Teaching funding
An Excel model shows how the non-quota funding methodology works within the teaching funding method:
Data and analysis
We receive information from tertiary education providers via a number of data collections and information requests. These are used to calculate funding allocations, monitor progress, inform policy, and publish statistics on the tertiary sector in Wales.
Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR)
The Lifelong Learning Wales Record (LLWR) underpins many aspects of our work, including funding, monitoring and quality assuring post-16 provision (other than sixth form and higher education provision). The data also provides the official source of statistics on learners in further education, apprentices and in the adult learning sector.
A number of Welsh Government documents continue to apply.
Lifelong Learning Wales Record: data collection and reporting
Lifelong Learning Wales Record: enrolment forms
These enrolment forms are used to collect the data required from learners.
Lifelong Learning Wales Record user support manual
This support manual provides guidance for those learning providers who return data to Medr via the LLWR, for their software suppliers, and for other interested parties.
Lifelong Learning Wales Record: privacy notice
Here we outline how we will use the information that you provide and how long we will keep it for. This is a document inherited from the Welsh Government, and Medr will be providing its own update in due course.
LLWR data freeze dates
This document lists the dates a snapshot of LLWR data is undertaken (freeze) and how the freeze data will be used by both Medr and the Welsh Government.
Lifelong Learning Wales Record: enrolment forms
These enrolment forms are used to collect the data required from learners.
Lifelong Learning Wales Record user support manual
This support manual provides guidance for those learning providers who return data to Medr via the LLWR, for their software suppliers, and for other interested parties.
Lifelong Learning Wales Record: privacy notice
Here we outline how we will use the information that you provide and how long we will keep it for. This is a document inherited from the Welsh Government, and Medr will be providing its own update in due course.
LLWR data freeze dates
This document lists the dates a snapshot of LLWR data is undertaken (freeze) and how the freeze data will be used by both Medr and the Welsh Government.
Post-16 data collection
The post-16 data collection covers learning undertaken in school sixth forms. It is used for funding, monitoring and quality assuring post-16 provision, and in the production of official statistics.
A number of Welsh Government documents continue to apply.
Post-16 measures and outcomes
Post-16 consistent performance measures
These are the performance measures in place for further education colleges and school sixth forms.
Learner outcomes reports
These provide summaries of the learner success rates achieved by apprenticeship providers and adult community learning partnerships. They are accessible by expanding the ‘data’ section on the statistical release page. Learner outcomes reports for previous years are available alongside previous statistical releases.
Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales: recording and measuring outcomes
This document sets out the Welsh Government’s proposed approach to measuring post-16 Welsh Baccalaureate outcomes, and the requirements for data recording to support this approach.
Self assessment: post-16 providers
This guidance provides detailed advice about how post-16 providers should assess themselves and report on it, and how to use this information to make improvements.
Post-16 consistent performance measures
These are the performance measures in place for further education colleges and school sixth forms.
Learner outcomes reports
These provide summaries of the learner success rates achieved by apprenticeship providers and adult community learning partnerships. They are accessible by expanding the ‘data’ section on the statistical release page. Learner outcomes reports for previous years are available alongside previous statistical releases.
Advanced Skills Baccalaureate Wales: recording and measuring outcomes
This document sets out the Welsh Government’s proposed approach to measuring post-16 Welsh Baccalaureate outcomes, and the requirements for data recording to support this approach.
Self assessment: post-16 providers
This guidance provides detailed advice about how post-16 providers should assess themselves and report on it, and how to use this information to make improvements.
Higher education data collection
We collect data from higher education providers in Wales through a number of data surveys:
- the higher education students early statistics (HESES) survey
- the end of year monitoring (EYM) of higher education enrolments survey
- the forecasts circular
The data surveys are sent to nominated data contacts within the provider and are also available below.
A number of Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) documents continue to apply until Medr provides its own updates.
Data collection timetableThe HESES survey collects aggregated student data to enable us to have early indications of student numbers, monitor the recruitment of students covered by fee and access plans, and provide monitoring information to the Welsh Government for the relevant academic year.
The EYM survey gives definitions and guidance to higher education providers relating to the end of year data that are extracted from the HESA student record via the HESA Information Reporting Interface Service (IRIS). The data is used to calculate credit-based teaching funding, calculate any adjustments to funding, monitor information on initial teacher training and medical and dentistry courses and establish final numbers of students and credit values.
This requests higher education institutions to submit student number forecasts.
The HESES survey collects aggregated student data to enable us to have early indications of student numbers, monitor the recruitment of students covered by fee and access plans, and provide monitoring information to the Welsh Government for the relevant academic year.
The EYM survey gives definitions and guidance to higher education providers relating to the end of year data that are extracted from the HESA student record via the HESA Information Reporting Interface Service (IRIS). The data is used to calculate credit-based teaching funding, calculate any adjustments to funding, monitor information on initial teacher training and medical and dentistry courses and establish final numbers of students and credit values.
This requests higher education institutions to submit student number forecasts.
Auditing data
The last guidance notes issued to external auditors appointed by HEFCW can be found in Guidance notes for External Auditors 2021 (September 2021) and Guidance notes for External Auditors 2021 (November 2021).
Since 2021/22, members of the statistics team meet with data contacts at each provider, to cover items such as previous audit findings and data quality. This process will be reviewed by Medr.
The arrangements for internal audits remain the same, with reports requested on an annual basis. The current guidance notes for auditors to use in their annual internal audits can be found in Guidance for Internal Auditors to use in their Annual Internal Audit of HE Data Systems and Processes.
HESA data guidance
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is part of Jisc. HESA collects, assures and disseminates data about higher education in the UK.
HESA collects data on our behalf relating to:
- student activity
- finance
- estates management
- higher education business and community interaction
- staff at higher education providers (HEPs)
We use this data in Medr for:
- calculating funding allocations
- monitoring against national measures and equal opportunities
- publishing information
- informing policy.
The data submitted by higher education providers needs to meet certain standards, and the data must be prepared with honesty, impartiality and rigour. HESA’s Code of Practice supports those preparing and managing data collections. The Code applies to all data collections submitted to HESA and the four UK HE funding bodies, including Medr.
Code of practice for higher education data collectionsHigher Education Data Requirements
The higher education data requirements guidance document informs providers of the HE data that we use for the above purposes. It outlines the fields and criteria we use for extracting HESA data and in what context it is to be used.
HE data requirements 2024/24Funding calculations
Here you will find information about the data and methodology used within the formula driven recurrent grant methods.
Also available below are algorithms relating to the extraction of data from the HESA student record to be used in calculating the access and retention, disability, expensive subjects and Welsh medium premiums, and the per capita funding allocations. The algorithms are based on a simplified version of the SAS code we use to extract the data.
The following algorithms apply for 2023/24. The algorithms for extracting data used for 2024/25 funding will be available shortly.
In order to ensure that students are counted correctly, further criteria in addition to those described in the algorithms may be applied.
Access and retention algorithm
Disability algorithm
Per capita algorithm
Expensive subjects algorithm
Welsh medium algorithm
Estimating FTE for modules algorithm
Estimating completed Full Time Equivalent (FTE) for modules algorithm
Low participation postcode data
Low participation postcodes eligible for access and retention funding (.txt file)
WIMD postcode data
WIMD postcodes eligible for access and retention funding (.txt file)
Research funding
Available below is information on the extraction and calculation of Quality Research (QR) funding and Postgraduate Research (PGR) funding. The links below provide information about the QR funding model, which has been updated to use data from the Research Excellence Framework (REF) 2021 and is applicable for funding from 2022/23 onwards.
The following algorithms apply for 2023/24. The algorithms for extracting data used for 2024/25 funding will be available shortly.
Quality research (QR) funding allocations
QR funding allocationsQuality research (QR) funding model
QR funding modelPostgraduate research algorithm
PGR algorithmNational measures help us in monitoring Medr regulated and/or funded higher education providers.
The measures are used at both institutional and national level to monitor performance and inform risk assessments and institutional fee and access planning.
2021/22 monitoring
National measures monitor data from the year 2016/17 onwards. A description of the data sources used and the methods of extraction are outlined in Annex I of our latest data requirements circular.
Higher education equality and diversity statistics
We produce statistical data about higher education providers’ performance with regard to equality and diversity.
These reports and the accompanying analysis are based on the returns made by Welsh higher education providers to the Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA).
Analysis of HE staff and students in Wales in 2015/16 to 2021/22:
Postcode data
We use data relating to students’ postcodes to monitor access to higher education from low participation groups, and to calculate some of our funding.
National measures – widening access and participation
CSV files with lists of postcodes used for monitoring the widening access and the participation national measures for the 2023/24 HESA student record are:
- Widening access postcodes for use in national measures 2023/24
- Participation postcodes for use in national measures 2023/24
The widening access file contains the postcode and one look up field, WIMD2014_q. If WIMD2014_q=1 then the postcode is counted in the bottom quintile of areas defined by the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation 2014 (WIMD2014). If WIMD2014_q=2 then the postcode is counted in the second from bottom quintile of areas defined by WIMD2014.
The participation file contains the postcode only. These are the postcodes in the bottom quintile of areas defined by POLAR4.
Low participation and widening access postcodes
These csv files contain lists of postcodes used for calculating the access and retention premium (2025/26 funding) for use with 2023/24 HESA student record data.
- Low participation postcodes eligible for access and retention funding 2023/24
- Widening access postcodes eligible for access and retention funding 2023/24
The low participation postcode file contains postcodes that are counted in areas of low participation for part-time students. Areas of low participation for part-time students are the bottom two quintiles of areas as defined by the proportion of working age adults with HE level qualifications, as measured using Census 2021 data. Currently this list includes only England and Wales postcodes but will be updated shortly to include Scotland and Northern Ireland postcodes.
The widening access postcode file contains postcodes in quintiles 1 or 2 of the Welsh Index of Multiple Deprivation (WIMD) 2019.
Funding allocations for higher education providers in 2024/25 shows funding allocations for higher education providers, including the access and retention premium.
More information about the sources of data we use and what we use them for is in the latest data requirements publication. For postcodes used with older data, email [email protected].
Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right (2020)
Contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and Database right (2020)
Contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right (2020)
OS OpenData is free to use under the Open Government Licence (OGL).
HESA Information Reporting Interface Service (IRIS)
The Higher Education Statistics Agency (HESA) is the official agency for collecting, analysing and disseminating quantitative information about higher education in the UK. Information about the most recent student data submission arrangements can be found on HESA’s website.
As part of HESA’s data collection system, data is extracted via the HESA Information Reporting Interface Service (IRIS) for use by higher education (HE), funded further education (FE) institutions and new HESA subscribers in Wales.
This means that funded HE providers get early sight of data that may be used to inform funding allocations to enable them to correct data at an early stage. It also forms part of the process for sign-off of End of Year Monitoring (EYM) data along with a number of other returns, listed below.
IRIS outputs
The IRIS output for Welsh funded institutions contains the following data extracts that require sign-off:
IRIS outputs requiring sign-off needed to be checked, signed and sent back to Medr by 10 January 2025.
- End of Year Monitoring (EYM)
- Student based national measure (NM)
- Part time fee waiver (PTFW_monitoring and PTFW_allocation)
- Degree apprenticeships (DA)
- Note that the ‘Enrolments sign off’ sheet within this file will contain individualised data, therefore the degree apprenticeships spreadsheet will need to be returned via a secure method.
- We will email providers separately with details of how to return these tables.
- Postgraduate taught Master’s bursaries (Masters_monitoring)
- Race Access and Success / Well-being and mental health funding (RAS_WBMH)
- Targeted employability support funding (TES)
- Postgraduate research training funding (PGR)
- Per capita funding (PCHE)
- Expensive subjects premium (ESP)
- Disability premium (DSA)
- Access and retention premium (A+R)
- Welsh medium credit values and modules (WM)
- Wales Research Environment and Culture funding (WREC)
- Capital funding Student FTE (StudentFTE)
The bracketed terms indicate the filename label as seen in the IRIS output files received by Welsh HE providers.
The outputs also contain the following data extracts that do not require any sign-off:
- Income analysis data summary (Income)
- Data quality reports (DQA)
- Welsh medium credit values and modules (WM_modules)
Sign off procedures and supplementary information
Sign-off procedures, along with more details on the use of the data and the extraction criteria are in the following documents:
- End of Year Monitoring of Higher Education Enrolments 2023/24
- Higher Education Data Requirements 2024/25
The latest postcode files to be used as part of access and retention premium extraction and in the national measures can be found above.
For extra guidance, to report any issues and for any feedback about IRIS, email [email protected].
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