Glossary
Prior attainment
The highest level of qualification a learner already holds, which affects eligibility and entitlement in several funding streams.
In full
Prior attainment is recorded at enrolment and affects whether a learner qualifies for particular entitlements and how their programme should be designed.
It should be established from evidence, which may include the learner's personal learning record, rather than assumed from what the learner says at enrolment.
Where this comes up
module
16 to 19 funding: how the formula actually works
Student numbers, band, national rate, retention, programme cost weighting and uplifts. Where each element comes from, and which of them your own data controls.
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.
scenario
A returning learner is enrolled as a new person
A learner returns after two years. The enrolment search does not find them, so a new record and a new ULN are created.
scenario
A student needs maths but nothing shows it
A 16 to 19 student without a qualifying maths grade is studying maths, but the record does not show it.
diagnostic
An aim is on the ILR but generates no funding
The aim validates and appears on the ILR, but generates no earnings. Validation and funding are different tests: a record can be perfectly valid and still not qualify for funding.
module
Getting it right at the front door
Most funding-critical data is captured at enrolment. Front-door quality is the cheapest data quality there is, and the only kind that scales.