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Setting Up HECS Liability in Student Records

This section provides an overview of HECS liability in Student Records and discusses how to:

The HECS is an equitable way of ensuring that students contribute to the cost of their higher education. HECS provides a loan to students that is interest free, with deferred income contingent repayment. The purpose of HECS in the system is to determine how much of the tuition a student should pay, and then to collect the payments. To do this, HECS Band IDs must be associated with courses so that when students enroll, the system can calculate their contributions based on the HECS Band and their level/load (EFTSL). HECS Band IDs are associated with academic subjects, but you can override them at the course catalog level. All of the HECS processing (tuition calculation) occurs in the Student Financials application.

Page Name

Definition Name

Navigation

Usage

Cohort Year

SSR_COHORT_YR_AUS

select Set Up SACR, then select Product Related, then select Student Records, then select Enrollment Reporting Codes, then select AUS Regulatory Report Setup, then select Cohort Year, then select Cohort Year

Define the cohort years that your institution will use to create cohorts of students commencing a program in a specific year.

HECS Band ID Setup

SSR_HECS_BAND_AUS

select Set Up SACR, then select Product Related, then select Student Records, then select Enrollment Reporting Codes, then select AUS Regulatory Report Setup, then select HECS Band ID Setup, then select HECS Band ID Setup

Set up the HECS Band IDs.

Map Liability Status

SSR_HECS_MAP_TO

select Set Up SACR, then select Product Related, then select Student Records, then select Enrollment Reporting Codes, then select AUS Regulatory Report Setup, then select Map Liability Status, then select Map Liability Status

Map pre-2005 liability status codes to post -2005 student status codes. The system uses this mapping when you term-activate a student who was active before 2005.

Map Work Exp to Liability (map work experience to liability)

SSR_WORK_EXP_MAP

select Set Up SACR, then select Product Related, then select Student Records, then select Enrollment Reporting Codes, then select AUS Regulatory Report Setup, then select Map Work Exp to Liability, then select Map Work Exp to Liability

Define liability status mappings for work experience in industry class enrollments.

Aggregated EFTSL AUS

SSR_EFTSU_AGG

select Set Up SACR, then select Foundation Tables, then select Reporting Codes, then select Aggregated EFTSL AUS, then select Aggregated EFTSL AUS, then select Aggregated EFTSL AUS

Define the aggregated EFSTL values that will be available on the Academic Program Australia page.

Access the Cohort Year page (select Set Up SACR, then select Product Related, then select Student Records, then select Enrollment Reporting Codes, then select AUS Regulatory Report Setup, then select Cohort Year, then select Cohort Year).

Image: Cohort Year page

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Cohort Year page. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Cohort Year page

A cohort year designates a group of students that all begin a particular course of study the same year.

Setting up cohort years enables your institution to specify the student contribution amounts and tuition fees for the student cohorts according to the guidelines in the Higher Education Support Act of 2003.

Field or Control

Definition
Cohort Year

Enter the years in which your institution wants to group students.

Access the HECS Band ID Setup page (select Set Up SACR, then select Product Related, then select Student Records, then select Enrollment Reporting Codes, then select AUS Regulatory Report Setup, then select HECS Band ID Setup, then select HECS Band ID Setup).

Note: Fixed HECS is used for students who enrolled before January 1, 1997, and are charged a single rate for all their subject areas.

The HECS Band ID determines the amount of tuition that an institution can charge per course.

DIISRTE sets up guidelines as to which band a subject should be placed. You associate HECS Band IDs with academic subjects. Courses that fall under that academic subject are automatically assigned the HECS Band ID of the academic subject; however, you can override the HECS Band ID for individual courses if required.

Access the Map Liability Status page (select Set Up SACR, then select Product Related, then select Student Records, then select Enrollment Reporting Codes, then select AUS Regulatory Report Setup, then select Map Liability Status, then select Map Liability Status).

Image: Map Liability Status page

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Map Liability Status page. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Map Liability Status page

A liability status defines a student's payment options (for example, deferred or pay up front) and is assigned to each student in the term activation component.

The liability status codes are defined by DIISRTE. In 2005, the codes were changed from two-digit to three-digit codes. For historical purposes, your system must maintain the two-digit codes.

Field or Control

Definition
Liability Status

Select the two-digit liability status code.
Map to New Liability Status

Select the equivalent three-digit liability status code.

Access the Map Work Exp to Liability page (select Set Up SACR, then select Product Related, then select Student Records, then select Enrollment Reporting Codes, then select AUS Regulatory Report Setup, then select Map Work Exp to Liability, then select Map Work Exp to Liability).

Image: Map Work Exp to Liability page

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Map Work Exp to Liability page. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Map Work Exp to Liability page

WEI is work that is done as a part of, or in connection with, a course of study undertaken with a higher education provider (HEP) and the purpose of which is to obtain work experience relevant to the course of study.

The work experience can be a unit of study that is directed or supported by your institution for which the student pays a contribution amount or tuition fees, or it can be work experience not directed or supported by an institution for which the student pays no contribution or fees.

Field or Control

Definition
Work Experience Indicator

When setting up a new indicator, select the appropriate value.

The work experience indicators are:

  • Not Wholly Work Experience: The HEP directs the learning and performance of the student. The work experience is treated as a normal unit, and the student is charged appropriately.

  • Wholly Work Exp - Exempt: The HEP does not provide direction or support for the work experience, and the unit of study is exempt from student contributions and tuition fees.

  • Wholly Work Exp with Charge: The HEP supports the learning and performance of the student and may charge the student contribution amounts and tuition fees.
Liability Status

Select a liability status that your institution has entered as a default status for a course.
Map to New Liability Status

Select the equivalent liability status for students who have enrolled in the course for WEI.

This section provides an overview of EFTSL Calculation and discusses how to set up Aggregated EFTSL values.

Understanding EFTSL Calculation

EFTSL is a measure of the study load, for one year, of a student undertaking a course of study on a full time basis.

To enable DIISRTE to make accurate comparisons between institutions, student loads must be universally expressed in EFTSL values. One EFTSL is the amount of study that a full time student is expected to take in one year.

DIISRTE requires that institutions report EFTSL values for each student, each year. A student's total EFTSL for a year is equal to the sum of EFTSL values for each term for which the student is enrolled in that year. The student's total EFTSL value for each term is the sum of the EFTSL for each class in which the student is enrolled in that term. The EFTSL value for each class is determined by dividing the number of units for each class in which the student is enrolled that term by the total annual units for that program of study.

This example illustrates the calculation of EFTSL values for a student for two terms:

Example Class

Term

Units

Accounting 101

1

15

Economics 101

1

15

English 201

1

15

Music 105

1

15
   

Total term units: 60

Engineering 201

2

30

Economics 102

2

15

Laws 201

2

15
   

Total term units: 60
   

Total annual units for program of study: 120

To calculate the EFTSL for each class, the number of units for each class is divided by the annual units for the program of study:

Accounting 101 EFTSL = [15 units for the class] / [120 units for the annual program of study] = 0.125

Engineering 501 EFTSL = [30 units for the class] / [120 units for the annual program of study] = 0.25

This table lists the EFTSL for each class in the example:

Class

EFTSL

Accounting 101

0.125

Economics 101

0.125

English 201

0.125

Music 105

0.125

Engineering 201

0.25

Economics 102

0.125

Laws 201

0.125

Total Annual EFTSL

1.00

Note: For classes that are offered on an annual basis, the EFTSL value must be split so that it represents the load attributed to the class in each term. For example, an annual class that is assigned 30 units might have an EFTSL of 0.25. The term EFTSL for the class would be 0.125 for a two-term year.

The term total units do not need to be equal for each term. For example, if the annual load is 120, you could have 75 units from the first term and 45 units for the second term.

Setting Up Aggregated EFTSL Values

Access the Aggregated EFTSL AUS page (select Set Up SACR, then select Foundation Tables, then select Reporting Codes, then select Aggregated EFTSL AUS, then select Aggregated EFTSL AUS, then select Aggregated EFTSL AUS).

Image: Aggregated EFTSL AUS page

This example illustrates the fields and controls on the Aggregated EFTSL AUS page. You can find definitions for the fields and controls later on this page.

Aggregated EFTSL AUS page

DIISRTE requires that institutions report EFTSL values for each student, each year. A student's total EFTSL for a year is equal to the sum of EFTSL values for each term for which he or she is enrolled in that year. The student's total EFTSL value for each term is the sum of the EFTSL for each class in which the student is enrolled in that term. The EFTSL value for each class is determined by dividing the number of units for each class in which the student is enrolled that term by the total annual units for that program of study.

Aggregated EFTSL values are the total number of EFTSL values that a student accumulates while completing a program of study. This value is used to derive the element 350 Course of Study Load on the Course of Study file.

DIISRTE provides the codes for aggregated EFTSL. You must enter the codes (in tenths) into the system so that you can show the equivalent course of study load (program load). For example, the program value of 30 is equal to 3 years EFTSL.

You assign an aggregated EFTSL to each of your programs on the Academic Program AUS page.