Funding for providers is calculated through Credit Equivalent Units (CEU), which determine the financial support available. CEUs are based on the credit value of qualifications, so a learner on a 10 credit qualification programme is worth 10 CEUs in funding. The credit value of the qualification is then augmented by weighting the base CEU to reflect:
- the programme area
- educational deprivation (reflecting the learners’ geographical location)
- sparsity (for learners from very rural areas)
- learner development (for 16-18 year olds, to fund curriculum enrichment)
- Welsh medium provision
- attainment
The Credit and Qualification Framework for Wales (CQFW) determines how credit values of qualifications are calculated.
Credit values are based on the learning time required for the programme, which includes timetabled learning activity (measured as Guided Contact Hours or GCH, equivalent to GLH in England) plus additional learning time spent on such activities as private study, work-based practice and assessment. ILM’s VRQ’s and unit qualifications can map directly against the credit values.
The diagram below summarises how the different weighting factors are used to calculate the Total Learner Provision CEU.
For more information on how the funding system works visit www.wales.gov.uk/npfs.