As part of the thinking behind this the DfEE has been looking at the
definition of a part-time student, and has realised that there is a knock-on
effect in that any definition of a part-time student implies also a
definition of full-time. I was consulted as a member of the DfEE's Student
Support Design Group, and suggested tieing the definitions to FTE load, and
that they should talk to HESA and HEFCE. They have done this. I also
suggested that to avoid unseemly wrangles they should go for a bottom
threshold of slightly below 50% for loan eligibility; but I suspect that the
decision that it was 50% had already been made.
Roger Clark
Academic Registrar
University of Reading
> -----Original Message-----
> From: [log in to unmask]
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of M
> Milne-Picken
> Sent: 15 November 1999 16:34
> To: Admin Planning; Admin Student
> Subject: PT Degree/Sub-Degree classification
>
>
> Apologies for cross posting.
>
>
> There is an interesting note in the HE Management Statistics 1997/98
> Sector Level booklet recently published by HESA that says:
>
> "It should be noted that the Open University has introduced a system of
> course-based registration for 1997/98, by which all students register
> for modules rather than specific named awards, thus removing the
> distinction between students registering for an institutional credit and
> those registering for a degree or diploma. A result of this is a shift
> of approximately 95,000 OU students from the 'first degree' category to
> 'other undergraduate' for this academic year" (p34)
>
> I wonder if anyone knew why the OU has done this (given a large number
> of their students presumably graduate with a first degree)? Is anyone
> else doing this, or considering it, for part time students? If so, why?
>
> It has implications for the sub-degree target in the HEFCE funding
> agreement and also for progression performance indicators. Longer term
> it may also have implications on whether part time students go through
> UCAS.
>
> On a related issue, a colleague reported that at a CVCP conference on 2
> November, Baroness Blackstone made a statement that loans would be
> forthcoming of up to #500 per annum for part time students taking 0.5
> FTE (or greater). I've asked the DfEE whether this has been agreed but
> can't get anything out of them. Has anyone else heard about this? If
> in order to qualify for a loan, the part time student had to registered
> for an award that qualifies for full time loans (ie degree or DipHE/HND
> under the current regulations), then that would mean OU students and
> others registered only for institutional credit/modules would not
> qualify for the loan, which would appear to be problematic.
>
> Anyone got any thoughts?
>
> Mike Milne-Picken
> Head of Planning and Performance Review
> University of Central Lancashire
>
> www.uclan.ac.uk/planning
>
> [log in to unmask]
>
>
>
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