Developing a costing framework for teaching - TRAC(T)
Since January 2006 we have been working to develop a national framework for costing teaching in English higher education institutions (HEIs), based on Transparent Approach to Costing (TRAC) principles. We refer to this process as TRAC for teaching, or TRAC(T).
We believe that TRAC(T) enables institutions to acquire better cost information, which should help them make more informed decisions about their portfolios and how they price their provision. It should also give us a better idea of the resources required to support a sustainable and excellent higher education (HE) sector.
TRAC(T) and subject-related costs
The implementation of TRAC(T) guidance was developed to allow institutions to collect subject-related costs. We use these data to review the subject price group weightings. At the end of 2006 we held workshops to 'walk through' the guidance and share experience on approaches to integrating the minimum requirements with institutions' own broader costing objectives. We held a further series of workshops in March 2008 focused on enabling institutions to benchmark their data prior to final submission of data for use in our review of the subject price group weightings.
Background
In 2005, as part of our review of the teaching funding method (HEFCE 2005/41) we consulted on a proposal to introduce a national framework for costing teaching. Over 80 per cent of institutions supported this idea. We convened a TRAC(T) steering group to oversee the process, and issued a series of bulletins to keep the sector informed of the development of the costing framework. Oversight of TRAC(T) is now with the TRAC Development Group.
The TRAC(T) steering group also oversaw the development of a course costing advice note.
In January 2007 we published our second consultation to review the teaching funding method (HEFCE 2007/02). This included a proposal to benchmark the subject cost data submitted by institutions, as a first step to understanding the total costs of sustainable teaching.
Further information
For further information on TRAC(T), contact Heather Williams, tel 0117 931 7113, e-mail h.williams@hefce.ac.uk.
Last updated 9 October 2009