Invitation 00/39

Additional student places and funds 2001-02: Invitation to bid

Respond by 20 October 2000

Executive summary

Purpose

1. This publication invites bids for additional student places and funds for 2001-02. Bids may be for full-time or part-time, below-degree, foundation degree, other degree or postgraduate taught places. In addition, institutions may bid for places that support Graduate Apprenticeships and summer schools.

Key points

2. All higher education institutions (HEIs) and further education sector colleges (FECs) directly funded by the HEFCE are eligible to submit bids. Where FECs bid for foundation degrees, they should ensure that the arrangements for validation are underpinned by strong partnerships which demonstrate active engagement with the validating HEIs.

3. FECs who wish to offer directly funded higher education programmes for the first time in 2001-02 should refer to 99/36, which provides guidance on funding options.

4. The framework for this initiative was set in 1997 and supports the key national priorities of widening access to higher education, increasing opportunities for students, increasing provision below honours degree level, and supporting expansion of high quality in learning and teaching. For 2001-02, therefore, we are inviting bids that will:

• widen access to higher education
• support expansion of high quality in learning and teaching
• deliver foundation degrees
• support Graduate Apprenticeships.

5. Bids may address one or more of these priorities. Bids for foundation degrees must meet the core features and requirements set out in the foundation degree prospectus (HEFCE 00/27). Bids for sub-degree, degree or postgraduate places, including support for Graduate Apprenticeships, should refer to the institutions' records on employability of their students, on student demand and on quality, including information about the student learning environment. They should be in line with institutional corporate plans and should contribute to the developing regional or sub-regional strategies for HE. We particularly encourage collaborative bids to widen access to higher education.

Action required

6. Institutions should send completed bids to the Additional Numbers Team, HEFCE, Northavon House, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1QD, to arrive no later than 1700 on 20 October 2000.

Foreword

Introduction

7. In October 1997, following consultation with institutions, we announced the overall framework for allocating additional funded student places. This was to enable institutions to:

• respond strategically to changes in student demand and to changes in their environment
• respond to regional needs and develop innovative approaches to delivering HE
• respond to the national priorities of expanding vocationally oriented provision and widening access to HE
• give students the opportunity to undertake high quality study at institutions of their choice.

8. This framework is now well established and, within it, we have set particular objectives annually for the competition for additional places. These have resulted in an increase of 81,470 places from 1998-99 to 2000-01, the majority of which have been for part-time programmes.

9. Key objectives that will influence the allocation of additional HE provision in 2001-02 are:

• making places available to all those capable of benefiting from higher education
• supporting expansion of high quality in learning and teaching
• improving employability
• increasing the focus on vocationally oriented programmes below honours degree level
• widening access into HE for full-time and part-time study
• providing higher education through FECs (or partnerships with FECs) to serve communities and students without access to HE institutions.

10. We shall allocate places according to the relative merits of the bids, based on how well they address the criteria. We shall expect the allocations overall to contribute to regional needs in terms of employability and access, particularly where bids are for foundation degrees or to support Graduate Apprenticeships (GAs). We especially encourage collaborative bids to support regional developments. Where institutions make individual bids, they should show how their proposals relate to other similar bids in the region or sub-region and how they fit with their institutional strategy. In some cases we may require institutions seeking to cover similar provision to consolidate their bids.

11. Institutions that received an allocation of additional places for 1999-2000 and 2000-01 will wish to reflect upon their success both in recruiting to those places and in achieving the expected growth overall before making a further bid. We shall be writing separately to seek early information about the recruitment of additional places for 2000-01, and will take that into account in considering bids for 2001-02, particularly where institutions were awarded additional sub-degree places which they have not been able to fill. We will also take into account information about recruitment and overall growth in institutions when allocating any places. Where institutions have not achieved their growth targets we are unlikely to allocate further places.

Purpose

12. For 2001-02, we are inviting bids that will:

• widen access to higher education
• support expansion of high quality in learning and teaching, and/or
• deliver foundation degrees
• support Graduate Apprenticeships.

13. Bids to widen access to HE should be in line with the following specific policy objectives:

• to increase the number of students from disadvantaged backgrounds
• to offer programmes which lead to vocationally oriented qualifications below honours degree level, including foundation degrees
• to help meet skill shortages
• to increase the range of higher education options within a region.

14. We expect bids for foundation degrees especially to respond to these employment objectives. They are intended to help education providers to supply the labour market with high quality graduates needed to address the shortage of intermediate level skills, as well as making higher education more affordable, accessible and appealing to a wider range of students.

15. The development and delivery of Graduate Apprenticeships also supports employability. GAs were announced in `The Learning Age' (information can be found at the following web-site: www.lifelonglearning.co.uk/greenpaper/index.htm) as a means of enhancing the work-readiness of new graduates. They are frameworks which integrate study at degree, sub-degree or postgraduate level with structured work-based learning. The frameworks combine work-based learning, underpinned by NVQ and Key Skill units, with existing HE provision. We will consider bids to support the development and delivery of GAs. The core components which GA frameworks should specify and the funding available are described in HEFCE circular letter 22/00.

16. We will look to both HEIs and FECs to encourage and improve the development of progression routes. For foundation degrees there should be guaranteed arrangements for articulation and progression to honours degree. The development of a range of HE qualifications as routes into employment will provide students with a variety of stepping-off points below degree level. We encourage bids that build on work with Lifelong Learning Partnerships.

17. We recognise the particular contribution that further education sector colleges (FECs) can make, for example:

• improving local access in geographical areas not served by an HEI, with the aim of establishing HE in a visible form in every community of significant size
• offering particular subject specialisms and courses not well covered by HEIs
• providing what many students perceive as a more supportive learning environment.

18. In line with the principles of HEFCE publications 99/36, 99/63 and 00/02 on the funding of FECs, we encourage all FECs, in formulating bids, to consider what form of partnership with an HEI might best support the quality of the student experience. Given the requirement to establish close articulation and progression arrangements for the delivery of foundation degrees, we would expect FECs that wish to bid for foundation degree places to have a strong partnership arrangement which demonstrates active engagement by the validating HEI. As in previous years, HEIs are welcome to bid for places to be provided by an FEC through an indirect funding partnership.

19. Under the Council's widening participation programme for 1999-2000 to 2001-02 (HEFCE 99/33), we have made special funds available to support the development of summer schools designed to introduce to HE potential students from disadvantaged groups, or to assist their progression. Under the additional student places initiative, we wish to extend our support for summer schools. In particular, institutions may wish to seek, as part of their bid, student places for summer schools as an introduction to a foundation degree. These should focus on widening participation by, for example, reinforcing study skills and/or providing an introduction to a subject. Summer schools held during an HE programme, or in the intermission between the end of a foundation degree and the start of the final year towards an honours degree, should aim to aid student retention and progression, enhance completion, reinforce the coverage of subject content, or develop skills which will improve students' employability. Any bids should be for programmes of at least six weeks' duration on a full-time or part-time FTE basis, which, with preparation and assessment, would count as no less than 0.25 of a student year programme and therefore would be funded as 0.25 of an FTE in the relevant HEFCE price band.

Restructuring bids and ASNs

20. Institutions that are expecting to submit a bid to the Council for restructuring funds, and that will also seek additional student places from 2001-02, should bid for the places in this ASN competition. They should include with their bid an outline of their restructuring proposal which will then be considered once the outcome of the ASN bid is known. Exceptionally, we will consider bids for ASNs that are part of a restructuring proposal outside the main ASN competition, where the development of that proposal cannot fit within the timetable for the ASN competition. Institutions, however, should aim to submit their ASN bids to the main competition so that they can be included in the additional places sought for growth in the coming year.

Criteria for bidding

21. Bids for foundation degrees must address the core features and requirements described in the foundation degree prospectus (HEFCE 00/27). They do not need to address any other ASN criteria or priorities.

22. Bids for additional sub-degree, degree or postgraduate places, including those that support GAs, should address the generic criteria described in paragraphs 24-34 below. In addition, bids seeking student places to support expansion of high-quality in learning and teaching should address paragraphs 36-37, and bids seeking places to widen access should address one or more of the specific priorities in paragraphs 38-41. Bids do not need to address all the specific priorities: institutions should select only those priorities which their bid supports directly and for which they can provide evidence.

23. Below each criterion and priority, we list the assessment information that we plan to make available to the advisory panel assessing the bids. The performance indicators in HE to which we refer are those we have provided to HEIs individually and which we will publish in September. We invite bidders both to comment on the evidence already available to the panel in respect of their institution, and to provide additional relevant information and analyses if they wish. Any additional information should provide evidence specific to the bid rather than statements of a more general nature. We have asterisked the information that we would like institutions to provide with their bids.

Generic criteria for bids for sub-degree, degree, and postgraduate places, including support for Graduate Apprenticeships

Strategy for HE

24. We seek bids which will address national priorities and/or contribute to the developing regional or sub-regional strategies prepared by Regional Development Agencies (RDAs). In particular we encourage collaborative bids from HEIs and FECs, either for the region as a whole or at sub-regional and city levels. Last year the success rate of collaborative bids was higher than that for single institution bids.

25. We expect bids that will make a significant strategic impact on the institution's development. All bids should flow from, and be consistent with, the priorities stated in the institution's corporate plan. We will not consider bids which do not fit with institutions' strategies for HE. Institutions are likely to be able to demonstrate the strategic impact of their bids more easily if they draw together individual elements into a single bid, rather than make a large number of small bids for separate programmes. Where bids are for very large increases in student places, for example, to support major new campus developments or major collaborative proposals, we may provide additional funding and places over three years (see paragraph 56 below). Bids for 500 or more (headcount) additional student places should be supported by a survey of student demand. For major regional developments, we will give priority to bids from institutions which have commissioned studies to assess demand for local or regional HE provision, where these have been undertaken jointly or where the results are available to all HE providers in the area.

26. Institutions that are also bidding for foundation degree places should state how those places relate to their bid for other provision.

27. Institutions should comment on:

• how the bid builds on existing strengths and how these contribute to strategies for HE nationally and/or regionally
• how the bid contributes, specifically in terms of employment needs, to the economic strategy for the region prepared by the RDA
• what interaction they have had with other HE providers in the region about the development of their proposal.

Employability and skill shortages

28. We particularly wish to encourage institutions to ensure that students leave HE with the necessary skills for employment. Therefore we will take into account the employment success of institutions' previous students. Currently a steering group is developing national performance indicators (PIs) on the employment outcome of students from HEIs, based upon the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) first destination survey. Until these PIs are more fully developed, the data available nationally from the survey provide only tentative information. Therefore we look to HEIs to supplement that information with their own evidence of their students' success in employment. FECs should provide their own evidence in the same way. All institutions should state the extent to which their evidence has been quality assured.

29. Institutions should also explain what contribution their bid makes to:

• developing the knowledge and skills that students will need in employment
• responding to employment needs.

30. Institutions should describe those elements of the programme that aim to improve students' employability. They should also refer to relevant analyses of employment needs, and should demonstrate why they are especially well placed to address those needs. Where relevant, institutions should provide information on external demand, such as labour market demand, through reference to support for their bids from sponsors and employers.

31. Institutions seeking support for GAs should explain how their bid enhances the work-readiness of students.

32. We will also look to HEIs and FECs to develop effective strategies for responding to critical skills shortages and gaps.

Quality

33. We wish to ensure that there are more opportunities for students to experience high quality HE, and therefore we will examine evidence about the quality of institutions' learning and teaching. Institutions may wish to comment on the information about their provision that is available to us in the sources listed below. In addition, institutions may wish to provide information about both their own assessment of the quality of learning and teaching and any external assessments they have received. Where bids seek to extend existing courses, we would expect the evidence to relate mainly to those courses. Where bids are for new courses, we will look for evidence of quality across a range of current provision at the institution and for information about quality assurance arrangements. Where there has been no assessment of existing HE provision, we would take into account evidence of the quality in institutions' FE teaching.

Student demand

34. Institutions should explain how their bids respond to unmet student demand, and should refer to evidence of that demand, either for the institution as a whole or for specific, related programmes. We would expect the evidence to include an evaluation of data on past applications, recruitment and retention, and progression.

Specific priorities for bids for sub-degree, degree, and postgraduate places, including support for GAs

35. Institutions may address one or more specific priorities. The assessment process will ensure that bids addressing one specific priority will not be at a disadvantage to bids addressing more than one.

Supporting expansion of high quality in learning and teaching

36. Under this priority, we aim to support expansion in institutions that can show evidence of high quality in learning and teaching.

37. In addition to the information on quality provided in the generic criteria (paragraph 33 above), we will look favourably on bids which provide identified benefits to students through developments in the student learning environment. For example, benefits might be realised through collaboration between institutions, through the use of subject-based good practice and innovation in learning and teaching, or through the provision of specialist facilities. Institutions should describe the facilities available, particularly where laboratories and high cost equipment are necessary.

Widening access

38. In addition to the information provided under paragraphs 24-34 above, institutions seeking support to widen access should demonstrate how their particular programme widens access to groups currently under-represented in higher education. Bidders should note that simply increasing places for a programme is not in itself sufficient to demonstrate widening access – they should provide specific evidence of how they intend to widen access. Bids should be for one or more of the options in paragraphs 39-41 below.

Providing vocationally oriented qualifications below honours degree level (other than foundation degrees)

39. Bids addressing this option should:

• specify the competencies that the bid will address and, in particular, the key personal and transferable skills that it will seek to develop in students
• show how the bid will provide increased opportunities for students
• explain the particular features of the institution that make it well placed to attract students locally
• comment on the institution's success to date in widening participation
• specify the opportunities that will exist for students to continue in higher education.

Increasing the range of higher education options within a region

40. Bids addressing this option should:

• show how the bid will provide increased opportunities for students, for example by supporting Graduate Apprenticeships
• comment on the range of related options currently available in the region
• show how the proposal will increase the current range of options
• explain what impact the proposal will have regionally or sub-regionally.

Helping to meet skill shortages

41. Bids addressing this option should:

• be consistent with the emerging economic development and skills strategy of the relevant RDA
• refer to evidence from employers and others of skill shortages
• specify the contribution that the bid will make to alleviating known skill shortages, including, for example, support for Graduate Apprenticeships
• explain what the institution will do to attract students to the programme
• comment on the institution's success to date in addressing skill shortages.

Bidding rules

Eligibility

42. All HEIs and FECs directly funded by the Council are eligible to submit bids. We particularly welcome bids from institutions working in partnership. FECs will wish to take into account their choice of funding route in deciding the arrangements for bidding for additional places. FECs that wish to offer directly funded higher education programmes for the first time in 2000-01 should refer to HEFCE 99/36, which provides guidance on funding options.

43. Bids may be for full-time or part-time, undergraduate or postgraduate taught programmes. Bids for undergraduate provision may be for degrees, foundation degrees or sub-degrees, for example, HNC and HND programmes.

Foundation degrees

44. HEIs will have had the opportunity to submit proposals to develop prototype foundation degrees in response to the invitation in the foundation degree prospectus (HEFCE 00/27). As stated in the prospectus (paragraph 35), good quality bids which nevertheless are not successful in attracting funding to develop prototype foundation degrees can be transferred, at the request of the bidding consortia, to the competition for additional student places. When the outcome of the bids for prototype foundation degrees is announced, consortia that are not successful will be given the opportunity then to transfer their bids into the ASN competition. They will not need to complete any other bidding template for these bids.

45. Bids for foundation degrees which have not sought development funding to prepare prototypes, as described in HEFCE 00/27, may be submitted direct to the ASN competition, on the separate ASN foundation degree bidding template. Both HEIs and FECs may bid for foundation degrees direct to the ASN competition. FECs should ensure that the arrangements for validating the foundation degree are underpinned by strong partnerships which demonstrate active engagement with the validating HEIs. They should pay particular attention to describing the quality assurance arrangements of the validating HEI (see ASN foundation degree bidding template, Section 3, Q10).

46. Foundation degree bids considered in the ASN competition will not attract the development funding that is available to the successful prototype foundation degree bids.

47. We want to support soundly based proposals for foundation degrees wherever we can. However, it is for each institution to decide, in the light of its own circumstances, whether to develop foundation degree programmes at this stage. We have no automatic presumption in favour of foundation degree bids. Where an institution already offers programmes at sub-degree level, and wishes to develop from that base through expanded or new sub-degree HE programmes, we are happy to consider such proposals against the criteria in this publication. Where an institution wishes to offer programmes for the first time below honours degree level, or to embark on a major realignment of its programmes at that level (for example, into new subject areas), we would normally expect it to consider first whether foundation degrees offer the best means of achieving its plans and, if not, to explain in the bid why they would prefer to develop another type of programme below honours degree level.

Graduate Apprenticeships

48. Institutions may bid for places to support up to three GA frameworks delivered to part-time and full-time students at any level of HE provision. We will consider bids that support GAs for all types of student, but are particularly interested in the participation of employees of small to medium sized enterprises. We will assess bids and allocate places that support GAs in exactly the same way as other bids for sub-degree, degree and postgraduate programmes. From the successful bids that are seeking support for GAs, we will select those which achieve very high scores under the generic criterion of employability and skill shortages, and will additionally provide development funding and fee remission for eligible students, as described in circular letter 22/00.

General

49. Collaborative bids should be submitted by the lead institution, to ensure clear lines of accountability for student numbers, funds and quality assurance. We will allocate student places to the lead institution, which may be an HEI or an FEC. The collaboration may be specifically to deliver the additional student places or it may reflect longer-term franchising or consortia funding arrangements involving clusters of FECs and HEIs, on the models set out in HEFCE 99/36 and described more fully in HEFCE 99/63 and HEFCE 00/02.

50. We will not consider bids for funded student places in undergraduate medicine and dentistry, initial teacher training (primary and secondary), and subjects funded by the Department of Health. The proposed further increase in medical places announced in the `NHS Plan' (Cm 4818 - 1) of July 2000 is being handled through a separate allocation exercise.

Student places

51. The Government indicated in November 1999 the new places that it would make available in 2001-02 (HEFCE EP 09/99: higher education funding for 2000-01 and 2001-02). Confirmation of the additional places available for 2001-02 will be included in the annual grant letter to the HEFCE towards the end of 2000. Until then, our working assumption is that we will have in total a similar number of additional places to allocate as last year; that is, a headcount of just under 21,000. This will enable us to respond to bids for all modes and levels of HE places.

52. We will inform institutions of the new places available as soon as we are able.

53. As last year, we will continue to hold back some part-time places to enable institutions that are working with learndirect in the initial stage to develop joint provision of learning opportunities.

54. We encourage institutions to submit bids which will have a significant impact upon provision, while still being realistic about their rate of growth. When assessing bids, we will take into account the size of the institution’s current HE provision. Thus we would expect to see some justification where a large HE provider is seeking small numbers. Equally, we would expect to see justification from a small HE provider seeking proportionally large numbers, and in respect of an FEC which has not hitherto provided any HE. In the case of bids for full-time undergraduate students, we would not normally expect bids for fewer than 20 places.

55. For foundation degrees, we will provide funding and numbers for two student cohorts, for 2001-02 and for 2002-03. For other allocations, generally we will allocate a single uplift in funding and student numbers for 2001-02. These will not increase to allow for subsequent intakes where courses are for more than one year's duration. Institutions have flexibility in how they accommodate subsequent intakes; for example, they may choose to redeploy numbers and funds from other HE provision or, where appropriate, they may use the maximum student number (MaSN) margin to increase places. We recognise that there may be circumstances in which institutions need to phase their allocation across academic years; this includes, for example, institutions with fewer than 100 full-time equivalent students across all their HE programmes.

56. For a limited number of bids, those which are seeking major strategic developments in a region, we will consider providing additional funding and places for three years. We would expect these cases to be supported by an existing business plan for the development. Where we propose to offer support for three years, we will ask institutions to provide the business plan before we confirm the allocation.

57. The funds and student numbers will roll into institutions' core provision for following years.

58. We will adjust institutions’ MaSN to reflect the allocation of additional places.

Funding

59. We will fund successful bids at the sector standard rate in the relevant price group or groups. We will consolidate the funds in line with our teaching funding methodology.

60. It remains open to FECs and HEIs to agree that existing directly funded FEC programmes should transfer to become indirectly funded through an HEI. That may be particularly appropriate for small pockets of HE provision in FECs and, in such cases, we would fund the provision at standard rates rather than migrate funding over a period of years.

Monitoring

61. We will publish details of successful bids.

62. The allocation of funds for teaching and research is informed by the data we collect from institutions. We will continue to audit these data selectively in this and future funding exercises. In addition, we may use data which institutions provide to HESA or to the FEFC, to verify the data they submit directly to the HEFCE. The funds and student places allocated to successful bids will be subject to the conditions of grant set down in the funding agreement between the HEFCE and each institution.

63. We will collect information on the recruitment of additional student places. This will include data to show separately recruitment to full-time and part-time places, and to courses at sub-degree, foundation degree, degree and postgraduate levels. We may audit the extent to which institutions have implemented their allocations. As last year, we shall pay particular attention to the extent to which institutions have recruited the full number of sub-degree places, taking account of the additional places allocated below degree level in 1999-2000 and the places below degree level which the institution already provided.

Presentation

64. We are not limiting the number of bids that institutions may make; however, we advise institutions to note particularly the comments in paragraph 25 about the benefits of drawing together the individual elements within a single bid for sub-degree, degree and postgraduate places.

Foundation degree bids

65. Institutions wishing to bid for foundation degrees should follow the foundation degree notes for guidance (Annex D) and complete the cover sheet and all sections of the template provided on the enclosed ASN foundation degree disk. Please refer to Annex D for information on which questions to complete.

Bids for sub-degree, degree and/or postgraduate places, including places to support Graduate Apprenticeships

66. Institutions bidding for sub-degree, degree and/or postgraduate places, including places to support GAs, should complete the cover sheet and template provided on the enclosed ASN disk. They may also submit a maximum of four pages (eight sides) of supplementary information. We encourage institutions to refer to supplementary information rather than include it in their bid. Institutions bidding for support for GAs should complete question 11 of the template. Detailed notes on the completion of the template and cover sheet are at Annex A. For information, a copy of the ASN cover sheet is at Annex B and a copy of the ASN template is at Annex C. Please note that institutions should not amend the format of the bidding template.

Assessment of bids

67. An advisory panel will assess the bids and advise the HEFCE Board.

Timetable

68. Institutions should post the disks, plus seven hard copies of the information and any supplementary information, to Additional Numbers Team, HEFCE, Northavon House, Coldharbour Lane, Bristol, BS16 1QD, to arrive by 1700 on 20 October 2000. We will acknowledge receipt of all bids.

69. We will inform institutions of the outcome of their bids by the end of February 2001 and provide general feedback. During March and April we will be able to respond to requests for more detailed feedback.

70. We will consider requests for changes to the distribution and phasing of numbers during March, so that we can finalise all changes by the end of April 2001.