FULL ECONOMIC COSTING
FEC (SIF I Project)
The national FEC project is part funded by the HEA Strategic Innovation Fund (SIF). The first phase of the project, under SIF Cycle I, involved the scoping of the FEC model to assess the feasibility of applying the model across the sector. The output of this phase were an agreed conceptual framework for an FEC system for Irish universities and an implementation plan for the next phase of the project under SIF Cycle II. The first phase of the FEC project under SIF I has successfully completed all its objectives.
FEC (SIF II Project)
The Full Economic Cost SIF Cycle II project builds on the conceptual framework for an FEC system developed under the SIF Cycle I project. The project involves the detailed design and implementation of an FEC model/system across all universities. Key outputs which will be generated from the FEC model/system in each of the universities are:
- The costs of Research
- The costs of Teaching
- The costs of Other activities
- Research indirect cost/overhead cost rates on an FEC basis
- Teaching cost per student FTE in each of the HEA subject areas
- Costs for each school or academic department and research institute
The project is well advanced at this point. Each university has a FEC Manager in place and the IUA has appointed a central project manager. University project Steering groups have been established in each university and an overall National Steering Group has also been established.
As part of the detailed implementation planning the FEC project has been divided into seven sub-projects/workpackages and each institution has been allocated responsibility for leading one of the seven projects, with two institutions jointly leading on two projects of seven national projects. Each university has the opportunity to contribute to the development of each workpackage through the network of university FEC Managers, which meets regularly and is co-ordinated by the IUA project manager. This approach helps to ensure that all universities take ownership for the development of the FEC system and ensures that the final system will be acceptable and implementable across all institutions.
Significant progress has been made on all of these projects and all sub-projects are due to be completed by end of Spring 2009. One of the key elements of the FEC system centres on Academic Activity Profiling (AAP) i.e. capturing the proportion of academic time spent across the range of university activities. A common AAP form and methodology for the collection of AAP has been agreed for the pilot phase and universities are currently commencing the roll-out of AAP across academic communities.
In addition to the work on individual sub-projects and following an open tender process, SAS consultants have been formally engaged as providers of the FEC software solutions and of IT and costing technical support and expertise. The IUA and SAS have developed and agreed a detailed workplan for delivery of the FEC system. Software installation and training of FEC Managers on the SAS software is in progress.
The FEC system will be piloted in respect of the 2008/09 academic and financial year. It is intended that the pilot phase will inform the development of the final FEC system in a number of key areas. It is intended that the full FEC system will be operational from 2009/10 and the first FEC data will be publicly available in Spring/Summer 2011.
