College sector overview report 2023 to 2024: Recommendations

To address the findings outlined in the Key Insights, the following are recommendations for colleges and national bodies to improve the quality of provision and services across Scotland’s colleges.

1. Improving Learner Outcomes

• Use data-driven approaches and early interventions to improve retention and successful completion rates for:
  • full-time learners;
  • care experienced learners and other key groups; and,
  • individual colleges and subject areas with low performance.

2. Strengthening Staff Engagement

• Improve staff participation in evaluative activities, ensuring that:
  • staff take account of stakeholder feedback to inform forward planning; and,
  • learner outcomes improve.

3. Enhancing Curriculum Design

• Evaluate and adjust the curriculum portfolio to:
  • address poorly performing programmes; and,
  • align more effectively with learner and employer needs.
• Establish consistent arrangements for the development, monitoring and evaluation of meta and wider skills to support learner progression and employability.

4. Supporting Learner Representation

• Strengthen arrangements for learner representation by:
  • increasing awareness of student association officers and their roles; and,
  • ensuring all learners are engaged in supporting college improvement.

5. Fostering Collaboration and Professional Development

• Provide staff with more opportunities to share and learn from effective practice.
• Increase the number of teaching staff with a Teaching Qualification in Further Education (TQFE) or equivalent.
• Support the registration of teaching staff with GTCS, in line with national agreements, to enhance professional standards across the sector.