TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPER
Implementation of Adult General Education Instructional Hours/FTE Reporting
Procedures in 2006-07
April 2006
PURPOSE
The purpose of this Technical Assistance Paper is to provide guidance on compliance to school districts
and community colleges that have adult general education programs regarding major changes to the
instructional hours reporting procedures for those programs in 2006-07.
MAJOR CHANGES TO CURRENT PROCEDURES
Current Procedures
The current procedures allow adult general education instructional hours to be reported from the first date
of enrollment in a course to the last scheduled day of the course. No state requirement exists to track a
withdrawal date for students who stop attending an adult general education course. Therefore, student
instructional/contact hours are reported even after a student drops out or withdraws from a course. For
example, a student could enroll in a 150 hour adult basic education course, attend two days of class, and
the full 150 hours would be reported for FTE purposes.
Concerns about workload associated with adult general education courses have led to the development of
these instructional hours/FTE procedures. While there has been considerable improvement in the
reporting of instructional hours in adult general education, the perception of inefficiency and over-
reporting of instructional or contact hours has hampered the ability to justify current and recommended
expenditures on adult general education programs such as the GED, adult high school, and basic literacy
programs offered through Florida’s school districts and community colleges.
New Procedures for 2006-07
The primary features of the new procedures are the following:
♦
Establishment of an enrollment threshold - A student must have at least 12 hours of instructional
activity (including placement or intake) in a program before they can be counted as an
enrollment. If a student registers and then drops out before the 12 hour threshold, his/her
instructional hours will not be counted. However, all hours should be reported on community
college and district databases, whether less than 12 hours or not, for other federal reporting
purposes. Local educational agencies must establish procedures to implement this enrollment
threshold prior to the reporting of instructional hours for 2006-07.
♦
Establishment of a procedure for the withdrawal of students for non-attendance Prior procedures
allowed institutions to count instructional hours from date of enrollment to the last day of the
class, regardless of student attendance. The new procedures require that each institution establish
a withdrawal policy within the guidelines set in the procedures.
♦
Establishment of a maximum number of fundable instructional hours per year – A maximum of
1300 hours may be fundable per reporting year for an adult education student. Hours reported
above this cap will not be fundable instructional hours/FTE.
Revised 5-09-06
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPER
Implementation of Adult General Education Instructional Hours/FTE Reporting Procedures in 2006-07
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How does the “Enrollment Threshold” portion of the policy work?
The policy states that student must participate in at least 12 contact hours of instructional activity
(including a maximum of 2 hours of testing for placement) per program within a reporting period.
“Reporting period” refers to a reporting survey/term. The “per program” in the procedures refers to the
main adult general education programs like Adult Basic Education (ABE), GED, Adult High School, etc.
At this time, “online only” courses are exempt from the 12 hour threshold. This exemption will be
reviewed and may be revised at a later date.
For example, if a student is enrolled in a GED math class and only attends the first two scheduled class
meeting times (4 hours total) and never attends the class again during the semester/reporting survey, the
hours enrolled in the GED math class will not count for purposes of FTE calculation for state funding.
The “time limit” on earning the 12 hours is the reporting survey/term.
For reporting on community college and WDIS databases, if the student does not meet the 12-hour
threshold of instructional activity, the actual numbers of hours of attendance should be reported for
purposes of establishing enrollment for NRS
(Note: While these records may be counted for NRS, they
will not result in fundable hours)
. Students who are reported for federal NRS purposes must have
received 12 hours or more service, of which only two may be counted for assessment. For example, a
student who had 6 instructional or contact hours in an ABE math course and 6 hours in an ESOL writing
course would be counted for NRS. The student records for the above example should be reported to the
DOE, otherwise this student will not be counted for NRS.
What does “per program” mean with regard to the “Enrollment Threshold”?
The 12- hour threshold must be met
by program
, not by course. The following are the adult general
education programs referred to in the procedures:
Vocational
Program
Title
CIP
Number
Program No.
9900000
Adult
Basic
Education
(ABE)
1532010200
9900010
General Education-Promotion (Adult High School)
1532010202
9900020
General Education Development (GED)
1532010201
9900030
Education for Senior Adult
Learners
1532010203
9900120
Pre-General Education Development
(Pre-GED)
1532010206
9900300
Literacy for Adult ESOL Learners
1532010303
9900040
Adult
English
Literacy
1532010300
9900050
Adult
Vocational
English
Literacy
1532010301
9900051
English Literacy Academic
Skills
1532010302
9900060
Workplace
Readiness
Skills
(ABE)
1532010500
9900070
Workplace
Readiness
Skills
(VPI)
1532010501
9900080
Workplace Readiness Skills (LEP Adults)
1532010502
9900090
Citizenship
1533010200
9900100
Adult General Education for Adults with Disabilities
1532010204
Note: The 12 hour threshold does not apply Vocational Preparatory Instruction (VPI) programs.
Revised 5-9-06
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPER
Implementation of Adult General Education Instructional Hours/FTE Reporting Procedures in 2006-07
What are the requirements for the withdrawal of students for non-attendance?
Each district or college must establish procedures for withdrawing a student for non-attendance. The
standard for withdrawal is six consecutive absences
with the withdrawal date reported as the day after
last date of attendance
.
For example, a student is enrolled in a GED math class for 16 weeks, 5 hours per week (1 hour on
Monday through Friday). If the student meets the 12 hour threshold and stops attending the class in week
6, the student would be withdrawn on the day after their last date of attendance. The scheduled hours
may be reported from the date of enrollment to the day after the sixth consecutive absence. If the student
has six consecutive absences, but re-enrolls during the reporting survey and continues to attend the rest of
the class without an additional six consecutive absences, the instructional hours may be reported from the
initial date of enrollment to the end of the reporting survey.
If there is not a standard meeting time that allows for the calculation of six consecutive absences,
institutions will have to use a proxy measure for non-attendance. The standard for withdrawal for online
only classes must be evaluated by each institution based on their withdrawal procedures using the proxy
attendance measures (e.g., assignments, tests, or other evidence of attendance).
For classes that occur exclusively online, participation must still be documented through proxy measures
such as assignments, tests, or other records. For online only courses, institutions will have to use the
proxy for withdrawal. If the institution has evidence based on the proxy measures that the student has
stopped participating in instructional activity, the student must be immediately withdrawn from the class.
Revised 5-9-06
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPER
Implementation of Adult General Education Instructional Hours/FTE Reporting Procedures in 2006-07
Does each institution have to develop procedures for withdrawing a student for non-attendance?
Yes. Among the items to be considered for the withdrawal procedures include the following:
establishing a withdrawal standard for online classes and establishing procedures for recording of a
withdrawal date for each student.
How do the new procedures handle “online only” and lab classes?
Online courses are exempt from the 12 hour enrollment threshold. However, each institution should
establish a withdrawal policy for “online only” that includes proxy measures for attendance.
The 12-hour threshold and withdrawal procedures will apply to lab classes.
Does an “excused absence” count towards the six consecutive absences for the withdrawal
procedure?
Yes. An absence is “non-attendance in a scheduled class period.” An excused absence is still an absence
for purposes of these procedures.
The following sentence in the procedures says to “report a student for funding only for the number
of hours that a person reasonably could be expected to be in actual attendance.” Does this mean
that actual attendance hours will need to be tracked and reported?
For students who meet the 12-hour threshold of attendance in a program within a reporting survey, actual
hours of attendance are not reported. Fundable hours are those scheduled from the date of enrollment to
the withdrawal date or end of class date. Although this section does not require that actual hours of
attendance be reported, means to track the attainment of the 12 hour threshold must be present. However,
the scheduled hours must be consistent with the expected hours of attendance for the student. For
example, if a lab is open 8 hours a day, the student’s schedule should be based on the amount they
reasonably intend to be there for instruction, not the entire time the lab is open. If the student is able to
and expected to attend 2 hours per day three times a week, then the scheduled hours of attendance should
reflect that fact.
NOTE: For students who do not meet the threshold of 12 contact hours of instructional activity within
a program, although their hours are not fundable, institutions should report the actual hours of
attendance in the class to satisfy other reporting requirements.
Revised 5-9-06
TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPER
Implementation of Adult General Education Instructional Hours/FTE Reporting Procedures in 2006-07
The procedures state that “If a student completes a program competency (LCP) prior to the
scheduled end of the class, report the student instructional/contact hours to the date the LCP was
earned.” What happens if a student has not earned the highest level LCP in the program and
remains enrolled in the class?
If a student earns an LCP and continues to attend the class (e.g., he/she has not completed the highest
LCP or is awaiting GED test results), the instructional hours after an LCP is earned may be reported
because the student did not withdraw from the class. However, for a student who completes an LCP and
does not continue attendance in the class, the student must be withdrawn from the class when the LCP is
earned.
Revised 5-9-06