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Request 98/53

HEIFES98

Higher Education in Further Education: Student Survey 1998-99

Respond by 1 December 1998


To

Heads of further education colleges with higher education students in 1998-99

Of interest to those responsible for

Student data; Funding

Reference

98/53

Publication date

October 1998

Enquiries to

Tyler White tel 0117 931 7110
e-mail HEIFES@hefce.ac.uk


Executive summary

  1. Purpose

  2. This document asks further education colleges to complete a survey of students on recognised courses of higher education.

    Key points

  3. The data collected on HEIFES98 are intended to be compatible with those returned on the higher education students early statistics survey (HESES) 1998-99, which we collect from HE institutions. However, because of differences in the way further education colleges have traditionally returned data, identical returns are not possible. As we further develop our relationships with FE colleges we hope to be able to align the two surveys. In particular, we will wish to review the way in which activity in further education colleges is allocated to price groups.
  4. The data will:

    a. Give us an early indication of the number of students on recognised courses of higher education at further education colleges in the academic year 1998-99.

    b. Where appropriate, enable us to compare student load with allocations made for the academic year 1998-99.

    c. Allow us to finalise the transfer of funding from the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC).

    d. Inform our allocation of teaching funds for the academic year 1999-2000.

  5. This document provides:

    a. Guidance notes for completing the HEIFES98 survey.

    b. Definitions used in the HEIFES98 survey.

    c. Examples of the survey tables, which will be distributed on computer disk.

  6. Information contained in the annexes will help institutions to complete the survey.

    Annex A: Table descriptions

    Annex B: Descriptions of columns in tables

    Annex C: The HEIFES98 student population

    Annex D: Counting student activity

    Annex E: Full-time equivalence

    Annex F: Long years of programme of study

    Annex G: Definition of residential and funding status

    Annex H: Definition of level of study

    Annex I: Definition of mode of study

    Annex J: Definition of price groups

    Annex K: Definition of recognised courses of higher education

    Annex L: Eligibility for means-tested awards

    Annex M: Links between the ISR and HEIFES98 data

    Annex N: Validation checks

    Annex O: Spreadsheet notes

    Annex P: Sample tables

    Annex Q: Glossary

    Action required

  7. Survey data, on disk with a hard copy, should be returned by 1 December 1998. Disks will be dispatched to institutions by 11 November 1998.

     

    The HEIFES98 survey

  8. The Higher Education in Further Education: Student Survey 1998-99 (HEIFES98) and a similar survey in higher education institutions (HEIs), will be used to inform our allocation of teaching funds for 1999-2000. HEIFES98 should be completed by all FE colleges with students on recognised courses of HE.
  9. HEIFES98 splits students into those countable before 1 November 1998 and those countable after that date.
  10. Coverage of the HEIFES98 survey is given in Annex D. Annexes E to L explain how to record different categories of activity.
  11. All activity that meets the criteria set out in Annexes D and E should be reported, even if it will not be used directly to allocate funds. For example, the HEFCE will not support students ordinarily resident outside the EU, but these students should still be included.

    Data collection and verification

  12. Enquiries about this survey should be addressed to Tyler White (tel 0117 931 7110, e-mail HEIFES@hefce.ac.uk). A web page featuring answers to frequently asked questions and additional examples will be at http://www.hefce.ac.uk/ under http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/HEIFESQA.htm.
  13. A computer disk, containing six spreadsheet files to be completed for HEIFES98, will be dispatched directly to institutional contacts by 11 November 1998. Notes on the disk are at Annex O.
  14. The disk contains a number of validation checks, detailed in Annex N, and we will carry out further checks when we receive it. Once data have been validated, institutions will be asked to verify their returns. We may refuse to accept amendments once data have passed validation.

    Returns

  15. Survey data, on disk with a hard copy, should be returned to:

    Joanne Iles
    Analytical Services Group,
    HEFCE,
    Northavon House,
    Coldharbour Lane,
    Bristol BS16 1QD

  16. Returns should be received no later than 1 December 1998: data need to be returned by this date in order to ensure that we are able to begin work on calculating funding through December. Where an institution fails to return accurate data on time, we may not be able to include their activity in our funding allocations for 1999-2000; or we may use our own estimates of student activity in making allocations.

    Audit

  17. We will audit HEIFES98 data. Institutions should therefore keep an adequate audit trail recording how the data were derived. Where institutions are required to make estimates they must ensure that these estimates are reasonable and have sufficient supporting data. Institutions must keep records of how eligibility for means-tested awards was established.
  18. As part of our audit process, we will compare HEIFES98 data with a variety of other data, most notably FEFC individualised student record (ISR) data as these become available. We may make retrospective adjustments to funding in the light of these comparisons. Details of how we will compare data are given in Annex M. It is not possible to create an exact mapping between FEFC ISR data and HEIFES data; so although Annex M gives details of the mappings we will use, it cannot be used to derive HEIFES98 data.

 


Annex A

Table descriptions

Tables 1a, 2a and 3a – Student counts and FTEs

1. Tables 1a, 2a and 3a correspond to the three categories of mode of study defined in Annex I. These tables are mutually exclusive and taken together should sum to the total number of students who are countable for the academic year.

Tables 1b, 2b and 3b – Home and EC fees

2. Tables 1b, 2b and 3b contain the number of home and EC students who are countable on or before 1 November 1998.

3. When determining the level of fee, the entire tuition fees for a whole year, excluding examination or validation fees, should be returned – irrespective of who pays it. For example, a full-time student on a first degree would normally be recorded against the £1,000 heading, even if the student pays £200 and the student’s local education authority (LEA) pays the remaining £800.

Table 4 – Island students

4. Table 4 collects data on students ordinarily resident in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man. Students and full-time equivalents (FTEs) returned in this table must be included in tables 1a, 2a and 3a in the ‘Island and overseas’ category in column 4 or 4a.

Table 5 – Home and EC fees in 1997-98

5. Table 5 collects retrospective data for 1997-98 on home and EC students with fees paid by an English or Welsh LEA, the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS), or the Department of Education for Northern Ireland (DENI) disaggregated by fee band.

Table 6 – Home and EC student funding

6. Table 6 collects data on the type of qualification and source of funding for all home and EC fundable students included in columns 1 and 2 of tables 1a, 2a and 3a.


Annex B

Descriptions of columns in tables

1. Other than column 4a on table 3a and column 3 on table 4, all numbers returned on all tables should be student counts and not FTEs.

Tables 1a, 2a and 3a – Student counts and FTEs

2. Column 1: Number of students countable between 1 August 1998 and 1 November 1998 inclusive. If a student has been classified as a non-completion, as defined in Annex D, on or before 1 November 1998, they should not be returned.

3. Column 2: Number of students expected to become countable between 2 November 1998 and 31 July 1999 inclusive. Institutions should make sure that estimates included in this column are made on a reasonable basis, and that supporting evidence for the assumptions is kept for audit purposes.

4. Column 3: Number of students who will fail to complete within the period 2 November 1998 to 31 July 1999 inclusive. This is an estimate of the number of students that have been returned in columns 1 and 2 but who will not complete the year of programme of study – according to the definition in Annex D. Numbers of non-completions should be entered as negative values on the spreadsheet. Institutions should ensure that these estimates are supported by historical data.

5. Column 4: Estimated total completions for the year. This is the sum of the first three columns; the addition will be carried out automatically in the spreadsheet. This is an estimate of the number of students whose activity is countable in the academic year and who complete the year of programme of study. This column will form the basis of our funding allocations.

6. Column 4a (table 3a only): Assumed FTE for the academic year. This should be the sum of the FTEs for the whole year of programme of study for the students returned in column 4.

7. Column 5: Number of new entrants. This should be all students returned in columns 1 and 2 who are on the first year of a course. This will include students re-sitting the first year of a course, but will exclude students entering the second, or later, year of a course directly.

8. Column 6: Students franchised-out. This should be all fundable students returned in column 4 who are wholly, or partially, franchised-out for the year of programme of study. The numbers should not be adjusted to take account of the proportion of provision franchised-out. Definitions of who should count as franchised or similar students are included at Annex C.

Tables 1b, 2b and 3b – Home and EC student fees

9. Column 1: 'Existing students' are students who:

a. Started their course before 1 September 1998.

b. Fall within the 'gap year' scheme. These are students who had received, by 1 August 1997, a firm offer of a place on a course deferred until 1998-99, or a provisional offer which was subsequently confirmed.

c. Were unable to start a higher education course in 1997-98 because their A-level (or equivalent) grades were inadequate, but who will be doing so in 1998-99 after having their grades raised on appeal.

d. Attended an Higher National Diploma (HND) or DipHE course in 1997-98 for which they held a mandatory award, and will go on to a degree course immediately after completing the first course.

e. Were on a foundation year in 1997-98 and will be going on to an HND or degree course in 1998-99, where the foundation year is an integral part of the HND or degree course. The foundation year is an integral part of the degree course if, when enrolling, the student enrolled for an entire HND or degree course, of which the foundation year is part. If the foundation year is not an integral part of an HND or degree course, then the student is treated as being a 'new student'.
f. Begin a postgraduate ITT course immediately after finishing a first degree for which they held a mandatory award.

10. ‘Existing students’ are defined in more detail in paragraph 8 of the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998 No.1166).

11. Within column 1, students should categorised according to whether the fees are paid by:

a. An English or Welsh LEA.

b. SAAS or DENI.

c. Any other source.

12. Column 2: ‘New students’ are those who are not categorised as 'existing students'.

13. Within column 2, students should be categorised according to whether they are:

a. In principle eligible for a means-tested award.

b. Not in principle eligible for a means-tested award.

c. Unclassified, that is all students where institutions have been unable to determine whether or not the student is in principle eligible for a means-tested award.

14. It is not always easy to tell whether a student who receives no support from an LEA, SAAS or DENI is in principle eligible for a means-tested award. However, some students are clearly not eligible, such as postgraduate students, excluding PGCE, and students supported through NHS bursaries. Where it is not clear whether a student is in principle eligible for a means-tested award, the flow charts in Annex L may be used. If institutions are unable to make a reasonable assessment of eligibility they may return students as unclassified. We may seek further information on students returned as unclassified at a later date.

15. For institutions that currently have a MASN set by us, students who are in principle eligible for a means-tested award and those who are unclassified will be included in our monitoring process.

Table 4 - Island students

16. Students and FTEs returned on table 4 must be generated by students ordinarily resident in the Channel Islands or Isle of Man. Students and FTEs returned on this table must be included in tables 1a, 2a and 3a, in the ‘Island and overseas’ category in column 4 or 4a.

17. Column 1: Full-time and sandwich students. This is the number (net of forecasts and non-completions) of full-time and sandwich students that become countable within the academic year 1998-99. Students included in this column must also be included in column 4 of table 1a.

18. Column 2: Sandwich year-out students. This is the number (net of forecasts and non-completions) of sandwich year-out students that become countable within the academic year 1998-99. Students included in this column must also be included in column 4 of table 2a.

19. Column 3: Assumed FTE for part-time students. This is the assumed FTE for part-time students (net of forecasts and non-completions) that become countable within the academic year 1998-99. FTEs included in this column must also be included in column 4a of table 3a.

20. Within columns 1 to 3 of table 4, the data should be split according to whether the student is fundable or non-fundable. For the purposes of this table the definition of fundable for Island students is the same as for home and EC students, as given in Annex G.

Table 5 – Home and EC student fees 1997-98

21. Table 5 should include all home and EC students who, if we had collected HEIFES in 1997-98, would have been included in columns 1 and 2 of tables 1a, 2a and 3a and had their fees paid by an English or Welsh LEA, SAAS or DENI.

22. Students should be split according to the level of fees that were paid. In 1997-98 the standard fee bands were as shown below; any students that were charged different fees should be recorded as ‘other’.

 

Mode of study

Band 1

Band 2

Full-time and sandwich

£750

£1,600

Sandwich year-out

£375

£800

Part-time

£375

£800

 

Table 6 – Home and EC student funding

23. Table 6 records home and EC fundable students included in columns 1 and 2 of tables 1a, 2a, and 3a, against their source of funding. In some cases, students who are not fundable by either us or the FEFC may be subsidised from HEFCE or FEFC funds; in such cases the subsidy should be ignored.

24. Column 1: FEFC. The number of students who are supported by the FEFC for 1998-99.

25. Column 2: HEFCE. The number of students who are supported by the HEFCE for 1998-99.

26. Column 3: Other public sources. The number of students who are supported from an EC public source for 1998-99 but are not supported by either the HEFCE or the FEFC. This excludes students where only the mandatory or recommended fees, pro rata for part-time students, are paid by the public source.

27. Column 4: Fees only. The number of students who are supported by tuition fees alone, irrespective of the source of fees. This category includes students supported entirely by LEA fees.

 


Annex C

The HEIFES98 student population

  1. HEIFES98 records counts of students aiming for recognised HE qualifications (defined in Annex K). These students are called the HEIFES98 student population. Paragraphs 2 and 3 below define which students should be included in the HEIFES98 student population. Some students within this population may not be countable within HEIFES98 as their activity will be counted in a future HEIFES. All students counted in HEIFES98 must be in this population.
  2. Students meeting all of the following criteria should be included in the HEIFES98 student population:
    1. They are actively pursuing studies with the institution for at least part of the academic year 1998-99. This includes outgoing exchange students.
    2. They are studying towards a recognised HE qualification aim.
    3. They have an individual record returned on the FEFC ISR.
  3. Students in any of the following categories should not be included in the HEIFES98 student population:
    1. Students not studying towards a recognised HE qualification aim. Students whose sole qualification aim is an NVQ should not be included. Students should be included if they gain both a recognised HE qualification and an NVQ as the result of a programme of study.
    2. Students who will not be included individually in the institution’s FEFC ISR return. All students included in the HEIFES98 student population must be included on the institution’s FEFC ISR, even if this is not normally compulsory under the coverage of the record.
    3. Incoming exchange students.
    4. Students franchised-in (see paragraphs 4 to 10 below) from another institution.
    5. Students taught by the institution under an associate college agreement.
    6. Students on courses franchised (see paragraphs 4 to 10 below) to an institution wholly outside the UK, unless the course has been specifically sanctioned as eligible for funding by the HEFCE.
    7. Students who do not actively pursue studies with the institution in the academic year 1998-99.

    Students taught under partnership or similar arrangements

  4. Many students are taught under a variety of subcontractual arrangements. All such students are regarded as being franchised for the purposes of HEIFES98.
  5. Institutions must ensure that no student is included on more than one institution’s returns to the HEFCE for a single qualification. Where a partnership arrangement includes a higher education institution, the students are usually returned to us by the higher education institution.
  6. The following paragraphs explain who should return franchised activity to us. The ‘HEFCE survey’ referred to below will be either:
    1. HEIFES98 for FE colleges or
    2. The higher education students early statistics survey for HEIs.
  7. Where one institution enrols a student and collects a fee for tuition for that student, but the student undertakes all or part of their study at another institution, only the institution that receives the fee should include the student in its HEFCE survey student population. Such a student is regarded as franchised-out by the institution collecting the fee.
  8. If a course is run jointly by more than one institution, only the institution that receives the fee should include the student in its HEFCE survey student population.
  9. If two institutions receive a fee from a student for a given year of programme of study of a course, the institution that receives the largest portion should include the student in its HEFCE survey student population. If both institutions receive the same amount, the institutions must ensure that only one includes the student in its HEFCE survey student population.
  10. In some cases the institution teaching the student may collect the fee on behalf of another institution. If the fee is transferred directly to another institution, that institution should include the student in its HEFCE survey student population. If the fee itself is not transferred but is used to offset payments between two institutions in respect of the student, then this should be treated as if the fee had been transferred.

 


Annex D

Counting student activity

1. Students study towards qualification aims over a period of time. This period of time can be split into one or more years of programme of study. The first year begins when the student starts studying towards the qualification aim; the second and subsequent years start on or near the anniversary of this date.

2. A student may only be returned on HEIFES98 once for each year of programme of study that they undertake. This is referred to as counting years of programme of study. When a student becomes countable on HEIFES depends on how their activity falls within each year of programme of study. There are two types of year of programme of study: standard and non-standard. A standard year is one where all activity for the year of programme of study falls within the period 1 August to 31 July; nearly all undergraduate students are on standard years of programme of study.

3. Some students who would normally be considered as following a standard academic year are actually on non-standard years of programme of study. The most common examples are MSc students who study for a full year between October and October. This is all one year of programme, yet has activity in two academic years and is therefore non-standard. All students on full-year courses are on non-standard years of programme of study.

4. Occasionally a student may be on two courses aiming for two independent recognised HE qualifications at the same time. If this is the case, the student should be treated as if they are two students each aiming for one of the qualifications.

5. To be counted, a student within the HEIFES98 student population must also meet the following criteria:

a. A tuition fee is charged for the year of programme of study. This fee may be waived.

b. The FTE for the year of programme of study is at least 3 per cent.

c. The student is not writing up a thesis or similar piece of work for the whole of the year.

Students on standard years of programme of study

6. For students studying on a standard year of programme of study, the student will become countable at the start of each year of programme of study. The FTE returned should be the FTE for the whole academic year.

Example

7. A student starts a degree programme on 21 September 1998 with each year of the course finishing at the end of June. As all activity for each year is contained in the period 1 August to 31 July, (ignoring any activity falling in different years of programme of study due to variations in term dates), all years are standard. Thus the student becomes countable on 21 September 1998, and, depending on when the activity for the year starts, on or around the anniversary of this date each year.

8. Occasionally some students may join a programme of study at a date different to the usual start date. Such students may be treated as if they had joined with the rest of the cohort if:

a. They will follow an identical pattern of study and

b. Activity for all years of programme of study for the cohort falls within the academic year.

Otherwise the student should be treated as being on a non-standard year of programme of study.

Students on non-standard years of programme of study

9. For students on non-standard years of programme of study, the student becomes countable on 1 August of each academic year in which they are active, apart from the first. The FTE returned each time the student becomes countable should be the FTE for the entire year of programme of study.

Example

10. A student starts a degree programme on 12 January 1999 and the first year of the course finishes in November 1999. The student is on a non-standard year of programme of study because of the activity between August and November. This student would not be included in HEIFES98. However, a similar student who started in January 1998 would be.

11. Some students studying on non-standard years of programme of study may have two years of programme of study in the final academic year. This will happen where the student undertakes a short period of study after the anniversary of their start date but finishes this within the academic year.

Example

12. A student started an 18 month course in January 1998 which ends in July 1999. The student would be counted on 1 August 1998 and again, as a forecast, in January 1999.

Non-completions

13. A student who fails to complete a year of programme of study is classified as a non-completion for that year. Usually attendance at the final exam or submission of final coursework would constitute completion of the year.

14. Completion is not measured against academic success. A student who sits the exam at the end of a year but fails is still a completion. Where courses do not have exams or coursework at the end of a year, institutions must be able to provide alternative evidence that the student continued studying until the end of the year.

 


Annex E

Full-time equivalence

1. Full-time equivalence (FTE) for part-time students is defined with reference to an equivalent full-time course. For the purposes of determining FTE, the number of guided learning hours the student undertakes is irrelevant. In general the comparison to an equivalent full-time course should be based on the number of years, or terms, taken to achieve the qualification, compared to a student studying full-time. Where such a full-time course does not exist, a reasonable judgement should be made by comparing it to other qualifications in a similar subject and at the same level. In this case, evidence of the courses used and the reasoning behind the judgement should be kept for audit purposes.

2. The table below shows the FTE for most recognised courses of HE, depending on the number of years the course is taken over. It also shows the total FTE for the course. For a part-time course, the FTE summed over the whole course should be equal to that shown in the table below. Where a student repeats a year or enters the second, or later, year of the course directly, the total FTE of the course should be increased or decreased respectively to reflect this.

 

Qualification

Total

Duration in years

aim

FTE

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

Degree

3

1.00

0.75

0.60

0.50

0.43

0.38

0.33

0.30

HND

2

1.00

0.67

0.50

0.40

0.33

0.29

0.25

0.22

0.20

DipHE

2

1.00

0.67

0.50

0.40

0.33

0.29

0.25

0.22

0.20

HNC

1

1.00

0.50

0.33

0.25

0.20

0.17

0.14

0.13

0.11

0.10

CertEd

1

1.00

0.50

0.33

0.25

0.20

0.17

0.14

0.13

0.11

0.10

 

3. The table above may not be appropriate where the qualification offered differs significantly from the norm for qualifications with that title. This is particularly true for DipHE and CertEd where the practice varies between institutions. Where institutions believe that the FTE should be different to that listed above, they may return a different FTE, but must keep a record of how this was derived. In cases of difficulty, institutions are advised to contact us for guidance. If institutions wish to use an FTE different to those listed above, with the exception of CertEd and DipHE, they must contact us before doing so. In particular, we would not expect the FTE for a part-time degree to be calculated with reference to a four year programme.

Example 1

4. A student studies for a degree over five years. The FTE returned each time the student becomes countable is 0.60; the student becomes countable five times so the total FTE returned over all years is 5 x 0.60 = 3.

Example 2

5. As in example one but the student resits year two. The FTE returned each time the student becomes countable is still 0.60; the student becomes countable six times so the total FTE returned over all years is 6 x 0.60 = 3.6.

Example 3

6. As in example one but the student enters directly onto year two. The FTE returned each time the student becomes countable is still 0.60; the student becomes countable four times so the total FTE returned over all years is 4 x 0.60 = 2.4.

 


Annex F

Long years of programme of study

1. For full-time courses, students will be classified as on ‘long’ years of programme of study if they are normally required to attend for 45 weeks or more within the year of programme of study. Years of programme of study that are not long, are referred to as standard length.

2. For undergraduate students, long courses will typically be accelerated programmes where the qualification aim is achieved in a much shorter period than normal.

3. For postgraduate students, most long courses will be for higher degrees.

4. When determining length, students are deemed to be attending the institution if they are actively pursuing full-time studies towards the qualification aim.

5. For part-time courses, the distinction will depend on the length of each year for an equivalent full-time course. The number of weeks attended within the year of programme of study for part-time students is irrelevant to determining if the year of programme of study is long. The equivalent full-time course used should be the same as that used in calculating the FTE.

Example 1

6. A full-time one-year course has a 30-week year of programme of study; the equivalent part-time course lasts for two years, each with a 45-week year of programme of study. The part-time course would not be long. Conversely, if each year of the part-time course lasts for 30 weeks, but the year of programme of study for the full-time course is 45 weeks, then the part-time course is classified as long. The FTE would be 0.5 in both cases.

7. In some cases a full-time course may have one year of programme of study which is long, with one or more standard length years. When determining which load to return as long for the equivalent part-time course, the following two principles should be applied:

a. The FTE over the entire course should be identical to that of the full-time course.

b. The FTE recorded as long, summed over the course, should be the same on both the full-time and part-time programmes.

Example 2

8. A two-year full-time course has year one long and year two standard length. The equivalent part-time course runs over four years. The student should be recorded as long for the first two years and as standard for the remaining two. The FTE would be 0.5 in all years.

 


Annex G

Definition of residential and funding status

Home and EC students

1. Students are classified as home and EC if they have a relevant connection with the EC as defined under the Fees and Awards Regulations (SI 1997 No. 1972) as amended, such that they are entitled to pay home fees.

Home and EC students eligible for HEFCE recurrent funding for teaching

2. Home and EC students are eligible for recurrent funds for teaching if they are on courses of recognised HE that are open to any suitably qualified candidate, and their student place is not being funded from any other EC public source.

3. Eligibility for funding is not dependent on the level of the fee where this is not being paid by an EC public source.

4. The following students should not be included as eligible for HEFCE recurrent funding for teaching:

a. Students whose places are funded at the standard HEFCE rate, or higher, from another EC public source, for example, the Teacher Training Agency (TTA), Department of Health, NHS, or the Home Office. In some cases an EC public source may provide funding that is in addition to the mandatory or recommended fees, pro rata for part-time students, but the funding falls significantly short of the HEFCE standard rate for the student. In this case the funds received in addition to the fees should be used to fully support as many students as possible with the remaining students being eligible for HEFCE recurrent funding. Examples of how to determine the number of students supported in this way are on the HEIFES questions and answers web page.

b. Students on courses that are not funded through HEFCE recurrent funds for teaching, but whose funding has been separately agreed and notified by us. This includes courses where we distribute funds on behalf of other Government departments.

c. Students on courses franchised to institutions wholly outside the UK, unless we have specifically sanctioned the course as eligible.

d. Students on initial teacher training (ITT) courses which lead to qualified teacher status (QTS); and, all students holding QTS who are on an in-service education of teachers (INSET) course.

e. Students spending most of their time for the whole course outside the UK, except where:

i. There is a clear academic reason for studying abroad rather than in the UK. Even where such a benefit exists, we must specifically sanction the course as eligible.

ii. The student is temporarily and unavoidably abroad and remains liable to UK tax on their earnings, or is a dependant of such a person. This includes members of HM forces posted overseas and their dependants.

Sandwich students working abroad and language year abroad students will not normally fall into this category.

f. Students on pre-registration nursing or midwifery degrees and courses (including postgraduate courses) leading to a recognised professional qualification in dietetics, speech and language therapy, chiropody/podiatry, or prosthetics and orthotics. This applies whether the Department of Health funds their provision or they are currently supported by HEFCE funds.

g. Students franchised to an institution that is not either:

i. An HEI supported from public funds

ii. An FEC supported from public funds

Where colleges have franchise arrangements and wish to include these students as fundable they should contact us for approval.

HEFCE-funded and independently-funded students

5. All fundable students should be recorded as HEFCE-funded unless the institution receives enough resources from other sources, for the year of programme of study, to cover the HEFCE standard resource for their provision. In this case the institution may choose to record the student as independently-funded.

Calculation of standard resource

6. If a student attracts a premium under the HEFCE’s teaching funding method, the assumed resource should be increased to reflect this. For the current year 1998-99, there are three student-related premiums (part-time, long courses, and mature students) and two institution- related premiums (inner and outer London). Part-time and mature student premiums are applied to the student FTE; all other premiums are applied to the subject-weighted student FTE. The total weighted student FTE is the sum of the subject-weighted FTE and the additional FTE from all premiums. Examples of calculations are given in paragraphs 9 to 11 below.

Factor

Premium

Part-time

5%

Full-time mature

5%

Long course

25%

Inner London

8%

Outer London

5%

 

7. The subject weights are shown below.

Price group

Subject weight

B (Laboratory based science, engineering and technology)

2.0

C (Other high cost subjects with a studio, laboratory or fieldwork element)

1.5

D (All other subjects)

1.0

 

8. The 1998-99 standard resource for a student is calculated by multiplying the total weighted FTE by £2,662 – the base level of resource for price group D.

Example 1

9. A part-time student (0.4 FTE) in price group D would need to attract a resource of at least £1,118:

Part-time premium

0.4 x 5%

= 0.02

Subject weight

0.4 x 1.0

= 0.40

Resource

 

= 0.42 x £2,662 = £1,118

 

Example 2

10. A part-time student (0.3 FTE) on a long course in price group C needs to attract at least £1,537:

Part-time premium

0.3 x 5%

= 0.0150

Subject weight

0.3 x 1.5

= 0.4500

Long course premium

0.3 x 1.5 x 25%

= 0.1125

Resource

 

= 0.5775 x £2,662 = £1,537


Example 3

11. The standard resource per FTE in price group B for a student at an institution receiving the inner London premium is £5,750:

Subject weight

1.0 x 2.0

= 2.00

Inner London premium

1.0 x 2.0 x 8%

= 0.16

Resource

 

= 2.16 x £2,662 = £5,750

Other student factors could increase this standard resource.

Home and EC students ineligible for recurrent funding for teaching

12. These are students who are entitled to pay a home fee but whose place is not considered eligible for recurrent funding for teaching as defined in paragraphs 2 to 4 above.

Island and overseas students

13. All students who fall outside the definition of home and EC in paragraph 1 should be recorded as Island and overseas. This will include students usually resident in the Channel Islands and Isle of Man.

 


Annex H

Definition of level of study

Undergraduate

1. Undergraduates are students studying towards a first degree, HE certificate or diploma.

Postgraduates

2. Postgraduate students are registered for courses where a normal condition of entry is that entrants are already qualified to degree level.

 


Annex I

Definition of mode of study

Full-time

  1. A student is counted as full-time if they meet the following criteria:

    a. They are normally required to attend the institution, or elsewhere, for periods amounting to at least 24 weeks within the year of programme of study; and during that time they are normally expected to undertake periods of study, tuition or work experience which amount to an average of at least 21 hours per week.

    b. The normal fees for the year are at least:

    i. £1,000 for undergraduates and students registered for a postgraduate certificate in education (PGCE).

    ii. £500 for undergraduate students on international courses where study at the institution is for less than 10 weeks.

    iii. £2,610 for postgraduate students.

    In some cases all or part of the fee may be waived.

  2. The guided learning hours should not be used in isolation to determine how many hours each week a student spends studying. All guided learning hours count towards this total, but it is expected that HE students will spend a significant amount of time each week in self-led individual learning, and an estimate of this time should also be included.
  3. This category includes all full-time, sandwich and language year abroad students, other than those falling within the definition of ‘Sandwich year-out’ given below.

    Sandwich year-out

  4. A student is counted as sandwich year-out if:

    a. They are on a course that falls within the definition of sandwich in Schedule 5 of The Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998 No. 1166).

    b. The fees for the year of programme of study are either those described in paragraph (a) parts (iv) or (ix) of Schedule 1 of the above regulations, or half of the fees that would be charged if the student were full-time.

    Part-time

  5. A student is counted as part-time if the year of programme of study does not meet the requirements to be either full-time or sandwich year-out.
  6. In some cases a student’s mode of study changes between years. For example,

the mode of a student on a full-time 18-month course would change from full-time in year one to part-time in year two, as the second year would not have 24 weeks of study.

 


Annex J

Definition of price groups

  1. The HEFCE aims to fund similar activity at similar rates. For HE institutions the department, or departments, in which a student undertakes activity defines the cost of the activity. For example, this means that a student on a science degree who is taught by both the science and business studies departments would be funded at a composite rate somewhere between the science and business studies rates. The rate depends on the balance of activity in each department. Previously data at this level have not been collected for FECs. While we review this situation, a mapping between Superclass II subject codes, as used in the FEFC qualifications database, and price groups has been developed for 1998-99.
  2. Top level Superclass II subject codes occasionally contain subjects with different characteristics. Where this happens the current mapping between Superclass II and price groups may not be appropriate. In this case, the student should be allocated to the most appropriate price group. This will never mean a student moves into a higher price group. In particular, some science and technology courses may not have a significant laboratory based element, in which case they should not be assigned to price B, and should be assigned to price group C or D as appropriate.
  3. Some qualifications contain study in two distinct subject areas, for example, a Chemistry and Business course. In this case, the student should be split between the relevant price groups in proportion to the split between each subject.
  4. Students on ITT and INSET courses should be attributed to the relevant price groups irrespective of the subject of study.
  5. The table below shows the mapping for 1998-99 between Superclass II subject codes and price groups.

     

    Price group

    Superclass II

    B (Laboratory based science, engineering and technology)

    PB, PE, RA, RC – RF, RH, SA, SB, SK, TL, TM, XH – XL, XP – XR, XT, YC – YE

    C (Other high cost subjects with a studio, laboratory or fieldwork element)

    CA – CH, CY, DC, FK (excluding FK.343, FK.335 and FK.349), J, L, M, NA – NH, PA, PC, PD, PF – PQ, RB, RG, SC – SJ, SL – SP, TA – TK, W, XA – XF, XM, XN, XS, YA, YB

    D (All other subjects)

    A, B, CX, CZ, DA, DB, DD, DE, E, FB, FC, FJ, FK.343, FK.335, FK.349, FL,G, H, KA – KD, KH, NK – NN, Q, V, Z

    Psychology

    PK

    Media studies

    KE – KG

    ITT(QTS)

    Students on ITT courses leading to QTS

    INSET(QTS)

    Students who hold QTS on INSET courses

     

    ITT and INSET students

  6. Students on ITT courses leading to QTS should be entirely attributed to the ITT(QTS) price group, irrespective of the subject of qualification aim. Students on ITT courses that do not lead to QTS should be entirely attributed to price group C, irrespective of the subject of qualification aim.
  7. INSET courses are defined as courses for which the primary (but not necessarily the only) purpose is to improve the effectiveness of teachers, lecturers or trainers. Students who hold QTS and are on INSET courses should be entirely attributed to the INSET(QTS) price group, irrespective of the subject of qualification aim. Students who do not hold QTS but are on INSET courses should be attributed to a price group according to the subject of qualification aim.

 


Annex K

Definition of recognised courses of higher education

  1. For 1999-2000, the HEFCE is only responsible for funding some HE qualifications in further education colleges, and it is these qualifications that are defined as ‘recognised’ in this document. The qualifications that are ‘recognised’ for these purposes are under review and may change in futures years.
  2. Within HEIFES98, recognised courses of higher education are those leading to one of the qualifications listed below, and are awarded by a recognised body. Courses leading to the following qualifications are recognised:
    • higher degrees, that is, PhD, MPhil, MSc, MA, MBA
    • PGCE
    • first degrees, that is, BSc, BA, BEd
    • HND
    • DipHE
    • HNC
    • CertEd.
  3. Recognised bodies are:
    1. Any UK higher education institution with the power to award degrees.
    2. Edexcel.
    3. The Scottish Qualifications Agency.
  4. Professional or similar qualifications will not normally be recognised. However, in some cases these courses would be recognised, for example where they also lead to one of the listed qualifications. If colleges have a course that they believe should be recognised, but is not listed, they should contact us before including it in HEIFES98. In particular colleges should contact us where they believe they have qualifications that are equivalent to one of the qualifications listed above.

 


Annex L

Eligibility for means-tested awards

1. The following flow charts give the process for determining whether a student on a designated course is in principle eligible for a means-tested award. It is not necessary to use these charts for students who are supported by an LEA, SAAS or DENI as such students will be in principle eligible for a means-tested award. On the other hand, students with NHS bursaries will be not in principle eligible. Designated courses are defined in paragraph 10 of the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998 No. 1166), this can be found at http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si1998/19981166.htm.

First degree without QTS Diagram

* Duration refers to the total duration of the course, not the length of attendance of the particular student. For example, if a student held an award for two HNDs and attended each for 15 weeks they would not in principle be eligible for a means-tested award. All first degrees have a duration of more than two years.

 

First degree with QTS Diagram

 

PGCE Diagram

 

Sub-degree – HND, DipHE Diagram

 

CertED Diagram

 

* A statutory award is any mandatory or discretionary award paid by an LEA, SAAS or DENI or comparable award, grant or other payment made in respect of attendance at a course which is paid out of moneys provided by Parliament.


Annex M

Links between ISR and HEIFES98 data

1. It is not possible to derive HEIFES data directly from the FEFC ISR. The mapping in this annex is for information only, and details the methods we will adopt when comparing HEIFES98 data with that supplied to the FEFC. If we discover large discrepancies, and institutions are unable to explain these differences, we may make retrospective adjustments to funding.

Selection of records

2. Our initial selection of records will be based on all students who have a recognised HE qualification as one of their learning goals.

3. Additionally the following students will be excluded from the population:

Specifically excluded

SHE10 = 99

SHE11 = 99

SHE12 = 9

Low FTE

SHE13 < 3

 

Classification of students

4. The mode of study will be determined by:

Full-time and sandwich

SHE10 = 01

Sandwich year-out

SHE10 = 02

Part-time

SHE10 = 03

 

5. The level of study will be determined by:

Undergraduate

SHE11 = 10, 11

Postgraduate

SHE11 = 20, 21, 30, 31

 

6. Students will be classified as on a long year of programme of study if SHE11 = 11, 21, 31.

7. Fundability and residential status will be determined by:

HEFCE-funded

Q10 = 2

Independently-funded

Q10 = 5

Non-fundable

Q10 = 9 and S07 = any EC country

Island and Overseas

Any not included above

 

8. Students will be allocated to price groups according to the mapping in Annex J. ITT(QTS) and INSET(QTS) students will be identified by Q10 = 9 and Q11 = 010.

Allocation to columns

9. Students will be treated as being on standard years of programme of study where SHE09 = 1. All other students will be treated as on non-standard years of programme of study.

10. Students on standard years of programme of study will be counted on Q16 and its anniversary.

11. Students on non-standard years of programme of study will be counted on 1 August each year except where SHE09 = 3. Students will additionally be counted on the anniversary of Q16 where SHE09 = 5 and Q18 > anniversary of Q16 in the year.

12. Students will be classified as a non-completion where SHE12 = 2. Students will be included in column 3 if Q18>01/11/98.

13. Student FTE, recorded in column 4a of table 3a, will be taken as SHE13 where SHE09 ¹ 5. Where SHE09 = 5 the FTE will be taken to be SHE13 plus SHE13 from the year when the student started the course, that is where SHE09 = 3. Where it is not possible to obtain SHE13 from the year the student started, the value of SHE13 for similar students, with SHE09 = 3 in the current year, will be used.

14. Students will be classified as new entrants where QHE02 = 1.

Fee information

15. The level of student fees will be taken from either S14A and S14B, or Q07B, whichever is used for the particular student. Where Q16 and Q17 imply the course lasts more than a year, the value of the fees will be divided by the number of years the course is expected to last in order to find the annual fees.

16. Students will be classed as existing students if:

a. Q16 < 01/09/98.

b. The student is aiming for a first degree and SHE01 = 24, 25.

c. The student is aiming for a PGCE and SHE01 = 11.

All other students will be classed as new.

17. For existing students the source of tuition fees will be determined by:

English or Welsh LEA

QHE01 = 02

SAAS or DENI

QHE01 = 03, 04

Other

Any not included above

 

18. For new students, eligibility for a means-tested award will be determined by:

In principle eligible

QHE01 = 02, 03, 04

The student is aiming for a first degree and (S04 >= 01/08/80 or SHE01 >11)

The student is aiming for a first degree with QTS and (S04 >= 01/08/80 or [{SHE01 ¹ 03 and course length two years or less} or SHE01 >11])

The student is aiming for a first degree with QTS and SHE01 ¹ 03, 11

The student is aiming for an HND or DipHE and (S04 >= 01/08/80 or SHE01 ¹ 24, 25)

Not in principle eligible

The student is not aiming for a first degree, HND, DipHE, PGCE, or CertED

Unclassified

Any not included above

 

Where a student is in principle eligible as determined by any of the criteria they should be included as in principle eligible. Where a student has a portion of their fees paid by an English or Welsh LEA, SAAS or DENI they should always be treated as in principle eligible.

 


Annex N

Validation checks

1. A number of validation checks are built into the disk-based spreadsheets. Validation cells on the spreadsheet return ‘OK’ if the data have passed validation. If data fail validation, a message describing the nature and size of the error will be displayed below each table.

2. All numbers on all tables must be whole numbers with the exception of:

a. Table 3a column 4a.

b. Table 4 column 3.

3. Tables 1a, 2a and 3a: all figures entered in column 3 should be negative or zero.

4. Tables 1a, 2a, and 3a: for each row, column 5 £ columns 1 + 2.

5. Tables 1a, 2a, 3a: for each row, column 6 (wholly + partially) £ columns 1 + 2 (fundable).

6. Table 3a: for each row, column 4a < column 4.

7. Table 3a: for each row, column 4a ¸ column 4 ³ 0.03.

8. Tables 1, 2 and 3: for each level, the total of part(a) column 1 (fundable + non-fundable) = total of part(b) columns 1 + 2.

9. Tables 1, 2 and 3: for each level of ITT (QTS), the total of part(a) column 1 (non-fundable) = total of part(b) columns 1 + 2.

 


Annex O

Spreadsheet notes

1. We will send a computer disk with spreadsheet versions of the tables in Annex P to institutions by 11 November 1998. We will virus check disks before dispatch.

2. The disk will contain six spreadsheet files. Each filename contains a suffix identifying the institution. The files are:

Filename

HEIFES98 tables

FTS_____. XLS

Full-time and sandwich data: table 1.

OUT_____. XLS

Sandwich year-out data: table 2.

PT_____. XLS

Part-time data: table 3.

IS_____. XLS

Island data: table 4.

FEE_____. XLS

Home and EC fees 1997-98: table 5

TRA_____.XLS

Home and EC student funding: table 6

 

3. If the disk is corrupt or unreadable please contact Tyler White (tel 0117 931 7110, e-mail HEIFES@hefce.ac.uk) for assistance. Institutions are advised to make a back-up copy of the blank files before editing them.

4. All labels and table formats will be protected. Institutions must not attempt to alter the format of the spreadsheets by adding or deleting columns or rows. Only cells where data are required should be altered. Spreadsheets contain information critical to accurate loading of the data; it is essential that this is preserved.

5. The following cells contain formulae: column 4 on tables 1a, 2a and 3a. These cells are protected and must not be edited.

6. Each spreadsheet contains a number of validation checks. The validation checks are listed in Annex N. Institutions should ensure their data pass all validation checks before returning them.

7. All spreadsheets returned should have the same name and file format as those originally supplied. All files on the original disk should be returned even if they contain no data.

8. Disks should be virus checked before being returned to us. Institutions should take a back-up copy before returning the disk in case data are corrupted in transit.

 


Annex P

Sample tables

 


Annex Q

Glossary

Attendance

A student is considered to be attending the institution whenever they undertake periods of study, tuition or work experience as part of the programme of study. For example, a distance learning student studying at home is attending.

DENI

Department of Education for Northern Ireland.

Existing students

These are all continuing students and those students who fall within the 'gap year' scheme. For a detailed definition see paragraph 8 of the Education (Mandatory Awards) Regulations 1998 (SI 1998 No.1166).

FEFC

The Further Education Funding Council.

Franchised-out

Any student who enrols at one institution and pays them a fee for tuition or supervision of research, but undertakes all or part of their study at another institution, is considered to be franchised-out by the institution collecting the fee. See also Annex C.

FTE

Full-time equivalent.

HEIFES student population

HEIFES counts students aiming for recognised HE qualifications. The students potentially counted are called the HEIFES student population. See also Annex C.

INSET

In-service education of teachers.

ISR

The FEFC individualised student record

ITT

Initial teacher training.

LEA

Local education authority.

MASN

Maximum aggregate student number.

New students

These are students who are not already on courses of HE and are not categorised as 'existing students'.

PGCE

Postgraduate Certificate in Education.

Postgraduates

Students on courses where a normal condition of entry is that entrants are already qualified to degree level. See also Annex H.

QTS

Qualified teacher status.

Recognised courses of HE

See Annex K

SAAS

Students Awards Agency for Scotland.

TTA

Teacher Training Agency.

Undergraduates

Students studying towards a first degree, HE certificate or diploma. See also Annex H.

Year of programme of study

Students study towards qualification aims over a period, which can be split into one or more years of programme of study. See also Annex D.