HESES and the HEFCE web facility

SROC

08 April 2009

Presented by Christine Daniel, Analytical Services Group, HEFCE

Outline of presentation

Part 1 – WP and TESS

• Widening participation (WP)/teaching enhancement and student success (TESS) allocations for 2009-10

Part 2 – HESA derived statistics

• The web facility• The derived statistics

exercise

Part 1

WP and Tess

What is WP funding for?

• Recognises the additional costs of recruiting and retaining students from disadvantaged or non-traditional backgrounds

• Institutional funding, not student support

How much funding is allocated?

• Total 2009-10 allocations: £143m, of which £2m set aside for July allocation

• Two streams of the WP allocation:

– Funding for widening access (£61m FT; £66m PT)

– Funding for disabled students (£13m)

Widening Access Allocation

• New UG entrants are assigned to census wards using postcode

• Wards assigned to quintiles according to:– FT UG under 21: young HE participation– PT and mature FT: average educational

achievement

• Students weighted according to quintile of their ward

• Institution average weight calculated for FT and PT students and used to calculate allocation

WA population

• FT or PT HEFCE-funded UK-domiciled undergraduate (including FD) entrants

• This information taken from HESES07 re-creation and only counts students eligible to be counted in Column 4 of the re-creation

• ELQs are not counted in population

Key HESA fields used in WA allocation

• POSTCODE

• QUALENT2

• COURSEAIM

WP for disabled students allocation

• Calculate proportion of students in receipt of Disabled Students’ Allowance (DSA)

• Proportions across sector ranked and split into quartiles

• Institution assigned to a quartile and then weighted according to this quartile

• Weight is used in calculating allocation

• Allocation is subject to a minimum value

Disabled students allocation population

• HEFCE-funded, independently funded or non-fundable UK-domiciled students who would be eligible to receive the DSA (if they were disabled)

• This information taken from HESES07 re-creation and only counts students eligible to be counted in Column 4 of the re-creation

Key HESA fields used in disabled students allocation

• DISALL = 4 indicates a student is in receipt of the DSA

What is TESS funding for?

• To support the enhancement of learning and teaching

• Improving retention of students who are at risk of not continuing their studies

• To contribute to the success of students

• Institutional funding, not student support

How much funding is allocated?

• Total 2009-10 allocations: £269m, of which £3m set aside for July allocation

• Three streams of the TESS allocation:– Improving retention (£171m FT; £54m PT)– Institutional learning and teaching strategies (£31m)– Research informed teaching (£10m)

FT Improving Retention allocation

• FT UG new entrants assigned to risk categories based on age and entry qualifications

• Students weighted according to their risk category

• Institution average weight calculated for FT students and used to calculate allocation

FT IR population

• FT and SWOUT HEFCE-fundable UK-domiciled undergraduate (including FD) entrants

• This information taken from HESES07 re-creation and only counts students eligible to be counted in Column 4 of the re-creation

• ELQs are not counted in population

Key HESA fields used in FT improving retention allocation

• QUALENT2

• The ‘qualifications on entry’ entity (we use QUALTYPE, QUALSBJ and QUALGRADE)

• UCASPERID and UCASAPPID

Timetable for 2009-10 WP/TESS allocations

• September 2008: 2007-08 HESA web facility released

• March 2009: initial 2009-10 WP/TESS allocation

• March 2009: 2007-08 HESA derived statistics exercise launched

• May 2009: deadline for receipt of amendments to 2007-08 HESA data for inclusion in July allocation

Timetable for 2009-10 WP/TESS allocations

• July 2009: revised 2009-10 WP/TESS allocations

• Summer 2009: 2008-09 HESA web facility released

• Winter 2009-10: 2008-09 HESA derived statistics exercise launched

Useful reading

How we fund WP

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/widen/fund/

How we fund TESS

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/learning/funding/support/

‘2007-08 statistics derived from HESA data: Guide to HEFCE web facility ’ (HEFCE 2008/30) - Annex E and Appendix 7

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2008/08_30/

‘Funding higher education in England’ (HEFCE 2008/33)

http://www.hefce.ac.uk/pubs/hefce/2008/08_33/

Who to contact

Christine Daniel

c.daniel@hefce.ac.uk

0117 931 7373

Part 2

HESA derived statisticsHESA derived statistics

HESA derived statistics

• What are the derived statistics?• How will we use HESA data to monitor funding?• Timetable• What is the web facility?• What is the derived statistics exercise?

• How do I find out more?

What are the derived statistics?

• Monitor funding allocations

• Inform Widening Participation (WP) allocations

• Inform flexible study measure

• Research Degree Qualification Rates (RDQRs)

• Transparent Approach to Costing TRAC(T) student FTEs

• Data for audit purposes

• LLN student summaries

• Non-completion toolkit

How do we monitor teaching funding with HESA data?

• Generate HESES re-creation using HESA data

• Generate HESES re-creation based on cost centre sector norms for subjects

• Select institutions to explain differences between HESES and HESES re-creation

• HESES re-creation supersedes HESES for funding purposes

HESES re-creation output (1)

• Each HEI provided with:

– HESES re-creation tables 1a, 1b, 2, 3, 4 and 6

– HESES re-creation grant adjustment report, standard resource and assumed fees

– WP allocation report based on HESES re-creation assumed FTEs

HESES re-creation output (2)

• HESA-HESES comparison summary tables

• Equivalent HESES tables

• Individualised data for each HESA record

• Includes all derived fields used to re-create HESES

Teaching funding monitoring timetable

• December 2007 - HESES07 deadline

• October 2008 – Final deadline for 2007-08 HESA data

• November 2008 - HEFCE receive 2007-08 HESA data

• December 2008 - HESES08 deadline

• March 2009 – Selection notification (HESES07 and 2007-08 HESA)

• May 2009 - Deadline for initial response

• June 2009 – Deadline for amending 2007-08 HESA data (as part of this exercise)

• September 2009 – Interim grant adjustments (if exercise not complete)*

• October 2009 - Final deadline for 2008-09 HESA data

• November 2009 - HEFCE receive 2008-09 HESA data

* different for HESES re-creation based on cost centre sector norms

HESA derived statistics web facility (1)

• Available in summer each year

• Unlimited use/useable for entire year

• Submit HESA data to HEFCE extranet (secure)

• Obtain outputs listed earlier as aggregated Excel output and associated individualised file

HESA derived statistics web facility (2)

• Comprehensive guide on using web facility

• Full description of algorithms

• Trouble-shooting guidance

• Detail of ‘problems of fit’

• ‘Pseudo code’

• Support through ‘helpline’ and e-mail

Flexible study measure - background

• Often referred to as ‘partial completion’

• ‘Review of the teaching funding method: Second consultation on changes to the method’ HEFCE 2007/02

• HEIs confidence to allow students to change their pace of study

What are ‘partial completions’?

• Completed activity is less than student’s initial study intentions for the year

• Completed modules only

• HESES definitions for ‘completed module’

Overview of methodology

• 2007-08 and 2006-07 HESA data

• Calculate flexible study measure weighting

• Based on standard resource and assumed fees for partially completing students

• Applied to contract range

• Migration funding (initially)

Further detail of methodology (1)

• HESES07 re-creation

• Plus students in HESES population that did not generate a countable year in HESES07

• Identify partial completions and assign funding characteristics (price group, fee level etc.)

• Calculate standard resource for partial completions (modules completed)

Further detail of methodology (2)

• Calculate assumed resource for partial completions (modules attempted)

• Calculate weighting to reflect where HEIs would move relative to the tolerance band if ‘partial completions’ had been included in the teaching funding model for 2007-08

What are ‘partial completions’?

• HESES population (HESEXCL=0, 512 etc.)

• Non-completions (HESCOMP=3)• Completed modules (MODOUT = 1, 2)• Module ‘countable’ in HESES07

(MODSTAT = 1, 2, 4)• Student’s completed ‘module FTE’ >

0.167 (normally 20 credits)

And attempted modules?

• Non-completed modules (MODOUT = 1, 2, 4, 6, 7)

• Attempted modules ‘countable’ in HESES07 (MODSTAT = 1, 2, 4, 5)

Further information about the flexible study measure

• Forthcoming 2007-08 HESA derived statistics publication

• 2009-10 Grant letter: technical guidance, paragraphs 174-188

• hesa_heses_stats@hefce.ac.uk

Web facility demo

HESA-HESES exercise

• HESA-HESES07 comparison – twelfth year HESA used to monitor funding

• HESES re-created for all HEIs

• All HEIs are tested against the ‘selection criteria’

• Similar exercise is conducted for FE Colleges using ILR data

HESA-HESES – response criteria

• HESA-HESES06

– £500,000 difference in contract range holdback

– £500,000 net difference in funding conditional upon delivery of growth

– £100,000 medical and dental contract FTE

– WP criterion (based on HESES06 re-creation FTEs)

– Model 2 LLN criterion

• HESA-HESES07

– ?

– Table 7 criterion

HESA-HESES – no response required

No response required

– does not mean that HESA and HESES data are consistent

– discrepancies may impact WP funding allocations

– does not exempt HEI from subsequent data

audit/ retrospective funding adjustments

HESA-HESES – response required (1)

• Submit Action and Implementation Plan

• Action Plan to remove discrepancies between HESA-HESES

• Implementation Plan to ensure that similar errors do not recur in the future

HESA-HESES – response required (2)

• Action Plan should address all of the following (where relevant):

– Errors in HESES

– Errors in HESA

– Problems of fit with the HEFCE algorithms

Errors in HESES

• HESES re-creation will only be ‘signed-off’ once we are

satisfied that it ‘reasonably represents the outturn

position for the year’

• HESES re-creation will supersede HESES

• Retrospective adjustment to funding will be made

Errors in HESA

• Corrections to HESA data

• Administrative fee will be charged by HESA (20% of annual subscription)

• Revised HESA compared to HESES to ensure

discrepancies are fully explained

Problems of fit with HEFCE algorithms (1)

Known algorithmic approximations:

– INSTAPP

– Part-time FTE (some non-standard years)

– Assignments to price groups (as above)

Problems of fit with HEFCE algorithms (2)

• Unlikely to be sole cause for discrepancies

• Evidence may be requested (e.g. HE prospectus)

• Provide necessary data to correct assumptions and reconcile the two data sources

Who to contact and useful reading

Contact: Ewa Wawrzynska at e.wawrzynska@hefce.ac.uk or

hesa_heses_stats@hefce.ac.uk0117 931 7353

Further reading:

HEFCE 2008/07 on 2006-07 reconciliation

HEFCE 2008/30 on 2007-08 web facility

HEFCE 2009/?? on 2007-08 reconciliation