§ Mrs. Virginia BottomleyTo ask the Secretary of State for Education and Employment what information he has collated about the academic achievements and funding per student at(a) Farnham College and (b) Godalming College in the last year for which figures are available; and what the corresponding average figures are for (i) Surrey, (ii) England and (iii) the UK. [150301]
§ Mr. WicksThe achievement rates for further education colleges in England are contained in the table:
Achievement rate 1998–99 (percentage) Farnham College 93 Godalming College 93 All sixth form colleges in England1 86 All colleges in Surrey 66 All colleges in England 76 1 Farnham and Godalming Colleges are both sixth form colleges, therefore this achievement figure offers a more valid comparison The level of funding of students by the Further Education Funding Council (FEFC) is determined by a tariff system which provides a number of "units" of funding for various aspects of the course and student. Most "units" are for the length and type of course; others cover achievement, entry and additional support, for example.
The average level of funding (or ALF) per unit varies between colleges, mostly for historical reasons but is converging by deliberate council policy. The ALF (1998–99) for Godalming College is £16.91 and for Farnham College is £17.75. This methodology will continue for the first year following the inception of the LSC. Following that, a revised system will be introduced which will simplify the FEFC system but maintain separate elements for course length and type and for achievement.
3WUnder the current methodology, funding per full time equivalent (FTE) student will depend on type of courses, level of achievement, mode of attendance and other
Student numbers (1998–99) Funding (1998–99) Council funded Non-council funded Council funded full time equivalents (FTE)1 Total FEFC funding (£ million) Funding per FTE (£) Farnham College 921 — 575 1.8 3,200 Godalming College 1,962 77 1,695 3.9 2,323 All FE institutions in Surrey (excluding HEI) 44,224 8,055 18,561 55.3 2,979 All FE institutions in England (excluding HEI) 3,318,100 765,500 957,102 2,932.5 3,064 1 Full time equivalents (FTEs)—for the purpose of this exercise, a full time student is defined as one who studies at the college for 655 hours. College FTEs are calculated by dividing total student hours by 655. This allows for a more standardised comparison in terms of funding per FTE student.