Report highlights success of Highland and Islands colleges

A new report has revealed that 70.3% of full-time students successfully completed their studies at Highlands and Islands colleges in the 2017 to 2018 academic year. This is considerably higher than the national average figure, which shows that 66.1% of students passed further education courses at Scottish colleges in the period. The region’s results are also higher than the previous year, increasing by 2.8 percentage points.

The statistics were published in the Scottish Funding Council’s college performance indicators report this week. The number of part-time students who successfully completed their courses at Highlands and Islands colleges was also found to be higher than average.

The Highlands and Islands further education region consists of North Highland College UHI, Orkney College UHI, Shetland College UHI, Argyll College UHI, West Highland College UHI, Lews Castle College UHI, Moray College UHI, Inverness College UHI and Perth College UHI. The University of the Highlands and Islands Court, through the Further Education Regional Board, is accountable for all college and university-level education in the Highlands and Islands.

Dr Michael Foxley, chair of the Highland and Islands Further Education Regional Board, welcomed the report’s findings saying: “The results show a significant improvement on last year, with students at University of the Highlands and Islands colleges performing well above the Scottish average. They are a testament to the dedication of our staff as well as the hard work of our students. The findings are particularly great for our students, who will be able to progress onto further courses or to access employment opportunities.”

The Scottish Funding Council’s College Performance Indicators 2017-18 statistical publication is available on the Scottish Funding Council website.