(b)
(i)
(ii)
(iii)
(iv)
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different mix of subjects the range of subjects for an academic programme category may vary from institution to institution. Moreover, the number of students taking the same subject will vary in different institutions;
different levels of studies - the mix of different levels of studies also varies from institution to institution. A course at sub-degree level is normally cheaper than the same course at first-degree level which, in turn, is normally cheaper than the one at postgraduate level. This contributes to the relatively higher unit costs at institutions which focus on first-degree and postgraduate studies;
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different staffing structures student to staff and senior to junior staff ratios are different at different institutions, as they have different emphasis on higher degrees and research. At a micro- level, an older faculty/department usually has more "senior" staff remunerated at higher salary points than younger faculty/department; and
a
institutions may choose to invest more heavily in certain programmes which it hopes to develop as areas of excellence.
The above examples are intended to be illustrative rather than exhaustive. They demonstrate, however, that unit cost figures are affected by a variety of factors and should accordingly be interpreted with caution.
For the purposes of assessing institutions' funding requirements for programmes at the same level in the same academic programme category, the University Grants Committee (UGC) adopts the same cost weighting for the teaching element.* Yet in view of the variety of reasons for cost differentiation and the need for institutions to be allowed the flexibility in internal allocation of resources to meet specific developmental needs and other circumstances specific to the institutions, it is not desirable for the Government or the UGC to seek to narrow the differences in unit costs for individual courses offered by the institutions.
The average unit cost per full-time equivalent (fte) student in the UGC- funded institutions by academic programme categories are also given in Annex A.