Cheat Sheet: FTES & Headcount
Quick Calculating while drinking coffee or a Coke
We have almost as many formulas as we do acronyms. This quick-read post offers a list of tips and formulas to support our collective questions on numbers and our propensity for caffeine. The first two bullets cover what you need to know for conversations and most meetings.
Note: * indicates multiplication and / indicates division.
- Filled seats /10 = FTES. As in 500 seats divided by ten is 50 FTES. This equation isn’t exact to the second decimal; however, it’s plenty for meetings and planning purposes. In previous decades, we called it the politically incorrect “butts in seats” and we now may say seats or filled seats. I say seats after I define it with my team and we all get the gist.
- FTES * 10 = seats. As in 19 FTES multiplied by ten is 190 seats. This quick calculation lets you switch from conversations related to available seats for students to your department’s productivity. It’s important because FTES is how we’re paid. And students in seats is one variable in how we decide to keep or cancel a class.
The above two quick formulas need closer and deeper attention when it comes to reporting to the CCCCO or for grants and when cornered by someone who seems to want to trip you up. The challenge is remembering the terms and formulas below because we may use them daily for a few weeks and then not for months. Here’s a mini-glossary for today and future reference:
WSCH:
- Weekly Contact Hours (WCH): Daily Contact Hour * Class Meeting Days per Week
- Weekly Student Contact Hours (WSCH): Weekly Contact Hours * Number of Students.
DSCH:
- Daily Contact Hours (DCH): Meeting time per day (more details to contact hours are available in another post)
- Daily Student Contact Hours (DSCH): Daily Contact Hours * Number of Students
TLM: Term Length Multiplier is the number of weeks of instruction in regular fall/spring semesters. Includes all days of instruction, final exam days, and approved flexible calendar days. The standard term length multiplier is 17.5. Compressed calendars range from 16.0 to 17.0. Quarter system calendars have a TLM of 11.67.
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FTES: Full-Time Equivalent Student derives from the assumption that one student is enrolled in courses for 3 hours a day, 5 days a week, for an academic year of 35 weeks (using the 17.5 TLM). This means one FTES is 525 hours of instruction (3 x 5 x 35 = 525) in the academic year. This one student may be a compilation of several part-time students. The calculation aggregates hours of student contact, which is why the word “equivalent” is always included.
Calculating FTES
I don’t know anyone who thinks this stuff is as fun as eating ice cream. However, this calculation determines the appropriation revenue colleges and districts are paid by the CCCCO. Understanding the details is essential to fiscal stability.
- FTES for Full-Term class: WSCH * TLM / 525
- FTES for Less Than Full-Term class: DSCH * Number of class meetings / 525
- FTES for Positive Attendance classes: Total “perfect attendance” hours * Decimal Percent of “perfect attendance”/ 525
Let’s run a hypothetical. Three full-semester 54-hour classes, each with 30 students (at census) that meets twice a week:
- FTES for Full-Term class: 30 (students) * 3 (hours per week for a 54-hour course) * 17.5 (TLM) / 525 = 3.0 FTES
- FTES for Less Than Full-Term class. In this variation of the example, the college decides to switch to a 12-week offering to encourage additional enrollment. The 54 hours over 12 weeks is 54 hours / 12 weeks / twice per week is 2.25 contact hours per meeting. Things get a little tricky because the CCCCO Contact Hour Computation notes no 2.25. I multiply the 2.0 times 2 meetings a week over 12 weeks and it comes up with 48 hours which is not enough to meet my approved min/max on hours. I go with 2.3 DCH which is 2 hours and 5 minutes of clock hours.
- 2.3 DCH * 30 students = 69 DSCH. 12 weeks * twice per week -1 holiday is 23 meetings. 69 DSCH * 23 / 525 = 3.0. In this case, we ensured there were no hours lost and no students lost. The FTES worked out because we took the time to make sure we did not short any of the class time. The slight change of electing to go with 2.0 DCH instead of 2.3 changes the FTES from 3.0 to 2.6, a 15% reduction in FTES which equates to a 15% reduction in funding for the same class.
- FTES for Positive Attendance classes: 30 (students) * 3 (hours per week in a 54 hour section) * 17.5 (TLM) * .70 ( documented attendance) / 525 = 2.1. Positive attendance of 70% is a fair number considering the types of classes we offer for Positive Attendance. Even if the number was 80% perfect attendance, the FTES drops from 3.0 to 2.4, a 25% reduction in funding for the class.
This post offers a quick tip for using a multiplier of 10 or a divisor of 10 to determine seats or FTES. The additional formulas may seem daunting; however, don’t memorize them. The idea is to apply them to a schedule you’re working on as an example and validating your numbers. My priority is to show you that learning about FTES can improve your revenue quickly for the schedules you’re already pursuing. When we skip the details, we leave money on the table.
Thanks, Kelly
