HEFCE review of TRAC (Transparent Approach to Costing) Steve Egan Deputy Chief Executive, HEFCE Issues and proposals in the consultation

The challenge set by the White Paper Consult the HE sector on radically streamlining the reporting requirements of TRAC Consider how TRAC data might be used to promote greater transparency and help inform the choices of prospective students

Public accountability HEI decision-making Pricing of research projects Fee setting VAT Partial Exemption EC Framework Programme 7 – Full cost method Multiple uses, a single system Uses of TRAC

Additional funding for financial sustainability (£M)

Key questions  Are there alternatives to TRAC?

Costs of TRAC Costs of operating TRAC are low – evidence in KPMG Review And would be incurred by many HEIs in any case when they evaluate costing for their own purposes TDG Review of Time Allocation Methods o just over 2 hours per year for academic staff o 70% of HEIs would collect data on time allocation, even if TRAC were not a requirement o benefits not well understood

Key question  Are there ways to reduce the costs of TRAC?

Use of TRAC by HEIs NAO Report (March 2011) 53% used TRAC data to inform fee setting 52% used TRAC data for benchmarking 43% used TRAC data to inform strategic decisions on their teaching and research portfolios Other uses: Pricing research projects – fEC recovery Course costing

Key questions  Are there ways to improve the benefits delivered by TRAC?  Can TRAC deliver greater utility and benefits more widely across HEIs?

Improving transparency Competition issues Student needs Public accountability

Key questions  Would this information be helpful to assist prospective students in their choices of course or where to study?  What are the issues around providing greater transparency on how public funding for higher education is spent?  Do you have suggestions about how HEIs can present information to students on how their tuition fees are spent?