FTES, LHE, WSCH, Efficiency January 29, 2016 K. Tyner M.S., VPAA Southwestern College

Adapted from “Enrollment Management Definitions” by Trish Axsom, M.S.

Terms Student-Related Faculty-Related Efficiency FTES WSCH LHE FTEF % of Seats filled WSCH/FTEF FTES/FTEF

Student-Related Terms FTES WSCH

FTES Full Time Equivalent Student The unit of measurement used to determine the amount of apportionment paid to the district by the state. 1 FTES = 525 hours of instruction

Where does 525 come from? One full time student Receives 15 hours of instruction per week for 17.5 weeks for 2 semesters 15 hrs/week x 17.5 weeks/semester x 2 semesters = 525 hrs

To Compute FTES We can piece together the hours of students who attend less than 525 hours. Each block of 525 hours equals 1 FTES For example: Student 1 5 hrs/wk x 17.5 wks/sem x 2 sem = 175 hours Student 2 10 hrs/wk x 17.5 wks/sem x 2 sem= 350 hours 175 hrs + 350 hrs = 525 hrs = 1 FTES

Another Example: Fall - Student A Fall - Student B Fall – Student C 16 hrs/wk x 17.5 wks = 280 hours Fall - Student B 10 hrs/wk x 17.5 wks = 175 hours Fall – Student C 4 hrs/wk x 17.5 wks = = 70 hours 525 hrs = 1 FTES

Standard Method Generally FTES is computed for a given class rather than for each individual student. Each block of 525 hours equals 1 FTES (# students enrolled x # class hrs/wk x 17.5 wks)/525 The # of students enrolled is determined on the Monday closest to 20% of the way through the semester (~4th week). This is called Census or First Census.

Examples A lecture class has 30 students enrolled at Census. It meets 3 hours per week. Compute FTES. (30 x 3 hrs/wk x 17.5 wks) / 525 hrs = 3 FTES A lab class has 30 students enrolled at Census. It meets 3 hours per week. Compute FTES.

Bottom line FTES (and therefore apportionment) is the same for a lecture hour or lab hour (as long as the enrollment is the same). Since apportionment for SWC is ~$4700 per FTES, a class with 3 FTES provides $14,100 in revenue.

Special Cases FTES is computed differently for special cases Classes that do not meet on a regular basis Classes that do not meet for the full term Independent study Apportionment is computed differently for non-credit classes We’ll discuss these another time

WSCH Weekly Student Contact Hours WSCH = # students enrolled x # class hrs/wk We’ll come back to this later.

Faculty-Related Terms LHE FTEF

LHE Lecture Hour Equivalent A first step in computing faculty load Standardizes the number of lecture and lab hours taught by a faculty 1 hour of lecture per week* = 1 LHE 1 hour of lab per week* = 0.8 LHE *Not fast track or summer school

Examples Example 1: A faculty is teaching 5 psychology lecture courses. Each course meets 3 hours per week. What is the LHE? 3 lecture hrs/wk x 5 = 15 LHE Example 2: An adjunct faculty is teaching a chemistry course. The course has 3 hours lecture and 6 hours of lab per week. What is the LHE? 3 lecture hours/week = 3 LHE 6 lab hours/week x 0.8 = 4.8 LHE 3 LHE + 4.8 LHE = 7.8 LHE

FTEF Full time equivalent faculty A standardized method for computing faculty load(s) Used to compute the hypothetical number of full-time faculty needed to teach (the section, the course, the discipline, etc.) A full-time faculty contract is 15 LHE per semester. Therefore a full-time equivalent faculty (FTEF) is computed by dividing the number of LHE by 15.

Examples Example 1: A psychology faculty is teaching 5 psychology classes. Each class meets 3 hours per week. How many FTEF is this? 3 hrs/wk x 5 = 15 LHE 15 LHE/15 = 1 FTEF Example 2: Adjuncts may not teach more than 67% of a full-time faculty equivalent. How many LHE is this? 1 FTEF x 0.67 = 0.67 FTEF 0.67 FTEF x 15 = 10 LHE

Efficiency - % of Seats Filled % of seats filled is computed by dividing the number of students enrolled by the maximum number of seats (class max) % of seats filled is not the whole story…..

Efficiency – WSCH/FTEF WSCHeff (aka productivity) A measure of how many WSCH are generated per full time equivalent faculty WSCHeff = WSCH / FTEF A WSCHeff of 525 is considered the break-even point, providing enough apportionment to pay for instructional costs and college overhead

Example A lecture class has 30 students enrolled at Census. It meets 3 hours per week. Compute WSCHeff. 30 x 3 hrs/wk = 90 WSCH 3 LHE = 0.2 FTEF WSCHeff = 90 WSCH / 0.2 FTEF = 450 A lab class has 30 students enrolled at Census. It meets 3 hours per week. Compute WSCHeff. 3 lab hours x 0.8 = 2.4 LHE = 0.16 FTEF WSCHeff = 90 WSCH / 0.16 FTEF = 562.5 What is the break-even point for a lecture? (n x 3 hrs/wk) / 0.2 = 525 n = (525 x 0.2)/3 = 35

Efficiency - FTES/FTEF A measure of how many FTES are generated per full time equivalent faculty A WSCH/FTEF of 525 is equal to 17.5 FTES/FTEF (525*17.5)/525) 17.5 FTES/FTEF is considered the break-even point, providing enough apportionment to pay for instructional costs and college overhead

Questions?