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.

Revised 7-10-06

 

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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPER

Implementation of Adult General Education Instructional Hours/FTE Reporting Procedures in 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.

 

 

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.

 

Revised 7-10-06

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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPER

Implementation of Adult General Education Instructional Hours/FTE Reporting Procedures in 2006-07

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 program areas referred to in the procedures:

 

Program

ICS (for CCs) CRC (for Districts) VPC/CIP

Adult Basic Education

1.32.01 401 9900000/1532010200

 

Adult Secondary (AHS

) 1.32.02 402 9900010/1532010202

 

GED

 

1.32.03 403 9900020/1532010201

 

*Includes Pre-GED

9900120/1532010206

 

ESOL (All programs)

1.32.04 404 9900040/1532010300

 

1.31.04 9900050/1532010301

9900300/1532010303

9900051/1532010302

*Includes Literacy for Adult English Literacy, Adult Vocational English Literacy, Adult ESOL Learners,

English Literacy Academic Skills

 

All other AGE

N/A 409 9900030/1532010203

9900060/1532010500

9900070/1532010501

9900080/1532010502

9900090/1533010200

*Includes Education for Senior Adult Learners, Workplace Readiness Skills (ABE), Workplace

Readiness Skills (VPI), Workplace Readiness Skills (LEP Adults), Citizenship

 

Note: The 12 hour threshold does not apply to Vocational Preparatory Instruction (VPI)

programs.

 

How will the placement hours be taken into account in the implementation of the 12-

hour threshold?

 

For each program area above, Community College and Technical Center MIS will use

a 10-hour minimum requirement when processing records. By setting the instructional

hour threshold at 10 hours, this process assumes two hours of placement per program.

 

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. The scheduled hours

may be reported from the date of enrollment to the day after the last date of

attendance. 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

Revised 7-10-06

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TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE PAPER

Implementation of Adult General Education Instructional Hours/FTE Reporting Procedures in 2006-07

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 7-10-06

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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 7-10-06

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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.