A new study by the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) has revealed the costs associated with providing higher education courses for AHPs, nurses and midwives.
From 2017-18, students starting undergraduate courses in these subjects will be supported through the higher education finance system, and the provision of these courses becomes fundable by HEFCE. The study was commissioned to inform HEFCE’s funding decisions.
The report provides costings at discipline level for all the courses involved in this reform.
All universities providing relevant courses were invited to submit data to the study, with a two-thirds response rate.
In addition to outlining the different cost components and their variations, the report analyses some specific costs, in particular those of estates, managing placements, and delivering these disciplines as postgraduate courses.
Radiography courses were shown to be among the most expensive courses to provide;
· Average cost for diagnostic radiography students of £11,309 per student, per year
· Average cost for therapeutic radiography students of £11,341 per student, per year.
The report states that this is largely due to the costs associated with equipment, representing 40% of costs for diagnostic courses and 42% for therapeutic.