Higher Education Funding Council for Wales

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The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) is an Assembly Sponsored Public Body. It is an intermediary body between the Welsh Assembly Government and the higher education sector in Wales.

[edit] HEFCW business

Its mission is to promote internationally excellent higher education in Wales, for the benefit of individuals, society and the economy, in Wales and more widely.

Working with partners, HEFCW deploys funds from the Welsh Assembly Government and others in order to:

secure higher education learning and research of the highest quality;
maximise the contribution of higher education to the culture, society and economy of Wales;
ensure high quality, accredited teacher training provision across Wales.

HEFCW has six core strategic aims:

Reaching Wider: delivering wider participation and access in support of social inclusion and economic upskilling;
The 'Deal for Students': delivering the highest quality learning and related support;
Research Excellence: delivering improved research performance to underpin the knowledge economy and cultural and social renewal;
Benefiting the Economy and Society: delivering more productive relationships between higher education institutions and the public and private sectors, other agencies and local communities;
Initial Teacher Training: delivering newly qualified teachers of high quality; and
Making it Work: for a) the HE sector in Wales, with a strong emphasis on reconfiguration, collaboration, and other measures to sustain improved performance of individual institutions and the HE system as a whole; and b) HEFCW, by being an effective public sector body.

[edit] Background and status

The Higher Education Funding Council for Wales (HEFCW) was established in May 1992 under the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. Its responsibilities for initial teacher training were established by the Education Act 1994.

HEFCW is an intermediary body between the Welsh Assembly Government and the higher education sector in Wales. As an Assembly Sponsored Public Body, HEFCW receives its funds from, and is accountable to, the Welsh Assembly Government. At the same time, HEFCW provides advice to the Assembly Government on the funding needs, aspirations and concerns of the higher education sector. HEFCW promotes Welsh interests in the wider UK higher education arena.

Around 55 members of staff work for HEFCW's Executive, which is based in Llanishen in north Cardiff, Wales. In addition, HEFCW is governed by a Council of up to 12 members, including the Chairman, Professor Sir Roger Williams, and the Chief Executive, Professor Philip Gummett.