April 2017 Funding refrms FAQs Why was there a csting study? Prir t 2017-18, nursing, midwifery and allied health prfessinal (NMAHP) pre-registratin educatin in England was funded thrugh a natinally agreed price knwn as the benchmark price (BMP). Frm the perspective f educatin prvisin, the use f the BMP had resulted in substantial underfunding f NMAHP curses. Frm 2017-18 this arrangement will change: the BMP will be phased ut as all new students will be self-financed and funded thrugh the student lans system; and the cap n student places will be lifted. The aim is t increase the number f places by up t 10,000 acrss the lifetime f the Parliament. The HEFCE csting study was cmmissined t identify the cst fr Higher Educatin Institutins (HEIs) f delivering NMAHP educatin. The changes t funding affect a wide range f curses that lead t a prfessinal registratin: Nursing (all fur fields) Midwifery Physitherapy Occupatinal Therapy Speech and Language Therapy Pdiatry and Chirpdy Diagnstic and Therapeutic Radigraphy Dietetics Orthptics Operating Department Practice Prsthetics and Orthtics Dental therapy/hygiene curses were within scpe fr the csting study but implementatin f the refrm fr these curses has been deferred t 2018-19. The utcmes f the csting study fr Dental hygiene and Dental therapy will be published separately. Funding fr paramedic curses, which are nt part f the NHS bursaries system, are nt included in the csting study as they are excluded frm these refrms. Hw was the csting study carried ut? HEFCE cmmissined KPMG t carry ut the csting study. HEFCE wrte t all HEIs that ffer pre-registratin NMAHP curses t encurage participatin. The csting study used the Transparent Apprach t Csting fr Teaching TRAC(T) methdlgy. The baseline year used t infrm the study was 2014-15, therefre institutins were asked t prvide csting data relating t educatin prvisin fr 2014-15. In Octber and Nvember, KPMG wrked with a grup f pilt institutins t refine their methdlgy and develp the accmpanying guidance. Frm Nvember 2016 KPMG circulated data cllectin spreadsheets, including a cntextual questinnaire cllecting relevant data abut 1
institutins (e.g. student FTE, curse length, student:staff ratis), and a cst cllectin spreadsheet which cllected csting infrmatin abut each curse (e.g. staff csts, nn-pay csts, indirect departmental csts, centrally allcated indirect csts, estate csts). The data cllected by KPMG included csts incurred in terms f student unifrms, DBS checks and ccupatinal health checks. The Cuncil f Deans f Health has played an active rle in cntributing twards the csting study, sitting n the Advisry Grup prviding technical assistance t HEFCE and KPMG. Hw did HEFCE use the csting study t infrm its funding decisins? KPMG cnducted analysis f the csting data returned by institutins fr each curse. Where necessary it clarified csts with institutins. The study was used t infrm the decisins abut funding NMAH curses taken by HEFCE s Bard. This included cnsidering which HEFCE high cst price grup each curse is assigned t, and t identify a transitinal supplementary targeted allcatin fr 2017-18 which is intended t supprt further the sustainability f higher cst disciplines as evidenced by the csting study. HEFCE will als prvide funding t institutins relating t students n nursing, midwifery and allied health curses thrugh the student premium and Lndn weighting. This funding is allcated fllwing a frmulaic calculatin which applies t all disciplines and price grups funded by HEFCE, and was nt infrmed by the csting study. Publicatin f the HEFCE csting study is imminent. The Cuncil will cmmunicate the publicatin f this t members nce it has been published. What were the utcmes f the csting study? The csting study prvided average cstings fr HE prvisin f nursing, midwifery and allied health curses at the level f the different disciplines, and prvided sme analysis f these cstings. Fr mre detail, please see the reprt which will shrtly be published n HEFCE s website. What were the funding decisins made fr 2017-18 relating t nursing, midwifery and allied health? On 15 March 2017, HEFCE published its Circular letter utlining funding fr universities and clleges fr 2017-18. Infrmatin relating t nursing, midwifery and the allied health prfessins can be fund in paragraphs 6-9. It is imprtant t nte that these allcatins apply t new students starting curses in 2017-18. HEFCE is yet t annunce funding levels fr 2018 nwards and the Cuncil will cntinue its engagement with HEFCE t wrk twards a sustainable level f funding fr NMAHP educatin. In its Circular letter, HEFCE utlined the fllwing: 16 millin high-cst subject funding Pre-registratin nursing (all fields) assigned t price grup C1 Pre-registratin midwifery and ther AHPs assigned t price grup B 8 millin student premium funding 1 millin Lndn allwances 6 millin targeted teaching allcatin 200 fr adult nursing, mental health nursing, unclassified nursing, and speech and language therapy 2
400 fr child nursing and learning disability nursing 1,200 fr therapeutic/diagnstic radigraphy, and pdiatry and chirpdy 3,500 fr rthtics and prsthetics, and rthptics Operating department practice, dietetics, ccupatinal therapy, physitherapy and midwifery will NOT receive any additinal supplement. 1 millin twards natinal initiative supprting demand and imprving retentin and sustainability f curses. Finance arrangements fr pre-registratin curses in dental hygiene and dental therapy, and pstgraduate pre-registratin curses are nt changing in 2017-18, and therefre sit utside f the NMAHP funding arrangement utlined in the HEFCE Circular. The Cuncil will cntinue t engage with HEFCE in relatin t these matters. What des this mean fr NMAHP curses? In additin t student fees, universities will receive frm HEFCE: High cst subject funding HEFCE has allcated 16m thrugh the main high-cst subject funding n the basis that preregistratin in nursing (all fields) shuld be assigned t price grup C1, and pre-registratin curses in midwifery and AHPs subject t the transfer f funding respnsibility, shuld be assigned t price grup B. High cst funding is als subject t a scaling factr (1.0165 fr 2017-18). Student Premium HEFCE has allcated 8 millin twards student premium funding, intended t enable institutins t prvide t supprt students deemed t be at risk f withdrawing early frm their studies because f their qualificatins and age prfile. A further allcatin has als been made twards recruiting and supprting disabled students. Based n a ttal ppulatin f 25,000 students in the system, this allcatin wuld amunt t an average 320 per FTE f additinal funding, hwever specific amunts will vary depending n the student characteristics at each institutin. Imprtantly, these allcatins are made t the institutin, nt t individual faculties r departments. HEFCE s April grant letters t prviders are expected t shw hw NMAHP students cntribute twards these allcatins. It will be imprtant fr members t wrk practively t ensure this allcatin is directed twards NMAHP curses. Targeted teaching allcatin HEFCE has allcated 6 millin fr a transitinal supplementary targeted teaching allcatin t supprt further sustainability f certain prfessins. This funding is in additin t the fee received by institutins in relatin t each price grup and is calculated n a per full-time equivalent (FTE) basis. Natinal initiatives HEFCE has allcated 1m fr natinal initiatives that supprt demand and imprve retentin t enhance sustainability f curses, particularly small and specialist pre-registratin curses. Further infrmatin in relatin t this funding will be cmmunicated t members in due curse. 3
Lndn weighting HEFCE has allcated 1m fr Lndn weighting. Inner and uter Lndn rates will vary by price grup, therefre the allcatin t HEIs will be dependent n the curses ffered. The 2017-18 guide t funding is due t be published n 12 April 2017 n HEFCE s website. Scenaris fr NHAMP curses We have prvided examples f the funding implicatins belw fr each f the undergraduate NMAHP curses that are subject t the funding refrms. It shuld be nted that the HEFCE high cst funding figures quted belw exclude the scaling factr (1.0165). Adult Nursing and Mental Health Nursing HEIs prviding curses in adult and mental health nursing will be able t charge a fee (up t 9,250), and will receive 250 per FTE in high cst subject funding supprt at HEFCE price grup C1, a transitinal supplement f 200 per FTE fr 2017-18, as well as any additinal funding that is attributable t student premium funding and Lndn weighting. Child Nursing and Learning Disability Nursing HEIs prviding curses in child nursing and learning disability nursing will be able t charge a fee (up t 9,250) and will receive: 250 per FTE in high cst subject funding supprt at HEFCE price grup C1; a transitinal supplement f 400 per FTE fr 2017-18; as well as any additinal funding that is attributable t student premium funding and Lndn weighting. Midwifery, Physitherapy Dietetics, Operating Department Practice, Occupatinal Therapy HEIs prviding curses in midwifery, physitherapy, dietetics, perating department practice and ccupatinal therapy will be able t charge a fee (up t 9,250) and will receive 1,500 per FTE in high cst subject funding supprt at HEFCE price grup B; as well as any additinal funding that is attributable t student premium funding and Lndn weighting. Diagnstic and Therapeutic Radigraphy; Chirpdy and Pdiatry HEIs prviding curses in diagnstic/therapeutic radigraphy, and chirpdy and pdiatry will be able t charge a fee (up t 9,250) and will receive: 1,500 per FTE in high cst subject funding supprt at HEFCE price grup B; a transitinal supplement f 1,200 per FTE fr 2017-18; as well as any additinal funding that is attributable t student premium funding and Lndn weighting. Speech and Language Therapy HEIs prviding curses in speech and language therapy will be able t charge a fee (up t 9,250) and will receive: 1,500 per FTE in high cst subject funding supprt at HEFCE price grup B; a transitinal supplement f 200 per FTE fr 2017-18; as well as any additinal funding that is attributable t student premium funding and Lndn weighting. Orthtics and Prsthetics; Orthptics HEIs prviding curses in rthtics and prsthetics, and rthptics will be able t charge a fee (up t 9,250) and will receive: 1,500 per FTE in high cst subject funding supprt at HEFCE price grup B; a transitinal supplement f 3,500 per FTE fr 2017-18; as well as any additinal funding that is attributable t student premium funding and Lndn weighting. 4
Why is there a variatin in the amunt f funding allcated t different NMAHP curses? NMAHP curse have been allcated t ne f HEFCE s existing price grups based n the analysis f the csting study data prvided by institutins. T clse the gap between existing HEFCE price grups and individual curse csts a further transitinal supplement is prvided fr 2017-18 fr certain curses. Hw des HEFCE calculate the student FTEs n which they base their funding? HEFCE s funding is based n FTEs frm the previus year. HEFCE cllect data frm HE prviders n student numbers thrugh HESES in the autumn, and added a specific table fr nursing midwifery and allied health t their data cllectin in 2016-17, t infrm their funding fr 2017-18. What abut funding fr 2018 nwards? The funding refrms utlined in the HEFCE circular refer t 2017-18 nly. HEFCE is yet t determine the funding levels fr 2018 nwards. The Gvernment has indicated in the respnse t the cnsultatin n the NMAHP funding refrms that dental hygiene and therapy, and pstgraduate pre-registratin curses will transfer t the mainstream HE funding mdel, and therefre becme HEFCE fundable, frm 2018-19. 5