Annual funding allocations 2012-13

Funds for 2012-13

Adjusted allocations

In March 2013 we announced adjusted allocations of teaching grant for 2012-13 for each university and college that we fund.

These allocations for 2012-13 update the initial teaching allocations announced in March 2012 to reflect in-year student numbers submitted in HESES12 or HEIFES12, and will be finalised in 2014 in light of the end-of-year individualised student data for 2012-13.

The total HEFCE grant available for the 2012-13 academic year is £5,390 million.

Figures in the adjacent chart are correct as of March 2013.

Click here to see a full-size version of the pie chart.

Initial allocations

In March 2012 we announced initial allocations of grant for 2012-13 for each university and college that we fund.

Allocations for 2012-13 were adjusted in March 2013 and will be finalised in 2014 in light of the end-of-year individualised student data for 2012-13.

The total HEFCE grant available for the 2012-13 academic year is £5,311 million.

Figures in the adjacent chart were correct as of March 2012.

Click to see a full-size version of the pie chart.

Documents for institutions

In March 2012 each institution received a set of individualised initial grant tables along with a grant letter and technical guidance which gives a comprehensive explanation of the contents of the tables.

In July 2012 institutions received another set of initial grant tables, incorporating any changes since the March 2012 announcement, along with funding agreements.

In March 2013 each institution received a set of individualised adjusted grant tables along with a grant letter and technical guidance.

Teaching funding: three-stage process

From 2012-13, we are implementing an iterative three-stage process to calculate and review teaching funding allocations for each year. This aims to balance the need to pay grant from August, before student numbers are known, with the need to ensure, in the interests of fairness and accountability, that allocations finally reflect actual numbers of students in the year.

In 2012 we issued initial allocations for 2012-13 using forecast 2012-13 student FTEs submitted in the 2011 Higher Education Students Early Statistics (HESES) or Higher Education in Further Education: Students (HEIFES) survey. In 2013, we issued adjusted allocations, using updated 2012-13 student FTEs submitted by institutions in the 2012 HESES/HEIFES survey. We will issue final allocations in 2014, using student numbers from the 2012-13 individualised student data reported to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) or from the Individualised Learner Record (ILR) reported to the Data Service.

Student number control

The Government set out in its White Paper, 'Students at the Heart of the System', new policies for controlling student numbers in higher education from 2012-13. For 2012-13, students with entry qualifications equivalent to or higher than AAB at A-level (AAB+ equivalent students) were no longer subject to control and a 'margin' of 20,000 places has been created by reducing the 'core' numbers of institutions. These margin places have been redistributed through a bidding exercise open only to those institutions charging an average tuition fee (after fee waivers) of £7,500 or less. We consulted on our approach to implementing the Government's policies and invited bids for margin places.

In January 2012 we wrote to each institution providing details of our approach and a provisional limit. In March 2012 we wrote to institutions confirming limits incorporating any places awarded through the margin bidding exercise and the result of any appeal.

The July 2012 funding agreements with accompanying grant tables may have contained changes to student number control limits for individual institutions to reflect, for example, transfers of provisions between institutions for 2012-13.

Note on available documents

The recurrent grant tables differ slightly for higher education institutions and further education colleges but the grant tables given below are for the sector as a whole.

Queries from institutions should be addressed to the HEFCE higher education policy adviser (HEPA) for their institution. Contact details are available in our searchable staff list.

Teaching funding

The following table compares adjusted allocations for 2012-13 against initial allocations announced in March 2012. Total adjusted teaching allocations are £20 million higher than initial allocations. This increase arises because a 1 per cent reduction in funding that was applied in our original calculations in 2012 has been removed for those elements of teaching grant that are subject to the three-stage recalculation process.

Funding for old-regime students

Funding for old-regime students shows subject-based funding for old-regime students who commenced their studies before 1 September 2012.

High cost funding for new-regime students

High cost funding for new-regime students shows subject-based funding for new-regime students in high cost subjects (price groups A and B).

Widening participation

Widening participation shows allocations of funding for teaching to recognise the extra costs associated with recruiting and supporting students from disadvantaged backgrounds currently under-represented in higher education (£128 million), or widening access and improving provision for disabled students (£13 million).

Teaching enhancement and student success

Teaching enhancement and student success shows allocations of funding to recognise the extra costs associated with: improving the retention of students most at risk of not completing (£225 million); research-informed teaching (£5 million); and institutional learning and teaching strategies (£14 million).

Research funding

Our mainstream QR funding is allocated selectively according to quality. The documents below provide a more detailed breakdown of these funds.

We have also provided the source data we have used to calculate mainstream QR funding for 2009-10, 2010-11, 2011-12 and 2012-13

The QR funding data for years prior to 2012-13 are available.