We do not hold information on the net marginal cost of providing courses to learners in further education colleges. Colleges may identify this cost in their internal financial records but there is no requirement on them to share it with the Department or with the Learning and Skills Council.
The Learning and Skills Council funds all colleges on the basis of a national funding formula which includes base funding rates for all qualifications. The base funding rates the Learning and Skills Council will offer to further education colleges in respect of each learner undertaking the courses identified in this question in 2007-08 are:
Funding rate for each 16-18 year old learner in 2007-08 Funding rate for each 19+ year old learner in 2007-08 GCSE English Literature/Language/Mathematics 622 1610 A level English Literature/Language/Mathematics 862 1845 1Colleges receive this full funding rate for 19+ year old learners eligible for full fee remission in 2007-08. Where 19+ year old learners are not eligible for full fee remission the rate offered by the Learning and Skills Council is reduced and the college will ask the learner to contribute a proportion of the course fee.