Monitoring
Monitoring for 2009-10
We are currently working on joint guidance with the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) to help you submit your monitoring return for 2009-10 and your first progress report against your Widening Participation Strategic Assessment. We hope to issue this guidance towards the end of September 2010, with returns due back from you in January 2011. We will let you know the outcome for your particular institution in June 2011, publishing our usual monitoring outcomes report in July 2011.
The monitoring process -step by step
We monitor access agreements on an annual basis. To enable us to do this, we ask you to complete an annual monitoring return. The process is generally as follows:
- we send you updated monitoring guidance to help you complete your return
- you download your monitoring return template from the HEFCE extranet (or OFFA website if you are a SCITT)
- you submit your completed monitoring return by the deadline stipulated, using the HEFCE extranet (or by email if you are a SCITT)
- we cross-check data as necessary, assess your return and let you know the outcome for your institution plus any action we require you to take
- we publish a report giving the outcomes of our annual monitoring for all institutions.
What your monitoring return must cover
Your return must give us information on:
- additional fee income,
- actual expenditure on bursaries and scholarships to lower-income and other under-represented groups
- actual expenditure on additional outreach activities covered in access agreements
- the number of lower-income students in receipt of a bursary or scholarship and the number of students eligible for a bursary
- progress against milestones.
We may also ask for additional information as detailed in our annual monitoring guidance.
Submitting your return
You should submit your completed monitoring return by the deadline stipulated, using the HEFCE extranet if you are an HEI or FEC or by email if you are a SCITT. If you are having any problems doing this, please call us on 0117 931 7171.
Our monitoring outcomes reports
Every year we publish a short report on the monitoring outcomes for all institutions. The report shows the proportions of fee income spent on bursaries and scholarships, the amount spent on additional outreach, any money that has been reallocated and the proportion of students receiving a bursary at each institution.