<p>The process for determining Research Training Scheme (RTS) grant amounts- 2015 Allocations</p><p>1. Purpose 1.1 This document sets out the process by which the Department of Education (Education) determines grant amounts for eligible higher education providers (HEPs) under the Research Training Scheme (RTS).</p><p>1.2 The RTS is a scheme under which grants can be paid for the purpose of supporting the training of higher degree by research (HDR) students. The process for determining RTS grant amounts is set out in paragraph 2 of this document.</p><p>1.3 The guidelines for the RTS are contained in Chapter 2 of the Other Grant Guidelines (Research) 2012 and can be downloaded from the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments at: www.comlaw.gov.au/Details/F2012L02010</p><p>2. Process for determining RTS grant amounts 2.1 Education determines each HEPs RTS grant amount using two steps. The first step is the calculation of a pre-safety net grant amount using the formula at paragraph 2.2. For the determination of pre-safety net grants a performance index is calculated for all HEPs as explained at paragraph 2.3. The second step is the application of a safety net to minimise adverse impacts. The application of the safety net is described at paragraph 2.4. 2.2 For the grant year, the pre-safety net grant is determined by: (a) A = each HEPs grant amount from three years prior indexed to the grant year prices (b) B = each HEPs grant amount from two years prior indexed to the grant year prices (c) C = each HEPs grant amount from one year prior indexed to the grant year prices (d) D = Total RTS Pool for the grant year x 0.25 (e) Each HEPs pre-safety net grant is determined by: (A x 0.25) + (B – (0.75 x A)) + (C – (B – (0.75 x A)) – (0.5 x A)) + (D x HEPs specific performance index) 2.3 Completions, research income and publications data make up the RTS performance index where: (a) HDR student completions are weighted at 50 per cent; (a) Research income is weighted at 40 per cent; and (b) Research publications are weighted at 10 per cent.</p><p>Completions data includes international and domestic Commonwealth funded students and international and domestic fee-paying students, who have completed a HDR and is collected through the Higher Education Student Data Collection and weighted by course level and field of study: (a) Low cost: high cost completions are weighted at 1:2.35 (b) Doctorate degrees by research: Master degrees by research are weighted 2:1. For a list of high cost fields of study see Appendix 1. Research income and research publications are described in, and collected through, the Higher Education Research Data Collection (HERDC). Research income is collected in four categories under the HERDC: (a) Category 1: Australian competitive grants income; (b) Category 2: Other public sector research income; (c) Category 3: Industry and other research income; (d) Category 4: Cooperative Research Centres research income, and is unweighted. Publications are collected in four categories under the HERDC: (c) Books; (d) Book chapters; (e) Journal articles; (f) Conference papers, with books weighted by a factor of 5 and the other three categories weighted by a factor of 1. Data for all components of the RTS performance index are averaged over the most recent two years for which data is available. Where one or more HEPs are unable to provide or confirm data in the time available to calculate grant amounts, Education may determine interim grant amounts and then revised (final) grant amounts when Education has satisfactory datasets. 2.4 To minimise adverse impacts on HEPs, a safety net is applied to ensure that no HEPs RTS grant will fall below 95 per cent of its previous year’s RTS grant amount indexed to current prices. The pre-safety net grant amount is used to determine whether a HEP has lost or gained funds from their previous year’s indexed RTS grant. All gains are placed in a pool from which funds are drawn to provide a safety net for HEPs that have realised a loss greater than 5 per cent from their previous year’s RTS grant. The funds remaining in the pool are then returned to HEPs that gained, based on their percentage contribution to the pool. APPENDIX 1: HIGH-COST FIELDS OF STUDY FOR THE RTS Pre-2001 HDR completions </p><p>Field of Study Code Field of Study Title 010101-010499 Agriculture, Animal Husbandry 030215 Psychology 060101-060399 Engineering, Surveying 070201 Dentistry 070405 Medical Technology 070408 Pharmacy 070501 Medical Science 070502 Medicine 090301-090399 Life, General Sciences 090501-090599 Physical Sciences 100101 Veterinary Science</p><p>2001 onwards HDR completions and student load</p><p>ASCED Code ASCED Title 010300-010303 Physics and Astronomy 010500-010599 Chemical Sciences 010700-010799 Earth Sciences 010900-010999 Biological Sciences 019900-019999 Other Natural and Physical Sciences 030101 Manufacturing Engineering 030300-030399 Process and Resources Engineering 030501 Automotive Engineering 030701 Mechanical Engineering 030703 Industrial Engineering 030900-030999 Civil Engineering 031100-031199 Geomatic Engineering 031300 Electrical and Electronic Engineering and Technology 031301 Electrical Engineering 031303 Electronic Engineering 031305 Computer Engineering 031307 Communications Technologies 031501 Aerospace Engineering 031503 Aircraft Maintenance Engineering 031701 Maritime Engineering 039901 Environmental Engineering 039903 Biomedical Engineering 050000-059999 Agriculture, Environmental and Related Studies 060100-060199 Medical Studies 060501 Pharmacy 060701 Dentistry 061101 Veterinary Studies 069903 Human Movement 090701 Psychology</p>