Forecasting for the Future – How University of Worcester is Improving Student Income Forecasting​

University of Worcester logo

About the University of Worcester

The University of Worcester is one of the Country’s leading and largest educators of the professionals who form the backbone of our society. Each year, hundreds of professional’s graduate and go on to make a significant contribution to society, filling roles in the NHS, schools and private sectors. 

The University’s graduates are well-equipped to progress in the fast-paced world of today’s professional workplace; close links with local employers enable students to participate in a range of work experience placements, volunteering, extra extra-curricular activities and internship opportunities.  This is why Worcester graduates are top in the UK for sustained employment and/or further study five years after graduation (LEO 2024, excluding specialist institutions). 

The University began life as an emergency teacher training college, established in 1946 at the end of the Second World War. To this day it still remains true to its founding principles to “win the peace through education”.

In May 2023, Government Inspectors awarded the University’s primary and secondary teacher Ofsted ‘Outstanding’ writing: “Trainees benefit from an exceptional learning experience at the University of Worcester. This experience instils in them a deep-rooted commitment to making a difference to the lives of the children and young adults in the communities they serve.” 

Known for its welcoming, inclusive, friendly atmosphere, Worcester is consistently ranked among the top universities for sustainability and gender equality. The University has developed some of the Country’s most accessible and inspiring buildings, including The Hive, Europe’s first fully integrated university and public library, and the University of Worcester Arena, the Country’s first indoor sports venue designed to meet the needs of the wheelchair athlete.

The University is ranked top in the UK for Quality Education in the independently published Times Higher Education’s University Impact Rankings 2024 and is currently shortlisted for University of the Year in the UK Social Mobility Awards 2024.

Challenge

Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) need detailed information about their students and courses to manage their financial budgets and forecasts. With student fees the main source of income, an accurate view of current and future student numbers and activities is critical for sound financial management. There are also several statutory reports, such as the annual report for the Office of Students, that also require this forecasted data.

The University of Worcester had been using complex spreadsheets to forecast their student income – an approach that was time consuming, provided limited reporting capability, was subject to human error and was difficult to keep updated.

Worcester faces stiff competition from neighbouring institutions and must navigate the challenging fiscal constraints facing most HEIs today.

“The application has given us a standardised solution to predicting student income. We can respond quickly to new scenarios or changes in assumptions during the planning process, and we are now able to create better and more flexible reports to drive decision-making and to meet external reporting requirements.” 

Kerry Findlater, Director of Finance, University of Worcester
Migration

Solution at a glance

  • Oracle EPM Planning
  • Namos Student Number Planning

The Namos approach

The University of Worcester partnered with Namos Solutions to build them a Student Income Planning system that worked for them and their needs.

Built using Oracle Cloud EPM technology, the application uses uploaded data gathered from the Finance System and Student Records System. It predicts future student numbers and incorporates attrition rates to give a comprehensive view of future income predictions.

The outputs are then incorporated into financial planning, allowing student fee income to be shown against expenditure throughout the institution.

Part of the requirement from Worcester was the ability to produce 5 year financial plans and reports based on student volumes and tuition fees, a key reporting requirement for the Office for Students. Worcester’s biggest form of income is its students and the fees they pay. This means that student recruitment and retention is key, and it is important to be able to predict the financial impact of students leaving either during or at the end of their programme. Different course fees, invoicing policies, programme lengths and start dates are all able to be modelled, and it is also possible to differentiate between different student fee statuses and modes of study to allow fees and discounts to be accommodated for different student types.

The model can also help with Data quality, by comparing actual data from the student records or finance systems with forecasted data. More time can be spent drilling into the data and spotting anomalies that can be checked thus improving the data quality back in the source systems.

1

Real world impact

The implementation of the application was fast to fit into Worcester’s budget cycle, with the solution being implemented in time for the commencement of the next budget cycle. It was implemented in four months, Namos did a four-week testing cycle and UAT found 55 defects, all defects were fixed and resolved with Worcester prior to Go-Live.

Namos implemented it on time and to Worcester’s schedule, Worcester has now been live for two months and has used the application for their current budget cycle. One small issue was found post Go-Live which was resolved satisfactorily straight away.

Worcester now, within the application, has much improved reporting capability – which means the team can visualise the data and drill down into it to show more in depth and specific information. Any areas of concern can be picked up at an early stage, and the Finance team has a greater depth of knowledge over the future income forecast.

The results

The Student Income Planning Application has helped the team at Worcester improve the way they report and manage their finances. The application’s sophisticated modelling tools enable them to prepare better for future challenges and opportunities.

The advantage for the Worcester team is that they can now cater for the complexities of their institution, such as: Joint honours courses; Courses that cross a financial year – e.g. courses that begin in January; Multiple cohorts per year – e.g. courses that have a September and January intake and irregular course lengths.

The tool’s analysis and predictions are helping them to identify areas for focus so that strategies and operations can be adapted in response to changes in the student demographic and external pressures. They feel better informed when assessing future challenges and opportunities.

With the automated end to end process Worcester can produce a plan / budget in ten minutes, that is from loading the source data to having the plan / budget ready to verify.

Worcester now has transparency and security of data, a robust solution, improved data accuracy, auditability and ultimately enhanced planning functionality and reporting capability, helping their Finance and Planning teams to create actionable and reliable real-world insights.

More customer successes

Related insights

Powered by  GDPR Cookie Compliance
Privacy Overview

This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.