Glossary
Retention rate
The proportion of a cohort that stayed to the end of their aim.
In full
Retention measures how many learners remained to the planned end of their aim rather than withdrawing.
It is distinct from the retention factor in the 16 to 19 funding formula, although both are driven by the same underlying withdrawal data.
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
The achievement rate is lower than the college expected
The published or modelled achievement rate is lower than the college's own view of how well learners did. The difference is usually in the data rather than in the teaching.
module
How further education funding actually works
Colleges are not paid a block grant for teaching. They are funded through several separate streams, each with its own rules, and each earned by recording delivery in the ILR.
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.
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
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.