Glossary
Cohort
The group of aims or learners a performance measure is calculated across.
In full
A cohort is defined by rules about which aims count and in which year they count, usually based on when the aim was expected to finish.
Understanding the cohort definition is what turns an unexplained rate into an explainable one: the question is usually who is in the denominator.
Where this comes up
scenario
Earnings fall sharply after a bulk data update
A bulk update is applied to a cohort and the next funding report shows a material fall. Where do you look?
module
Qualification achievement rates: how your data becomes your results
Achievement rates are calculated from the ILR. Understanding the cohort is what turns an unexplained rate into an explainable one.
scenario
The only person who knows where the evidence is has left
Eligibility evidence for a cohort was filed by a member of staff who has since left. Nobody can find it.
diagnostic
A funded learner has no eligibility evidence on file
Funding has been claimed for the learner, but the college cannot produce the evidence that they were eligible for it. The claim may be entirely correct and still fail, because at audit the evidence is the claim.
diagnostic
A large number of validation errors appeared suddenly
Validation has produced a large number of failures that were not there before. A sudden change in volume almost always has one cause rather than many.
diagnostic
A learner left weeks ago but is still showing as continuing
The learner has stopped attending, but the ILR still shows their aim as open with no actual end date, so the system believes they are still in learning and keeps generating funding for them.