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Apologies for cross-posting! I have now had a second hand response to my note about QAA not being able to obtain HESA student FTEs - word travels fast in cyberspace! Apparently the answer is that QAA intended to use the DECEMBER student return for a subscription year beginning on 1 August. I now understand why they think they can't get FTEs. However this just makes matters worse, as I would be totally opposed to using the December return for anything substantial - and especially involving money - as there are many students who enrol after the 1 December date who aren't picked up until the July return. I'm sure many others of you would agree that the December return should not be used for this purpose - the HESA Management Committee had a long debate a couple of years ago about whether we could do away with the December student return; everyone in the sector is in favour of getting rid of it because it is so incomplete, the only people insistent on retaining it are the DFEE who want it to calculate early indications about the Age Participation Index for FT Undergrads. If someone wants student numbers for the current year then the best estimate is HESES, not HESA. The QAA's debate about FTEs versus bodies is one thing - but missing out a whole group of students is a totally different matter. So even if QAA clarify that they are talking about the December return, they have still got it very badly wrong! However, my apologies to anyone in QAA who thought my note was 'vituperative'. Mike Milne-Picken Head of Planning and Performance Review University of Central Lancashire %%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%