SFC news published since 2018. See SFC archived content for earlier news articles.
Photos: UHI North, West and Hebrides, Fife College, West Lothian College, Forth Valley College
The results of a major planning exercise have been revealed today with the publication of a ten-year infrastructure investment plan for Scotland’s college estate.
Led by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), the exercise involved the largest ever data survey of Scottish college buildings and associated infrastructure. As part of the work SFC gathered around 83,000 pieces of data from 270 buildings across 99 college campuses, alongside details of more than a thousand items of digital infrastructure.
The resulting plan sets out a detailed picture of the college estate as it currently stands and the scale of investment that would be required over the next decade if the sector and its infrastructure remained broadly as they are today. It establishes a baseline against which the impact of future reform and different approaches to the use, configuration and sharing of the estate, including new technologies for digital learning and the transition to net zero, can be considered.
Paul Devoy, Interim Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said:
“We are incredibly grateful for the fantastic effort from colleges across Scotland to provide us with this unique resource.
“Today’s report gives us a much clearer understanding of the scale of the financial challenge facing the college estate and underlines the need for change if we are to realise our ambitions within the funding available.
“It will now provide the foundation for our work with colleges to consider realistic, affordable and sustainable options for future reform that will deliver high-quality learning environments for future generations.”
The College Infrastructure Investment Plan and associated documents are now available on the Scottish Funding Council website.
