Student Achievement Component

• • Variable credit values
  • National certificates and diplomas
  • Studying extra courses
  • Full-year programmes
  • Studying integrated programmes
  • Studying more than normal learning hours
  • EFTS value - accelerated or compressed programmes
  • EFTS value - convergence of methods
  • EFTS value of qualifications
  • Course size
  • Additional courses
  • EFTS factors of courses

EFTS value of qualifications

TEOs[1] must use the three methods, and follow the process, described in Rule SAC034[2] to determine the appropriate workload involved in qualifications so that they can be appropriately funded for delivering those qualifications. These methods must converge when entering details on the TEC Qualifications Register.

Credits and points

Credits or points measure the average amount of learning needed to complete the qualification or part of the qualification.  Rule SAC035[3] outlines the calculation process and provides an example. See also variable credit values.

Learning hours

Rule SAC036[4] and Rule SAC038[5] explain the definition and calculation of learning hours.

Full-time weeks

Full-time weeks of learning are known as teaching or tuition weeks. Rule SAC038[6] and Rule SAC039[7] explain the definition and calculation of full-time weeks of learning.

Postgraduate qualifications

SAC[8] funding provided under Investment Plans reflects postgraduate courses for domestic students either as taught postgraduate (funding categories A3–N3) or research-based postgraduate (funding categories A4–M4).  It also represents research-based postgraduate funding for foreign students (funding categories A5-M5).

It is possible for the usual 4.0 EFTS[9] value of doctorates to be increased to up to 5.0 subject to Rule SAC075[10].

• [1]

  Tertiary education organisation (TEO)

• [2]

  Rule SAC034 : EFTS value of qualifications - determining

  When determining the Equivalent Full-Time Student (EFTS) value of qualifications, tertiary education organisations (TEOs) must do all of the following:

  • Use the following three methods to determine the EFTS value:
    • Credits or points
    • Learning hours
    • Full-time weeks
  • Determine the EFTS value of a qualification using the credits or points method, and then check the result by the hours and weeks of learning time methods
  • Ensure that a qualification designed to be delivered within a year (any 12 month period) is limited to a maximum of one EFTS unit, even if there are more than 120 credits, 1,200 hours, or 34 weeks, unless the Tertiary Education Commission has approved an exception to this limit.

  Note: see SAC044 for exceptions

• [3]

  Rule SAC035: EFTS value of qualifications - credits or points calculation

  When calculating the Equivalent Full-Time Student (EFTS) value using the credits or points method, a tertiary education organisation must do all of the following:

  • Ensure that approval documentation includes the total credits or points required for the qualification to establish its EFTS value
  • Calculate the EFTS value of a qualification using credits as follows:
    1. Determine the standard number of credits that equate to one full-time year of study
    2. Determine the number of credits for the qualification
    3. Divide the qualification credits by the standard number of credits for one full-time year of study
  • Check the credit or points EFTS value against the hours and weeks of the learning hours and full-time weeks methods.

  Example:

  The following is an example and is not part of the Rule:

  1. There are 120 credits for a standard full-time year of study
  2. The qualification has 60 credits
  3. Divide the qualification credits (60) by a full year’s credits (120) to give an EFTS value of 60/120 = 0.5 EFTS units.
• [4]

  Rule SAC036: EFTS value of qualifications - learning hours calculation

  To calculate the Equivalent Full-Time Student (EFTS) value of a qualification using the learning hours method, a tertiary education organisation must:

  1. Determine the qualification’s total learning hours
  2. Divide this by the standard measurement of a full-time year (1,200 hours).

  Example:

  The following is an example and is not part of the Rule:

  1. The total learning hours for one semester are 600 hours
  2. Divide the learning hours by the standard 1200 hours for a full-time year to give an EFTS value of 600/1200 = 0.5 EFTS units.
• [5]

  Rule SAC038: EFTS value of qualifications - learning hours and full-time teaching weeks

  For funding purposes learning hours and full-time weeks of learning include:

  • lecturer and tutor contact hours, including workshops and tutorials
  • tests and assignments
  • supervised practical placements
  • study time
  • self-directed learning with tutorial support available
  • exam periods.
• [6]

  Rule SAC038: EFTS value of qualifications - learning hours and full-time teaching weeks

  For funding purposes learning hours and full-time weeks of learning include:

  • lecturer and tutor contact hours, including workshops and tutorials
  • tests and assignments
  • supervised practical placements
  • study time
  • self-directed learning with tutorial support available
  • exam periods.
• [7]

  Rule SAC039: EFTS value of qualifications - full-time teaching or tuition weeks calculation

  To calculate the Equivalent Full-Time Student (EFTS) value based on the standard full-time equivalent teaching weeks (34) of learning, a tertiary education organisation must determine the length of the qualification in weeks and then do one of the following:

  • Divide this number by 34
  • Multiply this number by 0.03.

  Example:

  The following is an example only and is not part of the Rule:

  If the qualification has a length of 17 weeks, a TEO must do one of the following:

  • Divide 17 by 34 to give an EFTS value of 17/34 = 0.5
  • Multiply 17 by 0.03 to give an EFTS value of 17 x 0.03 = 0.51.
• [8]

  Student Achievement Component fund (SAC)

• [9]

  Equivalent Full-Time Student (EFTS)

• [10]

  Rule SAC075: Postgraduate classification - EFTS value of doctorates

  The maximum Equivalent Full-Time Student (EFTS) value for a doctorate is usually four EFTS units. In exceptional circumstances, a tertiary education organisation may claim up to five EFTS units on approval from its council (or an academic committee with delegated authority to give such approvals). This applies if the research demands mean that an individual learner cannot complete the programme of study within the time period reflected by four EFTS units.