ILR training

Student engagement and outcome

These two presentations cover fields relating to how students engage with their learning aim and used to record whether the student achieves this aim.

Content covered in this section

Definitions of key fields
- Part one covers:
  - LearnStartDate
  - LearnPlanEndDate
  - LearnActEndDate
  - MODESTUD
  - STULOAD
- Part two covers:
  - TYPEYR
  - YEARSTU
  - FUNDLEV
  - FUNDCOMP
  - Outcome
  - Outgrade
What we use these for
What we expect from providers in determining these
Evidence that should be kept
Common issues found
Examples
Improving data quality.

Student engagement and outcome: part one

PDF, 197Kb

See the presentation slides

Student engagement and outcome: part one

PDF, 197Kb

See the presentation slides

Frequently asked questions

Do we set a new planned end when a student returns from intercalation?

The Provider Support Manual 2020-21 provides details on how the ILR data should be returned for students that take a break in learning. It states that once the learner returns to learning, you will need to re-plan the delivery of any remaining training and/or assessment following a break, a new programme aim (if required), learning aim(s), new planned end date should be created, and the original learning aims must not be reopened.

What do you mean be 'opening a new aim' when the student repeats a year?

The Provider Support Manual 2020-21 provides guidance on recording retakes and resits.

We have students that are classed as part-time but study 120 credits per year, should these students be returned as MODESTUD 1?

For a student to be classed as full-time, they must meet all three of the following criteria:

normally required to attend for at least 24 weeks within the year of instance
during which they are expected to undertake periods of study of on average at least 21 hours per week
full-time fees are chargeable for the course for the year.

The full definition is in Annex H of HESES20.

If they do not meet any one of these conditions, then they should be returned as part-time, but may still have an FTE of one.

If a student starts the course in September and withdraws before 1 October, what should the STULOAD be recorded as?

STULOAD should be returned to reflect the proportion of activity they undertook compared to the full year. The number of weeks that the student studied for before withdrawing can be used to calculate this proportion.

Does STULOAD refer to year of instance?

No. STULOAD is capturing the activity undertaken in the ILR reporting year, 1 August to 31 July. Therefore, for example, if a student studies full-time from January to December for two years their STULOAD should be split appropriately across the three ILR reporting years that they fall within, for example:

ILR year one – STULOAD = 50 (the first half of year one)
ILR year two – STULOAD = 100 (the second half of year one and the first half of year two)
ILR year three – STULOAD = 50 (the second half of year two).

For students that are non-prescribed higher education level 4, 5 or 6, do you require the STULOAD?

Yes, STULOAD is required for all students studying at level 4 and above to allow us to calculate OfS registration fees. See details on the students we count for these purposes.

What evidence would be best for audit for demonstrating a valid calculation of the STULOAD field?

Details of a student’s learning aim, mode of study, length of course, start and end dates of the student’s years are all good pieces of information to help provide evidence for a student’s STULOAD.

Where providers have had to adjust the standard STULOAD for withdrawals or part-time students, they should keep an audit trail of the calculation used to determine the STULOAD.

If a student attempts the final assessment but was a non-submission for a previous assessment in that module, are they a completion?

Yes, as they have submitted or attempted the chronologically final assessment (as long as all other module final assessments have been attempted).

If a student is on a non-standard 18-month programme starting in January, FUNDCOMP would be 3, but is it correct to remain 3 until they complete the programme?

FUNDCOMP needs to be determined for each year of instance. The 18-month long course therefore needs to be broken into two years of instance, the first being 12 months long (January to December) and the second being six months long (January to June).

In the first ILR, the student will only be part way through their year of instance and so FUNDCOMP=3 would be returned unless they had already failed to complete by the point the ILR was submitted.

In the second ILR return, the student will have completed their second year of instance and so FUNDCOMP = 1 or 2 should be returned as appropriate for the second year of instance.

How should YEARSTU be calculated for students that start halfway through the year?

YEARSTU should reflect the year of the student for the year of instance, therefore it should be updated once the student has passed the anniversary of their start date, even if this is part way through the reporting year.

When would YEARSTU change for a student who takes a break in learning?

If the student is only inactive for part of the year, then YEARSTU should increment on their anniversary. If they are dormant for a whole year of the course, then providers should not increment YEARSTU.

Published 29 July 2021

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