EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOUNDATION
Management Training and Development Programme:
Part 2 –Management Training Projects
ITT Reference No. LG10.1
IMPACT STATEMENT
Project name: Course Costing and College Finance
Aim of the project
The aim of this project was to satisfy an immediate need for training in effective course costing and viable delivery models. Aimed at recently appointed and aspiring middle managers and led by Plumpton College, it was delivered in conjunction with FE Sussex, the consortia of Sussex colleges.
Targeting 30 staff drawn from across member colleges, the project aimed to make use of digital technology by establishing a virtual learning network, webinars and resource repository for support and dissemination purposes.
The programme is part of the pan-Sussex colleges’ strategy for managing an effective further education provision against a background of continual funding reduction.
Project Timetable
Activity / By when / Key Performance Indicators / OutcomesIdentify staff to be trained / March 2014 / 30 middle management staff identified, 10 from Plumpton College and 20 from consortia colleges / Places booked by interested participants by e-mail during March.30 places booked. 2 apologies received on day of 2nd workshop due to sickness emergency issues.
Deliver 3 development workshops on financial management and viability / June 2014 / 30 staff engage in workshops and increase their understanding of the workshop themes / Workshops held on 16 May and
6 June.
Course materials located on the VLN / April 2014 / Course participants actively use electronic training materials / Course materials available on FE Sussex website.
Course synopsis available on Youtube / April 2014 / Synopsis is viewed by colleges nationally / Videoing of May and June workshops being edited for Youtube
Webinars designed and delivered to support learning / June 2014 / Course participants engage in webinars / Webinar material prepared but not until after second workshop. (Needed two to refine materials). Webinar available via website and also pre-booking. Progress webinar to be held October.
Training is incorporated into consortia CPD programmes / June 2014 / Training is embedded into college’s CPD programme / Three workshops (36 participants) scheduled within the FE Sussex CPD programme for 2014/15.
Attend and participate in the Education and Training Foundation’s Keeping up the conversation event on 1 July 2014 / 1 July 2014
(changed to 9th Oct 2014) / Finds from project shared with wider sector / Awaiting information
Training delivered
As per project specification face to face training sessions were delivered. The satisfaction and impact feedback exit surveys provided the following results:
Analysis of evaluations by percentage:
Completely or Partially / Not at allHow did the workshop meet your needs
and expectations? / 100% / 0%
Outstanding / Inadequate
1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Appropriateness of the session's structure? / 54% / 32% / 11% / 4%
Did the workshop provide an understanding
of college financial management? / 61% / 29% / 7% / 4%
Did the workshop provide an understanding
of the basis of course costing? / 64% / 32% / 4% / 0%
Analysis of evaluations by number:
No of people / No of peopleCompletely or Partially / Not at all
How did the workshop meet your needs
and expectations? / 28 / 0
Outstanding / Inadequate
1 / 2 / 3 / 4
Appropriateness of the session's structure? / 15 / 9 / 3 / 1
Did the workshop provide an understanding
of college financial management? / 17 / 8 / 2 / 1
Did the workshop provide an understanding
of the basis of course costing? / 18 / 9 / 1 / 0
In addition, training materials used at the sessions were made available on line via the FE Sussex resource repository.
Total number of face to face participants: 28 participants
Total number of virtual participants: 9
Success and impact
The success and impact of the project has been measured in a number of qualitative ways as the following summary table shows:
Original project outcome / Original Impact aspiration / Actual impactIntroduction of financial course management to aspiring college managers / Managers respond with confidence and accuracy to situations of financial consequence / 28 delegates attended course and 9 participated on a remote basis. Feedback sheets report 100% complete or partial meeting of needs.
Ability of manager to assess and cost contributions to central college overhead / Managers assess contribution ratios / Understanding of contribution ratio embedded into costing activities.
Ability to assess financial viability of courses / Managers assess course viability from simple costing models / Model costing sheets devised and issued. Available on post-course resources via FE Sussex forum.
Understanding financial management of college departments / Managers are able to assimilate the larger picture from individual costings / Awareness through course content and inclusion of variables within planning and forecast sheets.
Selection of best practice and best fit costing models across the consortia / A selection of models and templates are available for consortia participants to select from / Template documentation available on website complete or for bespoking. Participants locked into college documentation in some colleges.
Training materials available on consortia virtual learning network / Training materials available electronically on log-in / Achieved – resources available.
Dissemination to other college consortia groups / Active dissemination programme enabling the wider sector to benefit from the project / Dissemination via Kent and Essex started 2013/14 and ongoing for 2014/15.
Usefulness and relevance of course / Individual participant satisfaction survey completion / Survey results show100% of participants found the workshop met their needs of improved understanding of course costing.
Sustained management training in future years using technology as delivery medium / Cost-effective course planning, value for money improvement, in-budget operation / Incorporated into CPD planning cycle.
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