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A copy of ‘Scotland’s Colleges 2019’ and Audit Scotland’s press release can be found online.

The reports highlights financial challenges for the sector, particularly around maintenance and repairs. It notes student numbers have increased and the sector exceeded its activity targets, though attainment gaps still exist for students from the most deprived areas, students with disabilities, and care-experienced students.

Commenting on the report, Further Education Minister Richard Lochhead said:

“Audit Scotland finds that the college sector reported a small, but improved, underlying financial surplus in 2017-18. The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) assists colleges with their medium and long term financial planning and provides support as required. We are also working with the sector to diversify income streams. The SFC will produce a medium term capital investment strategy for the college estate which will provide valuable evidence to determine future investment.

“Since 2007, the Scottish Government has invested more than £7 billion in colleges, with over £600 million this financial year. In real terms we’ve allocated over £810 million to capital projects including new campuses and buildings. More than 11,000 more full-time college students successfully completed their course last year compared to a decade ago, with improving attainment rates for students from the most deprived areas over the last six years.”

Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), said:

“In a tight financial environment it is encouraging to see that colleges are performing well, exceeding their learning activity targets and adapting to changing economic and demographic trends. Funding will, however, continue to be challenging and we will therefore support colleges in their financial planning and work with Scottish Government to identify appropriate funding models for future capital investment.”

Shona Struthers, Chief Executive of Colleges Scotland, said:

“Scotland’s Colleges 2019 confirms that colleges continue to operate in narrow financial margins and face significant challenges. The underlying financial position of many colleges is concerning, as almost half of the 26 colleges are forecasting recurring financial deficits by 2022-23.

“The report also highlights that there is currently insufficient capital investment to properly address the needs of the sector, so it is critical that the upcoming Comprehensive Spending Review delivers on revenue and capital investment for college learners by safeguarding the sector which upskills the workers and supports inclusive economic growth.

“The Scottish Government is increasing revenue investment in colleges, which we welcome, but this additional funding is being used to cover the growing costs from harmonising pay, terms and conditions across the sector. EIS-FELA members currently being balloted on whether to accept the deal being offered by colleges should recognise that all that additional money is coming from colleges making cuts elsewhere.

“It is also clear from this report that colleges’ ability to generate alternative funding, such as through commercial income, remains limited, therefore, the sector would welcome greater flexibility to help in this area.

“This report also highlights that student numbers are increasing and the sector continues to meet its learning activity targets. In further encouraging news, the report outlines the vital role colleges play in widening access as the number of disabled, ethnic minority, and care-experienced students is increasing.

“Colleges will continue to work closely with the Scottish Government and Scottish Funding Council to provide sufficient sustainable investment which will enable colleges to continue delivering benefits for students, employers, and the economy.”

Progress towards widening access to higher education is detailed in a new report today from the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

The report focuses on the socio-economic status of students and on protected characteristics such as gender, race and disability as well as those having experience of care. It measures how many are setting out on degree courses, how many remained in higher education after a year, and their achievements at the end of their studies.

The report is the official publication for measuring progress towards Scottish Government targets arising from the work of the Commission on Widening Access.

Amongst today’s findings are that, in 2017-18, more students from Scotland’s 20% most deprived areas began a first degree course at a Scottish university than in the previous year. They represented 15.6% of Scottish students starting these courses in that year – an increase of 685.

Looking at how well universities are doing in preventing students from deprived backgrounds from dropping out of their course, the report found the retention figure went up from 87.4% to 89.4% between 2016-17 and 2017-18. There was also a small (0.2 percentage point) increase in the retention figure for care-experienced students in the same period.

The number of students from Scotland’s 20% most deprived areas celebrating their first degree rose in 2017-18. This was up over 3% on the previous year.

Further and Higher Education Minister Richard Lochhead said:

“This report demonstrates that universities and colleges are making strong progress on widening access to higher education. We have a record increase in entrants from our most deprived areas, and the gap between those from the least and most deprived backgrounds is smaller than ever. There are already 12 institutions exceeding their 2021 target to have at least 10% of full-time first degree entrants from the most deprived areas.

“The proportion of disabled students and black and minority ethnic students entering higher education is also increasing, while key university retention rates for both deprived and care experienced students are improving.  Overall, that means many more people in Scotland – no matter their background or circumstance – are benefitting from higher education, giving them an equal chance of success.”

Commenting on the findings of the report, SFC chief executive, Karen Watt said:

“This report shows evidence of good progress. This is happening because universities and colleges are working hard to ensure everyone has a fair chance of a place on a higher education course.

“It is especially encouraging to see evidence that universities are improving their support for students from disadvantaged backgrounds so that the retention rate for these students is getting closer to the norm.

“Achieving greater diversity and fair access is a collective challenge and there is a lot of work still to do. However, this report shows Scotland is leading the way in this important area.”

Today’s report is the third Scottish Funding Council Report on Widening Access. The reports have been published in response to a recommendation from the Commission on Widening Access to enhance the analyses and publication of data on fair access.

A report produced by a forum of Scotland’s colleges highlights potential challenges for the sector in the wake of the UK’s exit from the EU.

It comes ahead of a second College and University Brexit Summit to be hosted by the Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, Richard Lochhead this Thursday 30 May, to discuss how institutions and other organisations can collectively address the challenges arising from the UK’s expected departure from the EU.

The report lists demographic changes, loss of EU funding, and the potential loss of skilled and unskilled EU nationals from the sector as challenges but, given its role as a key provider in the skills training system, highlights how colleges are well-placed to respond to emerging skills gaps.

According to SPICe analysis of 2015 ONS data ‘EU Nationals Living in Scotland’, indications are that sectors most likely at risk include (but are not limited to) service sectors: hospitality and tourism, public administration, finance, health and social care and retail, as well as construction, agriculture and manufacturing.

Almost a third of EU nationals in employment in Scotland in 2015 (33,000) were working in the distribution, hotels and restaurant sector. The Scottish economy is heavily reliant on these areas, particularly in remote and rural locations as well as in Edinburgh.

Replacing experienced and trained staff from a range of critical industries from a contracted pool of talent will present a unique test of the college sector’s ability to adapt and flex its offer in order to continue meeting the needs of individuals, communities and businesses throughout and beyond the transition process.

Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science Richard Lochhead said: “We know Scotland faces challenging demographics and skills gaps in the existing workforce that will be exacerbated by leaving the EU, particularly in sectors where there is a high percentage of EU nationals in the workforce.  We have already seen how the continued uncertainty around the UK’s relationship with the EU has led to the employment of EU nationals falling in the past year.  

“Addressing these challenges and maintaining our strong research and teaching links with Europe will require our colleges and universities to work closer together to shape an education landscape that can continue to re-tool today’s workforce and train tomorrow’s.

“That’s why I have called this week’s Brexit Summit, to bring Scotland’s Further and Higher Education sectors together to discuss how we respond to these additional challenges that leaving the EU would bring.”

SFC Chief Executive Karen Watt said: “There’s no doubt Brexit will test the sector’s ability to adapt and overcome multiple challenges, from the emerging skills gaps to the loss of Erasmus+ funding and opportunities for students to study and gain overseas life experience.

We’ve met extensively with the college sector over the past nine months to understand their concerns and how they’re planning to respond. It’s been very encouraging to see colleges being proactive about how they will adapt to these challenges in their local area.”

Shona Struthers, Colleges Scotland’s Chief Executive, said: “The college sector in Scotland has consistently enunciated concerns over the implications of Brexit on our society and economy, however, we also recognise that colleges’ agility and capacity to respond quickly and nimbly to difficult situations can be used to fill the anticipated skills shortages many sectors are facing.

“The College Brexit Forum is extremely useful in bringing the right organisations around the table to discuss and plan how to mitigate skills gaps as well as the loss of EU funding programmes and life-changing opportunities from Erasmus+.”

This week’s summit in Edinburgh will build on the previous summit held at the University of Glasgow last November.

Targeted at both colleges and universities, the summit will focus not only on practical ways in which institutions might rise to the challenge of addressing potential skills gaps in Scotland’s economy, but also how they might continue to work in partnership with EU colleagues and enable continuing opportunities for students and staff following the UK’s departure from the EU.

Orkney College UHI

College makes student sport history

Orkney College UHI has become the sixth college in Scotland to commit to the College Sport Award framework.

It joins Fife, Borders, Edinburgh, City of Glasgow and Barony [SRUC] colleges as a trailblazer for the scheme which plays an important part in Scottish Student Sport’s ambition of building a world-class system for physical activity and student sport.

Orkney College principal, Professor Eddie Abbott-Halpin, was joined by Scottish Student Sport’s chief operating officer, Stew Fowlie, to sign a pledge to recognise the value of sport and physical activity in enriching the student experience.

Speaking at the event, Professor Abbott-Halpin, said: “By signing the College Sport Award pledge, I feel that, between our students and staff here at the college and the Highlands and Islands Student Association, we can really make sport and physical activity a more prominent feature of Orcadian student life.”

He went on to say that: “As educators we realise that wellbeing and mental health play a key part in a student’s life and have a direct impact upon their wider experience at college. By signing this pledge we aim to progress work that will not only increase the physical activity of our students but also help athletes across the county.”

Stew Fowlie commented: “It was a great pleasure to visit the staff at Orkney College UHI and to spend some quality time with Principal Eddie Abbot-Halpin talking about the future of physical activity and sport at the college.

“I got a clear sense of his commitment to active student lifestyles and I am certain that the college, with strong support amongst both students and staff, will do all it can to advance this important agenda over the years to come. Orkney College may be a small institution but it has big ambitions, and I look forward to supporting its future progress through the SSS College Sport Award.’

The College Sport Award, supported by the Scottish Funding Council and endorsed by sportscotland, is a self-improvement framework for colleges in Scotland that would like to develop or advance the sporting offer at their institution.

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has announced final levels of university and college funding for the next academic year.

Today’s announcement confirms earlier figures based on the draft Scottish budget. This means overall college funding has increased to meet the harmonisation and job evaluation costs of national bargaining for lecturers and support staff. Funding for student support is also confirmed to rise next year, enabling colleges to take better account of learners’ personal circumstances.

Teaching grants in most universities will increase overall, largely due to significant increases in undergraduate places for future nurses, midwives, doctors and teachers recently communicated to the sectors by SFC.

Minister for Further and Higher Education Richard Lochhead said:

“This investment supports our colleges and universities to continue to develop well-educated, highly skilled people and deliver the world class innovation that is central to our economic future.

We want all learners to reach their full potential and we also continue to invest record amounts in student support, with over 120,000 undergraduates studying in Scotland benefitting from free tuition every year.”

Funding for research and innovation in Scottish universities remains broadly unchanged in cash terms. Capital funding, including the provision of low-cost loans, will be around £12 million more than last year. The loan initiative is aimed at ‘spend-to-save’ projects, including energy efficiency; developing university campuses; and collaborations between institutions.

To support the sector’s response to ambitions laid out by the Enterprise and Skills Strategic Board, SFC is challenging universities to develop new, more flexible programmes to allow employers and individuals to develop new skills. By repurposing £6.1m of funding in this way, SFC is supporting the sector’s efforts to play its part in the upskilling and reskilling agenda.

Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said:

“The Scottish Funding Council is committed to continuing to fund teaching, research excellence and innovation. I am also pleased to confirm today funding for new skills programmes in universities which will be an important part in Scotland’s economic future.”

Scottish universities are being invited to take advantage of up to £60M of low interest loan funding for capital upgrades and projects, aimed at improving student experiences or carbon footprint reduction.

The Scottish Government has allocated £60M towards the Scottish Funding Council’s (SFC) 2019-20 Financial Transactions programme, aimed at ‘spend-to-save’ projects including energy efficiency, strategic development of university campuses for the improvement of the student experience, and strategic collaboration between institutions.

Higher Education Minister Richard Lochhead made the announcement today during a visit to the University of Strathclyde to see progress on its new Learning & Teaching Building.

Scheduled to open in 2020, the Learning & Teaching Building will incorporate the University’s former Colville and Architecture Buildings at North Portland Street and Rottenrow, bringing together new learning and teaching spaces, student support services and the University of Strathclyde Students’ Association (USSA) in a purpose-designed facility.

The University was awarded a £10M loan from the SFC’s Financial Transactions programme to support the £60M development. Works began in late 2018 and are expected to be complete in summer 2020.

Minister for Further and Higher Education Richard Lochhead said:

 

“The University of Strathclyde’s Learning and Teaching building is just one example of the many projects made possible with funding from the Financial Transactions programme. I am impressed that the project is already having a positive impact on students at the university, with engineering students receiving mentoring on-site.

“The £60 million funding announced today for 2019-20 will facilitate further development of university campuses across Scotland and I look forward to seeing this take shape.”

 

Professor Scott MacGregor, Vice Principal of the University of Strathclyde said:

 

“The £60M Learning and Teaching Building project emphasises the continuing importance we place on providing a first-class experience for our students and represents the single-largest capital investment in our campus to date and forms part of our £1 billion estate development programme to 2022-23.

“The support we’ve received through the SFC’s Financial Transactions programme is greatly appreciated and this is being committed to not only enhancing the student experience but also to improving the environmental sustainability of our campus and the fabric of this part of the city centre.”

 

Mike Cantlay, SFC Chair said:

 

“The Learning & Teaching Hub is a great example of the type of project our Financial Transactions programme is aimed at. It will be a fantastic asset for Strathclyde students.

“It’s great to see other projects from previous years coming along as well, like the University of St Andrews’ energy efficiency measures, which will reduce its carbon footprint by 3,905 tonnes of CO2 per year, and Robert Gordon University’s redevelopment of its Schoolhill building into a new digital innovation hub.

“This year’s programme represents another great opportunity and we encourage all institutions to think about how they could take advantage of this for strategic estates development or carbon footprint reduction.”

 

Infrastructure group Balfour Beatty was selected by the University of Strathclyde to deliver the new £60 million learning and teaching building in 2018 through the University’s Major Building Construction framework.

Hector MacAulay, Balfour Beatty’s Regional Managing Director for Scotland and Ireland, said:

 

“We are delighted the Scottish Government has provided funding through the Scottish Funding Council’s Transactions programme, which will enable us to refurbish and extend the University’s Grade II listed Architecture building and neighbouring Colville building.”

“We look forward to completing the Learning & Teaching hub while providing an exciting and inspiring environment for the 23,000 students based on the central Glasgow campus.”

 

The £60M 2019-20 programme is an increase on the £40M 2018-19 round, and the £20M 2017-18 round. It is estimated that the funded projects from the 2017-18 round, which are now nearing completion, will collectively save £2M and 8,945 tonnes of carbon per year.

SFC will administer the loan funding, and select successful proposals for funding based on their eligibility. For more information on how to submit an Expression of Interest and contact details, click here.

Mental Health Foundation

Scottish Association for Mental Health

Mental Health Awareness Week takes place from 13-19 May. This year’s theme is on the topic of body image – how we feel and think about our bodies.

Body image issues can affect all of us at any age and directly impact our mental health.

Last year the Mental Health Foundation found that 30% of all adults have felt so stressed by body image and appearance that they felt overwhelmed or unable to cope.

For more information, see the Foundation’s Get involved this Mental Health Awareness Week! web page

SFC supports ‘Think Positive’ – NUS Scotland’s student mental health project through our Outcome Agreements with all Scottish colleges and universities, which require all institutions to have mental health strategies for staff and students in place.

SFC is also working with Scottish Government to support the First Minister’s announcement of funding to support 80 additional mental health counsellors in colleges and universities in 2019-20.

This year’s theme is ‘Shaping the Future’ – looking at how our world will be transformed, what trends and predictions might affect business, work and life, and what their impact might be.

Led by employers and co-ordinated by the Campaign for Learning, the week aims to promote a culture of learning in the workplace.

Apprenticeships

In collaboration with Scotland’s colleges and universities, Skills Development Scotland (SDS) offer a range of apprenticeships for all ages and skills.

Whether you’re an employer seeking to upskill your workforce on the job or an individual wanting to upskill yourself – Apprenticeships.scot has a range of information of available opportunities and apprenticeships.

Sgrùdadh cùise:  More than a decade after leaving school, William Braid thought that a degree wasn’t an option for him – until a Graduate Apprenticeship opportunity came along.

It’s also worth checking with your local college or university to find out more or attend the next employer information session (eventbrite) to hear how you could develop your workforce through opportunities like a Graduate Apprenticeship.

More info

To find out more about retraining opportunities such as apprenticeships, visit Apprenticeships.scot for apprenticeship details, information for employers wanting to upskill their workforce, and case studies of successful work-based learning.

The skills you’ll need in your profession to be successful in 2030 (interactive questionnaire).

For the first time all Scottish colleges, universities and specialist institutions have published British Sign Language (BSL) plans, ahead of the October 2019 target set by Scottish Ministers in the 2017-23 BSL National Plan.

BSL plans set out how institutions will support students who use BSL, with clear and measurable commitment to improvement where necessary. The plans are reviewed annually by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC) to make sure inequalities are addressed.

Speaking at a BSL showcase event hosted by SFC and the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 Partnership, Minister for Further and Higher Education, Richard Lochhead, said:

 “The Scottish Government wants Scotland to be the best place in the world for those who speak BSL to live, work, study and visit.

“Our colleges and universities have a vital role to play in this, ensuring students are able to maximise their potential in post-school education and receive the support they need to do well in their chosen subjects.

“I am pleased to see Scottish institutions leading the way in supporting BSL speakers. We are committed to ensuring every student has a fair chance to access education and to complete their courses, and we will continue to drive forward action on this through our BSL National Plan.”

SFC chief executive, Karen Watt, said:

“This is a fantastic achievement for all Scottish colleges, universities and specialist institutions. SFC is proud to be involved in this work and we are grateful to the BSL users on our steering group who have played a vital role helping institutions develop their own plans.”

Speaking on behalf of the BSL (Scotland) Act 2015 Partnership, Deaf Action spokesperson Alison Hendry, said:

 “It is an exciting time with the BSL plans being published by all further and higher education institutions in Scotland. This will allow members of the BSL-speaking community to be fully involved and empowered to become more confident individuals within the education sector. It has been fantastic to see how pro-active institutions have been in developing and publishing their plans, showing some great examples for the rest of the UK and the world to follow.”

Scotland’s Commissioner for Fair Access, Professor Sir Peter Scott, was joined today by over 130 experts, practitioners and policy makers to mark the launch of a new Framework for Fair Access.

The framework consists of two parts. The first is an online resource for recording and sharing information. The second part is a community of access and participation practitioners -a forum to share and develop best practice  across Scotland.

Professor Scott said: “the framework is designed to produce a step-change in our knowledge about which fair access activities work best. It is also designed to act as a focus, even a rallying point, for grass-roots access and participation practitioners across Scotland.”

The website, he said, would “support a dynamic process of continuous improvement in access practice and research in Scotland”.

Newly appointed forum coordinator, Katie Monk, added: “The practitioners’ forum will connect people together and help further discussion about what works and why.”

Higher Education Minister Richard Lochhead said:

“Education is by far the most effective means we have of improving the life chances of our young people. We are firmly committed to widening access and ensuring that every young person has access to the learning that will provide them with the skills and qualifications they need to meet their aspirations and succeed in life.

Scotland is ahead of the curve in delivering equality of access, with 15.6% of entrants to Scottish universities now coming from the 20% most deprived areas in Scotland – just 0.4% short of our goal for 2021. However, we can do more.

Sharing learning on how best to support disadvantaged learners to realise their potential is key to this and I am delighted to see the education sector in Scotland come together to bring to life one of the key recommendations made by the Commission on Widening Access in the form of the framework”

Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council said:

“This framework brings together the best evidence on ensuring fair access, and will support the many dedicated professionals who deliver this work across the country.

It’s a significant milestone on the road to achieving the ambitions of the Commission on Widening Access to ensure young people in Scotland have the same opportunities to access higher education, no matter their situation.”

Registration is now open for the Scotland’s third annual Fair Access Conference for managers, practitioners and policy makers working in colleges and universities, schools, local authorities, Community Learning and Development (CLD).

The main themes for this year’s conference are mental health and gender-based violence, with focused workshops on carers, care-experienced students, veterans, disabled students, and estranged students, as well as an introduction to Scotland’s Community of Access and Participation Practitioners (SCAPP).

Keynote speakers will include Richard Lochhead, Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, and Fiona Drouet, founder of the #emilytest campaign.

Hosted by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC), Scotland’s Fair Access Conference is a national event focused on progress in widening access to further and higher education is a good-practice sharing event with a choice of workshops, exhibition stalls and networking opportunities.

The event is free but anyone wishing to attend must register on our website by noon on Tuesday 18 June 2019. Register or view the Event Programme. 

 

The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) has published a new report on the movement of students between college and university courses.

The report looks at the academic credit universities give students for achieving Higher National Certificates (HNCs) and Higher National Diplomas (HNDs) at college. The way this credit can be used to progress onto various stages of a degree course is known as articulation.

Today’s report shows that, in 2017-18, just over 7,826 students entered university after gaining HNC/HND qualifications at college. Of these 4,812 were able to move directly into either the second or third year of their university course, a figure that has increased by 10% in the past four years. Overall, HNC/HND articulating students accounted for over a quarter of all students beginning a first degree course at a Scottish university.

There is evidence that articulation makes a significant contribution to fairer access with more than 40% of people going to university from Scotland’s most disadvantaged backgrounds entering via an HNC or HND college course. The report shows that it is also an important route for disabled and care experienced learners. Additionally, it plays a part in increasing ethnic diversity in Scotland’s universities with almost 8% of articulating students coming from black and minority ethnic backgrounds.

The report is the first set of statistics to be produced from a revised National Articulation Database. The database has been designed to support more collaborative working between colleges and universities and to provide the evidence needed to create new pathways and better choices for learners.

Commenting on todays’ publication, Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said:

“This is an important report which uses new methods developed by SFC to give us the best understanding yet of this aspect of the learner journey. Articulation is one of the increasingly varied options offered by Scotland’s colleges and universities to improve the learner journey. There is more to be done to understand how it can be made to work even better but it is really encouraging to see the contribution it already makes to diversity and fairer access.”

Derek Smeall, vice principal for curriculum, planning and performance at New College Lanarkshire, said:

“The revised National Articulation Database has enormous potential. In the future it will provide definitive evidence upon which colleges and universities can further develop progression routes for learners.”

Richard McGookin, Director of Planning at Heriot-Watt University, said:

“Routes from college to university provide an important destination for college leavers and an increasing fraction of the university’s intake, so it is important we can understand in which subjects and courses and with which colleges articulation is working for us and where there might be opportunities to do more. 

“As illustrated in this report, the National Articulation Database is a resource which provides an unprecedented level of robust detail in a transparent and user-friendly way to help us build and maintain the routes and guide and support students along them.”

Read the full report: Articulation from Scottish Colleges to Scottish Universities 2017-18.

The CAN DO Fest is an annual programme of events to help entrepreneurs, investors and innovators to develop their ideas into new products and businesses. Alongside the complementary VentureFest, the CAN DO Fest also exists to showcase the very best of Scotland’s entrepreneurial scene.

Between the end of April and the middle of May events will be held across the country. Headline CAN DO Fest events include the Entrepreneurial Scotland Annual Conference, an Impact Summit and a series of Entrepreneurial Masterclasses. Participants can also get involved in pitch days, workshops, hackathons, seminars and networking events.

The Scottish Funding Council is an active contributor to the Scotland CAN DO initiative. Working alongside other skills and enterprise agencies SFC is helping to provide a “Team Scotland” approach to supporting and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship.

You can find out more and get details of all the events in the Scotland CAN DO Fest calendar on the festival’s website.

Cyber Scotland Week (22 – 28 April) draws together events across the country to showcase the innovation taking place in the sector, while raising awareness of good cyber resilience practice and promoting a career within the industry.

Cyber security is the protection of computer systems. It takes many forms, preventing theft or damage to hardware (physical infrastructure), software (programs or apps) and electronic data (private or sensitive information).

Along with the UK’s other funding councils, SFC provides funding towards Jisc, which runs the world-class high-speed Janet Network on behalf of research and education in the UK. As the provider of the Janet network, Jisc is in a unique position in being able to provide a comprehensive set of security products and services, including the central coordination of cyber threat intelligence from the education sector, across the Janet infrastructure, from National Research and Education Networks across the globe, and central coordination for security incidents.

SFC has also worked with Scottish institutions on the development of a joint-ICT strategy for the sector, and supported the launch of a shared Chief Information Security Officer service.

Scotland is also known for its cyber security research expertise. SFC funds the Scottish Informatics and Computing Science Alliance (SICSA) research pool, which has a Cyber-security work stream that helped advise the Scottish Government during the development of its own Cyber-Resilience strategy.

SFC and Scottish Government also funded a ‘network integrator’ post in the SICSA research pool to understand and map the sector’s cyber-resilience research capabilities. Part of the role of this post is to support the cyber-security community in meeting the demand for trained staff in this area, through the development of courses and awareness-raising events.

Edinburgh Napier University also plays host to The Cyber Academy, which aims to integrate research, innovation and teaching around Cyber security, and also runs the annual Big Data in Cyber Security International Conference.

However, as we incorporate more technology in our lives, the risk of computer systems, the Internet and wireless networks such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and smart phones being disrupted increases, not to mention the potential impacts of this disruption.

Organisations’ own IT teams and national organisations like Jisc are constantly monitoring and improving their cyber security efforts, but no system is perfect. Cyber security also relies on users making smart decisions to safeguard their data – whether at work or at home.

£400,000 was lost to cyber crime in Orkney alone last year, according to Police Scotland, who estimated up to 90 percent of successful attacks come down to human error by the victim.

Check out Cyber Scotland Week 2019 for more information and events being hosted throughout Scotland this week, including Cyber Security for Business seminars, a College Cyber Security Conference in Stirling, and a Cyber Security for the SME event hosted by Perth College UHI.

Other resources:

Following sparqs’ recent conference in Edinburgh, the third annual Student Engagement Awards were also held to recognise and celebrate good practice in student engagement across Scottish colleges and universities.

The winners and runners up:

University Impact

An initiative delivered by a students’ association, or led by a students’ association in partnership with their university, which has had a significant impact on enhancing the student learning experience.

Winner

Peer Learning and Support at Edinburgh – Edinburgh University Students’ Association and The University of Edinburgh.

Runners up

College Impact

Same as above but in partnership with their college.

Winner

Student Partnership Agreement: A Dynamic Approach Using an Online Ideas System – City of Glasgow College Students’ Association and City of Glasgow College.

Runners up

Shaping the Curriculum

A co-curricular initiative or project (focusing, for example, on students working in partnership with their college or university on curriculum design, curriculum delivery or assessment) which has had a positive impact on student learning across the college or university.

Winner

A Whole Institution Approach on Embedding Intercultural Skills into the Curriculum at GCU – Glasgow Caledonian University Students’ Association.

Runners up

Engaging Diversely

An initiative delivered by a students’ association, or led by a students’ association in partnership with their college or university, which demonstrates a clear commitment to developing student engagement activities that reflect the diversity of the student population.

Winner

Make a Difference – Dynamic Learning Initiative – City of Glasgow College.

Runners up

University Course Rep of the Year

Winner

Finlay Allmond, University of Stirling.

College Course Rep of the Year

Winner

Dionne Netherington, Perth College UHI.

For more info on the award winners, see: https://www.sparqs.ac.uk/culture.php?page=747.

Student Partnerships in Quality Scotland (sparqs) is an independent charitable organisation, funded by SFC, to deliver Scottish Government objectives related to quality and student engagement and participation in colleges and universities.

History was made yesterday afternoon when Edinburgh College beat the University of Edinburgh in a gripping final to the annual competition for the Queen’s Park Shield.

The University took the lead with a low free kick, but the College hit back swiftly with a swirling set-piece goal of its own, leaving the tie poised and the scores level at half time. The University emerged from the break the stronger team and were rewarded with a well taken second goal. Just as the University looked to be comfortably seeing the game out, the College equalised with a thunderous header from a corner. After 90 minutes, it took a nail-biting penalty shoot out to decide who would lift the trophy, with the honours finally going to Edinburgh College.

The drama on the field lived up to the historic significance of the event. Yesterday marked the first ever win for a college team in the 92-year history of a competition that originally only included Scotland’s four ancient universities. Nowadays the Queens Park Shield is much more widely contested and the competition is open to every university and college in Scotland.

Edinburgh College’s achievement also represents a watershed in the bid by SFC-funded Scottish Student Sport (SSS) to create greater equality of sporting opportunity between colleges and universities. To support this ambition, last year SFC announced a new four-year investment in SSS of £465,000.

As well as organising cross-sector competitions such as the Queens Park Shield, Scottish Student Sport has been helping to create a level playing field by setting up new college sport structures. Together with SSS’s encouragement of partnerships with universities, this is creating a sports environment in colleges that is both inclusive and similar in quality to that enjoyed by university students.

Andre Reibig, who leads on SFC’s work with Scottish Student Sport, said: “The benefits of student participation in sport run much deeper than you would think. They include helping to prevent students from dropping out of courses, improving mental health, promoting diversity and contributing to better success rates. It’s really important that these benefits are open to every college and university student in Scotland. It’s great to see Edinburgh College being a beacon for what can be achieved.”

EIT Digital, a leading European organisation for digital innovation and entrepreneurial education, has opened a Scottish satellite office in Edinburgh.

EIT Digital is one of eight Innovation Communities of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology. It has 10 centres across Europe, including one in London, with the Scottish office being the first satellite office to be opened in the UK.

The new office, jointly funded by EIT Digital, the Scottish Funding Council and Scottish Enterprise, will be hosted by the University of Edinburgh’s Bayes Centre. The office will support knowledge exchange, help to develop skills in Scottish businesses and promote Scotland to investors. It will also contribute to achieving the Scottish Government’s ambition to deepen relationships between Scotland and the EU.

Speaking at this week’s launch, EIT Digital chief executive Willem Jonker, said: “This new Edinburgh satellite will allow EIT Digital to deepen the connections with the Scottish innovation ecosystem and to intensify our relationship with the Scottish private and public sectors.”

Scottish innovation minister Ivan McKee said: “For decades, Scotland has participated in European projects, led strategic partnerships and welcomed people from across the EU and around the world. We have always valued the resulting skills, diversity and talent that this has brought into our economy and society.

“Regardless of the outcome of Brexit, Scotland will continue to be an outward-looking, open and welcoming country.

“This project will allow academia and businesses to work together to drive innovation. It also enables Scotland to raise the profile of its digital assets across Europe, helping to attract both inward talent and investment while connecting Scotland’s businesses to experts and potential collaborators.”

The new satellite office will host a new doctoral training centre with a focus on financial technology and cyber security. Its students will be supported by universities across Scotland with the first student expected to start later this year.

Gap narrows for deprived students

Scotland’s Fair Access Framework

Last year the University of Glasgow made the headlines when it revealed nearly 20 percent of Scottish entrants to its School of Medicine were from the most deprived areas of Scotland – numbers that were touted as unprecedented among the UK’s 34 medical schools.

Four of the five students featured in this coverage, who came through the University’s own Glasgow Access Programme, got an early start to medicine through the REACH programme – one of two national schools programmes funded by the Scottish Funding Council (SFC).

Funded by SFC since 2010, the REACH programme works with schools in Scotland’s most deprived communities to identify potential student candidates for study in Law, Medicine, Veterinary Medicine, Dentistry and Economics.

Widening Access perspective

Dr Neill Croll, Head of Widening Access at the University of Glasgow can still remember being called to a meeting at SFC in 2010 with colleagues from around Scotland to discuss a pilot programme to help disadvantaged students get through medicine.

“My first reaction was to wonder what the academic schools would think of it. Programmes like this had been attempted before, but they hadn’t really achieved much because they hadn’t been set up with much thought to what the real barriers or gaps were”.

Dr Croll says the difference this time is the academic schools are fully behind the programme, and the partnerships they have with secondary schools are more effective as a result.

“Our team has a good partnership with the academic schools but school support is absolutely crucial as well. We have contact teachers for each of the schools we’re in and they’re a key link between us and pupils, because it’s the teachers we rely on to identify who’s got potential. They know their pupils and the programme has performed very well because of that link.”

The initial stages of the programme involved about six months of discussion with authorities and schools to get them on board with the programme and see what kind of involvement would be feasible, he says.

“From these discussions we were able to start working with S4/S5/S6 students across four subjects at the University, and the result has been participants from these courses successfully studying these subjects here.”

In 2017 the first cohort of REACH medical entrants at the University of Glasgow graduated and their performance “completely busts” any old myths about adjusted offers, he says.

“Our graduates this year performed exactly at the same level as those coming from more affluent areas. Now the professional schools are saying the quality of graduates has actually increased, because there’s that much more diversity in the student cohort, which better prepares graduates when they go out to practice medicine in a diverse world.

Croll says REACH has also made an impact on schools and local authorities. Those that might have doubted the programme changed their belief system once they saw pupils succeeding where they hadn’t previously, giving them confidence to encourage the next generation to follow.

“If something is working then word gets round pretty quick – even more quickly, if it’s not.”

Student perspective

Orla Macpherson became involved with the REACH programme after deciding in secondary school that she wanted to pursue a career in medicine.

“Around my third year I started to think about what I wanted to do. I’d seen a few documentaries and thought it would be amazing to do medicine. It’s a career where you continue to learn and develop even when you’ve finished university and I enjoyed biology and science subjects at school.”

Through the REACH programme Orla attended two to three workshops per year that were focused around supporting her application to study medicine at the University, and ensuring she was on track to get the required grades.

“Probably the highlight of those workshops for me was the summer school programme, which is hosted at the university for a week. It coincides with the university’s general Open Day so as well as getting shown around you’re also getting to see lots of mini-lectures from doctors in different specialities.”

“You meet a wide variety of people from both medical and non-medical backgrounds who share different perspectives with you about studying medicine, and even just what university life is like, which is really useful.”

The programme also helps students prepare for required tests like the University Clinical Aptitude Test (UCAT). This can be a particular barrier for students who don’t come from schools or families well-acquainted with the process of applying to medical schools, and who are unlikely to have anyone to explain the application process or even how to prepare for the test.

“It’s not very well known – it was never mentioned at school and the fee ranges from £65 to £87. That’s not something everyone can afford straight up, but a REACH tutor can help in terms of discussing payment options with you like the bursary scheme, on top of the interview preparation workshop they provide.”

That makes a huge difference she says, because while the information might be out there it’s not always clear where to look.

“Probably the best part of the programme is having that person to touch base with you.

Someone who can provide that information, support and encouragement to keep you going the whole way – from the decision to study medicine to the application process,” she says.

“You always know you’ve got someone supporting you and that’s really important if nobody else in your school or family has done something like this before.”

Barriers are different for every student, and some still struggle around expectations to be on full-time placement and keep up with studying and coursework through their fourth and fifth years, particularly those who need to work to support family or have significant travel costs, but support services and financial aid is also available through the University.

Orla says there’s still work to be done to reach those who have the most barriers to higher education and access to medicine, but the programme is making great progress.
Now in her third year of medicine at Glasgow, she has returned the favour by helping out with the REACH workshops she benefitted from and is actively involved in campus events as student mentor and other related activities and societies within medicine. “It’s just great to be able to help out and give back,” she says.

Teacher perspective

REACH pupils at St Peter the Apostle High School in West Dumbartonshire.From a roll of around 1600 at St Peter the Apostle High School in West Dumbartonshire, roughly 50-60 pupils put themselves forward for the REACH programme each year, says Mick Dolan.

A teacher for 40 years, Mick is the local school coordinator for the REACH programme and part of his role involves promoting the programme to young people.

“Our role is to invite the kids to show an interest and take part. REACH makes a substantial difference in getting them into university, but even so the work required of them is substantial in itself. So there is still a bit of a filtering process, because we always want to students be engaged in the programme that’s right for them.”

REACH provides students with a real awareness of what they’re getting themselves in for, he says.

“We do have a number of kids who make an informed choice not to continue, but that in itself is a plus because if studying law is not going to engage you, then it’s far better to find that out in school.”

Those who go through take part in organised tutor sessions in-school, with assistance from the University. Tutors guide them through the programme and they have to complete a short assignment targeted at getting them to focus on what the subject area is focused on and how they see themselves developing.

The programme continues with a university visit in the first year but Mick says the second year is most significant, when pupils continue with school sessions and an assignment towards a week spent at the university in June.

“That week at the university really crystallises all their ambition and helps give them all the information they need to complete their UCAS application in sixth year.”

Beyond helping students into these subjects, the programme delivers a number of wider benefits, he says.

“First of all it creates an ambitious group of achievers. Children begin to find each other in a way they may not have in a big school, all expressing a determination to do well. That benefits us as a school and their wider peer group benefit from having a group of pupils expressing a definite intention to do very best that they can.”

He also speaks highly of the University’s widening access team.

“The team who run the programme are very supportive and always willing to help and engage with pupils. They’re not just there as administrators but are very actively engaged with the kids – they know what their ambitions are, what their essay submissions are like, and how they’re engaging with the programme.

“Neil [Croll] and Scott [Iguchi-Sherry, Senior REACH Programme Coordinator] have been two key factors. Neil has a very grounded vision of what the programme should do in the way of support for kids and Scott’s day-to-day engagement with it is fantastic.

Having taught for 40 years, he believes the success of the programme speaks for itself.

“When I started teaching here it was an absolute rarity to have a pupil accepted for medicine. The year that my son finished we had two people go into medicine, two in dentistry, four in law and one in veterinary medicine. That would’ve been absolutely unheard of before the REACH programme – it’s opened up doors for kids in a way that’s never been done before.”

Mick says one of the programme’s big successes is seeing kids who go through finish their courses.

“That in itself is really significant for me because I live and work locally. So, for a number of years it was a big frustration bumping into able kids I’d taught, only to discover they’d given up on the course they’d started out on.”

“For me now to be talking to kids studying these subjects at university is really quite rewarding.”

The Scottish Framework for Fair Access will be launched at the University of Edinburgh on Tuesday 7 May.

The Framework has been developed in response to Recommendation 2 of the Commission on Widening Access and comprises two pillars:

The launch event, taking place between 9.30 – 12.30pm, will provide delegates with the opportunity to hear from those involved in the Framework’s design and development, and keynote addresses from Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science, Richard Lochhead MSP and the Commissioner for Fair Access, Sir Professor Peter Scott.

An optional workshop focusing on the evaluation of access interventions will take place from 12.30 – 1.30pm immediately following the launch.

Event Programme [PDF]

The event is free but anyone wishing to attend must register via the online form by 12pm on Tuesday, 30 April 2019.

New figures from the Scottish Funding Council show that a record 296,695 students studied higher education courses at Scotland’s universities and colleges in 2017-18. Today’s report also shows a record number of Scottish domiciled students entering the system last year at first degree level (37,410).

The report, which looks at the provision of higher education and student attainment over a ten-year period, additionally found that the number of students gaining a qualification reached an all-time high. Of the 104,160 students leaving university or college with a higher education qualification, almost 67% achieved graduate-level qualifications.

Karen Watt, Chief Executive of the Scottish Funding Council, said:

“The good news from these figures is that more students living in Scotland are benefitting from higher education courses than ever before. For students graduating from our world-leading universities and colleges this means better life chances and career prospects. For Scotland’s economy it means a more highly-skilled and adaptable work force.”

Today also sees the publication of Scottish Funding Council statistics on the numbers of students eligible for funding at Scotland’s 19 universities.

The report shows that between 2014-15 and 2018-19, there was a 17.8% increase in the number of taught postgraduate students, a 7.6% increase in the number of research postgraduate students, and a 1.9% increase in the number of undergraduate students.

Over 40% of the increase in taught postgraduates was due to increased enrolments on Initial Teacher Education courses. A change in tuition fee arrangements in 2017-18, enabling taught postgraduate students to borrow up to £5,500 for tuition fees and a further £4,500 for living expenses is also likely to have contributed to the 4.2% increase in taught postgraduate students numbers in 2018-19.

Both reports as well as a statistical release on college staffing data can be found on the SFC website.