SFA qualification success rates: business rules and datasets
Rules and tables for the official qualification success rates for the 2013 to 2014 academic year.
Applies to England
Documents
Details
Qualification success rates and minimum standards presentations
The two presentations included on this page give a high level introduction to QSRs and the main changes for 2013 to 2014. Any specific queries regarding 2013 to 2014 QSRs should be raised with the Skills Funding Agency service desk.
Skills Funding Agency releases final 2013/14 Classroom Learning and Workplace Learning Qualification Success Rate reports and Minimum Standards reports
The Agency released the final 2013/14 Classroom Learning and Workplace Learning Qualification Success Rate reports and Minimum Standards reports on 27 January 2015. These reports supersede the provisional reports released on 18th – 19th December 2014, which should no longer be used.
The national success rate data within the reports is for the internal use of the provider only, and remains strictly embargoed until the publication of the Statistical First Release on 29 January 2015.
What has changed in the final reports?
- an error in the Classroom Learning and Workplace Learning aim-level reports where groups of aims with either an aggregate map-code or their own aim code were being included inconsistently has been corrected. This mostly affected Level 1 and Level 2 provision, notably Functional Skills and ESOL
- a small number of completed aims were being shown in the provider data extract accompanying the reports as ‘Overall continuing’. This has been corrected
- a small number of Functional Skills aims with a ‘basic skills’ type of ‘01’ or ‘02’ were being wrongly categorised as ‘Other Regulated’ provision. This has been corrected
- component aims of classroom learning programmes in the years 2011/12, 2012/13 and 2013/14 that were not being excluded from the data and the reports are now being correctly excluded
- we have created a new qualification type for the Access to Higher Education Diploma aims. These aims were previously included in the ‘Other Regulated’ qualification type. Access to HE aims are included in minimum standards Group A
Supporting information, including business rules, dataset specifications, sample SQL code and guidance documents, is available on this page.
Guidance on how the Agency intervenes in failure to meet Minimum Standards is available on the Minimum Standards section of this website.
Most queries can be resolved by referring to the information available in this section. Alternatively, please contact the Service Desk on 0370 2670001, or email servicedesk@sfa.bis.gov.uk with your query.
Apprenticeships Qualification Success Rate and Minimum Standards 2013 to 2014: Final Reports Information
We can confirm that the 2013 to 2014 Apprenticeships Qualification Success Rate and Minimum Standards reports provisionally released in December 2014, are now final.
Work to quality assure and finalise the final Classroom Learning and Workplace Learning reports continues and we expect to release these next week.
Please note that the national success rate data within the reports is for your internal use only, and remains strictly embargoed until the publication of the Statistical First Release on Thursday, 29 January.
For further information, please email the servicedesk@sfa.bis.gov.uk or telephone 0370 267 0001.
The business rules document outlines in detail the approach to calculating the results and lists the key changes and areas of education and skills provision that are included and excluded from the calculation.
The three dataset and data definitions documents describe in detail how a provider’s submitted ILR data is selected and transformed into the set of data from which the overall and timely success rates defined in the business rules are calculated.
We intend to publish example SQL code for the production of the success rates datasets in January 2015.
The core components of the qualification success rates (QSR) approach and method of calculation are based upon policy, business and technical Individualised Learner Record (ILR) rules and changes. In previous years, there have been separate business rules documents for each provision area funded through the Adult Skills Budget (ASB).
As part of the government’s simplification agenda the Skills Funding Agency has made changes to the way we calculate the qualification success rates for 2013 to 2014.
The approach to the calculation of qualification success rates for 2013 to 2014 includes the following changes:
- results are calculated consistently for all provision areas using the overall and timely methods currently used for apprenticeships and workplace provision
- the overall method continues to be the primary calculation used for public information and to assess Minimum Standards for 2013 to 2014
- we no longer report classroom learning using planned duration. We use qualification type instead and report this consistently for classroom and workplace learning
- we publish timely success rates for information and transparency purposes
There are now consistent methods of QSR calculation across all provision funded by the ASB and one single business rules document relating to QSR for 2013 to 2014.
Last updated 3 March 2015 + show all updates
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Apprenticeships Frameworks Lookup for 2013/14 Success Rates uploaded 3 March 2015.
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New document entitled SQL code to create the 2013 to 2014 success rate datasets uploaded on 5 February 2015.
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New Classroom Learning and Workplace Learning dataset production specification and guidance notes uploaded on 26 January 2015. New Qualification Success Rates Business Rules uploaded 26 January 2015. Editorial notes explaining this release added to page detail.
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Two presentations: * An introduction to qualification success rates and minimum standards for 2013 to 2014 * Qualification success rates 2013 to 2014 - the main changes and their implications uploaded 19 December 2014.
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Apprenticeship QSR and MS reports guidance notes 2013 to 2014 uploaded 19 December 2014.
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New files * Classroom learning QSR MS guidance notes 2013 to 2014 * Workplace learning QSR MS guidance notes 2013 to 2014 uploaded on 18 December 2014.
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New Apprenticeship, Classroom Learning and Workplace Learning QSR example report layout 2013/14 documents uploaded on 17 November 2014.
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New SFA qualification success rates business rules version 4 uploaded 8 October 2014.
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New qualification success rates datasets uploaded 5 September 2014.
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First published.