Mlo session 2 the funding landscape

1st December 2010Moving Learning Online: Context of Online Delivery Within the Funding Landscape 1

Moving Learning Online (Session 2) Context of Online Delivery Within the Funding Landscape

Ainsley Cheetham – Consultant

Gordon Millner – JISC RSC East Midlands


The Moving Learning Online Series

Series aim - to help you answer the question…How can online delivery help us meet

our strategic and operational objectives?


Why Change?

• The economic climate

• Changing lifestyles and choice - particularly for adult learners (including work patterns)

• The removal of Government funding to support some adult learning

• The Government’s desire to achieve better value for money for 16-18 year olds

• The advancement of technology, its application and use in everyday life

• Competition from other learning/delivery providers which will open new opportunities to learners


The Reality

• Colleges will see real-term reductions in funding for all age groups, type of learners and levels of learning

• The Government funding strategy is changing and the use of Guided Learning Hours as a measure of efficiency in financial terms will be less important than achievement of qualifications and job outcomes

• The QCF has made it easier to study in bite size portions and uses the Rules of Combination to suit the learner’s job role or career aspirations

• The cost of delivery needs to fall, whilst the utilisation of staff needs to increase, in some part achieved by changes to employee terms and conditions


What Can Be Delivered Using Technology?

• Online learning

• Online submission of work and marking

• Assessment

• Question-and-answer sessions

• Conference calling and tutorials

• Research papers and background reading before and after a group classroom or online session


The Advantages to Learners

• Learning to suit students’ own circumstances

• May improve retention and achievement

• Maybe more cost effective in terms of fees and expenses

• Access to learning and feedback via on-line materials and research information

• Builds a brand loyalty for the learner


The Financial Case (1)

In view of the rules and the new freedom and flexibilities introduced by the coalition Government, how does a college move its curriculum offer to increase a more demand-driven model, whilst ensuring financial viability?



College and private training providers’ funding arrangements for England are based on qualifications which appear on the Learning Aims Database (LAD). This database provides a funding rate for all qualifications which both the YPLA and the ‘Agency’ will fund.

The funding rate is applied at either a ‘listed’ or ‘unlisted’ rate, depending on the data provided by awarding organisations and delivery analysis of provider returns.



For listed provision, the funding rate is applied irrespective of the GLH delivery subject to a minimum threshold of 6 direct hours for Adult learners and 9 direct hours for 16-18 year olds.*

Under Train to Gain and Apprenticeship rules, no minimum threshold applies.

Therefore if listed provision is delivered either wholly or partially by technology, the funding rates remain subject to certain conditions (including value for money).

*YPLA Funding and Guidance 2010/11 Rates and Formula, page 6 paragraphs 11 and 12.



Staff Utilisation Example

A provider with a traditional classroom-delivery-hours contract for staff delivers 864 hours per annum in 12 lesson/sessions of 2 hours over 36 weeks

By changing the delivery to 12 lessons/sessions of 1 hour for 6 weeks and 2 hours for 30 weeks, then the delivery-hours saving would be 72 hours in the year.

Learners would be set learning via technology and, for the first 2 years, staff would be given the 72 hours to develop and upload learning materials to the provider portals for learners to access.



Staff Utilisation Example - Savings

In year 1 and 2, there will be no savings planned, although in year 2 you may expect to see 30-50% saving against year 3

Based on an average delivery hour cost of £50 per hour, expected savings after 3 years would be 72 x £50 = £3600 per staff member

If a provider engages with 100 full time lecturers to utilise new-technology delivery, then the annual saving in year 3 will be £300,600.



Staff Utilisation Examples - Costs

Additional IT facilities - costs already in provider’s budget.

Additional out-of-class support (including learning mentors in open learning centres) estimated at 2 full time staff in open learning centres at approximately £40k in total.

Development cost and training to support the staff as they develop resources in year 1 and 2 estimated at £50k for release from other duties or cover.



Additional Potential Income

• Sales of specific training material to business

• Sale of expertise to industry by up-to-date staff who developed the materials

• Access to the on-line sale of learning materials worldwide


Organisational Benefits

• Motivation of staff – they will get something back for the effort they put in, including changing working patterns for many staff

• Becoming a more responsive provider using technology to drive change

• Use of internal expertise to expand the local community and job market via a new learning culture

• Better use of limited Government funding

• Introduction of potential new streams of income


Where to Start? (1)

Start with the converted and current champions. Recognise what they have achieved but question if it fits into the new flexibilities and freedoms. Is it cost effective? What savings have been made to both the institution and the member of staff?

Undertake a risk assessment of changing the delivery culture within your organisation.


Where to Start? (2)

Provide time outside of the present teaching time for discussion and development. You will need to free up staff from other administrative duties for them to have time to consider, plan and trial.

Prepare a paper for senior managers and governors about the opportunities. No doubt this will sit alongside the strategic papers in your curriculum governors’ packs and, eventually, the proposal to shift the curriculum delivery methodology should gain full board approval.


Finally

Many talk about changing delivery styles and patterns but few as yet have understood the financial advantages of using technology to improve delivery, success and the opportunities for new market sales.

Many managers have understood the costs of such an activity, but failed to effectively implement the change.

The climate of training-and-skills funding is changing. Do not be left behind or wait for things to happen. We know that achieving more for less and delivering better value for money is now key to everything we do.


What Next?

Visit the Moodle course that supports this series at:http://moodle.rsc-em.ac.uk/

Book to attend the next session:Pedagogy and Online Learning (12th Jan 2010)http://www.kent.ac.uk/rsc/events/2010/12-01-2011-mlo-pedagogy-&-online-learning.html

Talk to your RSC about the support available to help your strategic planning to make moving learning online a reality

JISC RSC East Midlands [email protected] JISC RSC South East [email protected]

Mlo session 2 the funding landscape

Education

Transcript of Mlo session 2 the funding landscape