September 2024 Principal's Blog: One Campus
Welcome to our first UHI Shetland Principal’s Blog with Principal Jane Lewis.
Over the last few weeks, it has been great to welcome students back to college for the start of the new academic year. A daunting time for some who are changing to a new place of learning but more comfortable for others returning to ongoing courses. We have had the usual programme of inductions, fresher’s week activities and getting underway with our learning.
Going nto the new academic year, our financial situation continues to be challenging, and we are still working to put the college on a sustainable footing. We are doing this against a backdrop of stringent public sector funding cuts which have seen an 8.5% real terms reduction in funding for colleges from 21/22 to 23/24 (Audit Scotland, Scotland’s Colleges 2023 Scotland's colleges 2023 | Audit Scotland).
Additionally in this period there have been rises in the cost of living, not least for the college an increase in energy costs – non-domestic energy costs having risen by 66% across the period 2021 to 2024. In common with other Scottish colleges our financial position remains perilous (Audit Scotland, Scotland’s Colleges 2024 Scotland's colleges 2024 | Audit Scotland).
Substantial operational costs for our college are incurred for both our campuses. Maintenance, heating, lighting, rent, and other costs amount to some £250,000 per year for our Scalloway Campus and for Lerwick some £340,000 per year.
Both ageing campuses will need substantial maintenance input in the coming years as well as being in need of upgrade and improvement, notably to meet our Net Zero commitments.
Usage surveys of our teaching spaces show that both campuses are underutilised compared to sector norms; with an average usage of around 25% whereas utilisation of rooms would be deemed ‘good’ at around 50-60%, according to the Guidance on the Effective Management of Space of Scotland colleges (GEMS). This is the case across both campuses; with some specialist areas having higher occupancy rates.
Considering this and as part of our recovery work, the College Board has made the decision to reduce the college to one campus and to explore the feasibility of this move being to Scalloway. This will preserve our limited student accommodation, access to the sea and specialist engineering and laboratory facilities. Other facilities and teaching spaces will need to be accommodated on the Scalloway site, but there are unused buildings on the campus that we would hope to repurpose to accommodate Shetland’s training and learning needs for the future.
We are also keen to ensure some Lerwick based provision. Gremista, where the Lerwick Campus is currently situated, is not easily accessible, whereas a base in the heart of Lerwick would be beneficial for students and the local economy. We will be working with stakeholders such as the Shetland Islands Council to look for a suitable space.
We have started meetings with staff and students to establish our future needs. Over the coming year we will consult further with staff, students, and our stakeholders to develop plans for change. We anticipate these changes will likely take some 3-4 years to implement to see a single campus for UHI Shetland come to fruition.
Our aim is a modern, welcoming and campus, meeting the future needs of a tertiary college for Shetland, students, and staff, providing the education needed to support industries in the isles. We hope our current and future students, staff, stakeholders, and the community will engage with us over the coming year to help us shape the future of UHI Shetland.