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Notes on Enrollment Strategies

What the FTES?

Miriam Simpson

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Contents

Important Terms

01

Compressed Calendar: more than just extra vacation

02

The Distance Disadvantage

03

04

Sources

05

Formulas for FTES

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Important Terms

01

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Important Terms

01

How We Get $

  • Up to a set "cap", the marginal rate we receive is $5,238/credit FTES**
  • Any FTES above the "cap" is not funded

CA Community Colleges receive funding per FTES*

​

* Base allocations and the SCFF are secondary considerations

** this rate is from the 23/24 apportionment memo

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Important Terms

01

FTES (full Time Equivalent Student)

FTES assumes one student is enrolled in courses for

3 hours a day, 5 days a week, for an academic year of 35 weeks

1 FTES is roughly 525 hours of instruction

3 x 5 x 35 = 525 hours

a number you will see a lot

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Important Terms

01

Contact Hours

Daily Contact Hours (DCH): Meeting time per day �Classes that meet for a fraction of an hour beyond the standard contact hour have a DCH factor Daily Student Contact Hours (DSCH): DCH x # Students.

Weekly Student Contact Hours (WSCH): WCH x # Students

Weekly Contact Hours (WCH): DCH x Class Meeting Days per Week

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Important Terms

01

Term Length Multiplier (TLM)

Weeks of instruction in regular fall/spring semesters, including

  • days of instruction
  • final exam days
  • approved flex days

Cuyamaca TLM

regular 17.0

online 17.5

Calendar Type

TLM

Standard /Distance Ed

17.5

Compressed

16.0 - 17.0

Quarter

11.67

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Important Terms

01

Census

Census: A reporting "snapshot in time" at approximately 20% of a course.

  • Weekly Census: for course sections regularly scheduled for the full semester.
  • Daily Census: for course sections that meet on a regular basis at least five days but less than the full semester. Used for most intersession course sections & short-term courses (like 8 week) within a regular semester.
  • Positive Attendance or Alternative : for non-credit, irregular, and DE

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Important Terms

01

Other accounting Methods

  • Positive Attendance : Attendance reporting based on actual student attendance for the course section. Used in non-credit ,irregularly scheduled and open-entry/open-exit, and courses that meet for less than five days.
  • Alternative Attendance Accounting Method (AAAM) : reporting based on units instead of contact hours. Used for independent study/work experience (non-classroom based instruction) and for most online instruction. The AAAM includes WSCH-based FTES calculation for lab hours (online labs and TBA hours)

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Formulas for FTES

02

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Formulas for FTES

02

FTES Calculations

FTES In-person

WSCH

TLM

525

17 @ Cuyamaca

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Formulas for FTES

02

FTES Calculations

FTES In-person

WSCH

TLM

525

17 @ Cuyamaca

FTES DE Lecture

units

TLM

525

FTES DE Lab

census count

TLM

525

census count

lab

hours*

*hours equivalent to a non-compressed, in-person class

17.5 for all DE

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Compressed Calendar:

03

extra vacation from confusing calculations

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Compressed Calendar

03

How long is an Hour?

minutes instruction

10 min

Passing Time

50 minutes Instruction

1.0 Contact (Class) Hour

> 50 minutes is 1.0 +

Fractional DCH DCH increased by for five-minute intervals beyond the class hour (50 min)

Contact Hour For in person classes this is 50 minutes instruction to 10 minutes of passing time or break

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Compressed Calendar

03

Scheduling Matters

Example 1 �A class with 30 students meeting 75 minutes per day twice a week for a 17.5 week semester. Calculate FTES.

75 min is 50 min (1 DCH) plus 25 minutes (25/50 gives 0.5 DCH)

DCH factor = 1.5

WCH = 1.5 x 2 meetings/week = 3.0

WSCH = 3.0 x 30 students = 90

FTES = 90 x 17.5 / 525 = 3.0 FTES

A class with 30 students meeting 75 minutes per day twice a week for a 17.5 week semester. Calculate FTES.

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Compressed Calendar

03

Example 2 �A class with 30 students meeting 85 minutes per day twice a week for a 16.3 week semester. Calculate FTES.

TLM changes can Boost FTES

85 min is 50 min (1 DCH) plus 35 minutes (35/50 gives 0.7 DCH)

DCH factor = 1.7

WCH = 1.7 x 2 meetings/week = 3.4

WSCH = 3.4 x 30 students = 102

FTES = 102 x 16.3 / 525 = 3.17 FTES

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The Distance Disadvantage

04

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DE disadvantage

04

Units versus hours

Example 3 �A 3 unit lecture class with 32 students with a compressed calendar TLM of 17.

In-Person: 80 minute classes meet 2 times a week

80 min is 50 min (1 DCH) plus 30 minutes (30/50 gives 0.6 DCH)

DCH factor = 1.6

WCH = 1.6 x 2 meetings/week = 3.2

WSCH = 3.2 x 32 students = 102.4

FTES = 102.4 x 17 / 525 = 3.32 FTES

​

Online, Asynchronous:

FTES = 3 units x 32 students x 17.5 / 525 = 3.20 FTES

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DE disadvantage

​

04

Labs and Lectures

Example 4 �A 4 unit lecture and lab class with 32 students with a compressed calendar TLM of 17.

In-Person: Lecture T, Th 5:00-6:20 PM Lab T 6:30-9:35 PM

80 min is 50 min (1 DCH) plus 30 minutes (30/50 gives 0.6 DCH)

185 min lab is 3.3 WCH

WCH = 1.6 x 2 meetings/week + 3.3 = 6.5

WSCH = 6.5 x 32 students = 208

FTES = 208 x 17 / 525 = 6.7 FTES

​

Online, Asynchronous:

FTES = (3 units + 3 hours) x 32 students x 17.5 / 525 = 6.4 FTES

​

side note, a 4 unit lecture would be:

FTES = (4 units) x 32 students x 17.5 / 525 = 4.3 FTES

​

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Sources/Resources

  • CDAM - Contracted District Audit Manual (CDAM) Section 424 lists criteria related to state general apportionment funding, including pertinent Title 5 and Education Code sections.
  • SAAM - Student Attendance Accounting Manual
  • 23/24 Apportionment Memo
  • Contact Hour Computation Chart

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The Student Centered Funding Formula