UK SBS PS16159-HEFCE Costing Study

From 2017-18 onwards, HEFCE will be responsible for distributing teaching funding for pre-registration NMAH courses.

In order to discharge its new responsibility in a fair and transparent way, HEFCE wishes to commission a study to identify:

• the costs to providers of delivering the different types of pre-registration NMAH courses
• how those costs arise
• how they compare with the costs of activity that HEFCE already funds.

The outcome of the study will be used to inform decisions on the extent to which these courses should attract funding under the formula allocation method for high-cost subjects and whether any further (exceptional) support might be required for them.

The objectives of this study are

• To determine the average annual full economic costs for institutions per full-time equivalent student of each type of pre-registration NMAH course listed under ‘Scope’ and how these costs compare with courses in these and similar subjects that HEFCE already funds
• To provide analysis of drivers for (teaching and non-teaching) costs in each NMAH profession, and cost variations within each of the professions
• To provide a critical analysis of the strength of the evidence base for the costing analysis and any caveats that HEFCE might need to bear in mind in using the costing data to inform its funding decisions.