2012-13 consultation’, ‘AAB+ equivalences’. 

It is this updated list which must be used when determining which undergraduates in Table 6 are in, or assumed to be in, the AAB+ equivalent population.

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18. I attended the advanced HEIFES12 seminar in July - are the slides from the presentation available? 

Yes - you can view or download the slides below.

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19. I attended the New FEC HEIFES12 seminar in July - are the slides from the presentation available?

Yes - you can view or download the slides below.

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20. I attended the introductory HEIFES12 seminar in October - are the slides from the presentation available?

Yes - you can view or download the slides below.

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21. How should I treat duplicate qualifications when determining whether a student comes within the AAB+ equivalent population?

Annex H paragraph 27 of HESES12 states that when determining whether a student comes within the AAB+ equivalent population, institutions should disregard any duplication of qualifications of the same type which are in the same subject.  In disregarding such duplication, institutions should normally ignore the qualification with the lower tariff points; this may not always be the case where a student has taken an A-level and double A-level in the same subject and the grade achieved in the single A-level is higher than either grade of the double award.

For this purpose:

• A-levels, AS-levels, double A-levels, double AS-levels, VCE Advanced, VCE Advanced Double Award, VCE Advanced Subsidiary and GCE 9 Unit Awards should be classed as being the same type of qualification
• Scottish Advanced Highers and Scottish Highers should not be classed as the being same type of qualification
• A-levels in Mathematics and Further Mathematics should not be treated as duplicates 

The following examples illustrate how to determine whether or not a student comes within the AAB+ equivalent population based on the entry qualifications in the example, and assuming they do not already have a first degree or higher.

Example 1

 In this example, the student would not be in the AAB+ equivalent population. This is because the AS-level in Mathematics is disregarded as it is treated as being the same type of qualification as the A-level in Mathematics, and the grade awarded has lower tariff points than the grade awarded for the A-level in Mathematics.

Example 2

In this example, the student would not be in the AAB+ equivalent population.  This is because the A-level in English Language (Grade B) is disregarded.

Example 3

In this example, the student would be treated as being in the AAB+ equivalent population.  This is because the Scottish Advanced Higher is in a different qualification type to the A-levels and therefore no qualifications are disregarded.

Example 4

In this example, the student would be treated as being in the AAB+ equivalent population.  This is because the BTEC is in a different qualification type to the A-levels and therefore no qualifications are disregarded.

Example 5

In this example, the student is AAB as this can be achieved by ignoring the double award.

Example 6

In this example, the student would be treated as being in the AAB+ equivalent population.  This is because the Advanced Highers are in a different qualification type to the Highers and therefore no qualifications are disregarded.

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