Why we ask institutions to count students in the way we do and how we treat 'non-completions'

Universities and colleges count their students and make estimates of those who will complete their studies in each academic year, so that they can make accurate student data returns to HEFCE in December. This is important because the funding they receive for teaching will depend on the numbers they give HEFCE. It is also essential to be fair to everyone that they all count their students in the same way.

Table of contents

Our aims

In funding institutions for teaching, we want to:

  • ensure the best use of, and accountability for, taxpayers' money
  • protect the interests of students
  • treat all institutions equally.

Making the best use of public money

To make the best use of public money we want to emphasise the importance of students completing their year of study. This is also in students' own interests. We want to encourage institutions to support students through to the completion of all they intended to do during the year, for which they will have paid a tuition fee. We don't want taxpayers' money to provide an incentive to recruit students who are unlikely to finish their studies.

We also recognise the importance of student completion by providing significant additional funding for improving retention. This is targeted at those institutions that recruit more students at higher risk of dropping out, and totals £225 million for 2009-10.

Treating all institutions equally means that our funding rules must be applied consistently across the sector. Our budget is fixed. This means that it is essential that all institutions report their student numbers on the same basis, otherwise some would benefit at the expense of others.

Our definition of completion and non-completions

In general terms, students are only counted for funding purposes if they complete their full year of study. In order to complete according to our definition for funding, a student has to undergo the final assessment for each module that they intended to complete in the year; if this is an examination, then it must be taken on the first possible occasion unless prior permission to postpone it has been obtained. Alternatively, if they miss the final assessment, but nevertheless still pass the module, this also constitutes completion.

Our definition of completion helps to protect the sector from accusations (however ill-founded) that academic standards may have been affected by the funding rules. For example, we do not provide incentives for institutions to pass students.

Higher education institutions (HEIs) are responsible for their own qualifications and the assessment of their students and they will therefore have rules for their own academic purposes. They decide whether students have achieved the academic standards necessary to be allowed to progress, whether mitigating circumstances should be taken into account, or whether students who have not sat their exams should be allowed another opportunity to do so. But these decisions should be made only for academic reasons – they should not be influenced by funding and our rules help to ensure this is so. This is why institutions' own varying academic regulations and their decisions on student progression are not part of our definition of completion for funding purposes.

Conclusion

Through these policies, we ensure our funding is fair:

  • we are fair to institutions by targeting substantial additional funding at those that will need to provide extra support to their students
  • we are fair to students, who will usually have made a significant financial commitment to enter higher education, by encouraging institutions to support them to complete their study intentions
  • we are fair to the taxpayer by ensuring accountability and value for money for the funding we provide.

Further information

The full definition of completion is given in our annual student number surveys that institutions complete:

Share this: