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Chapter 5: Learning environments

A. CONTEXT

5.1 The WS Atkins survey, which the then Scottish Further Education Funding Council ( SFEFC) commissioned in 2000, identified considerable capital investment needs across Scotland, but particularly in Glasgow and the West of Scotland. In general, however, as the chart below illustrates, the majority of Scotland's colleges' estate was at, or nearing, the end of its useful life.

Chart 11 Colleges

5.2 In recognition of the huge capital investment need across Scotland, the Funding Council's capital budget has been increased significantly by the Scottish Executive over a relatively short period of time. This can clearly be seen in the table below:

Chart 12 Capital Budgets

B. THE CURRENT CAPITAL PROGRAMME

5.3 There are currently 13 projects, with a total capital value exceeding £350m, either in construction or complete within the sector. A further three college projects are due to be on site during FY 2007-08, although two of these are on hold pending the outcome of the 2007 spending review ( SR 2007).

5.4 The table below sets out the anticipated construction profile for the existing committed college projects, in terms of how they will be committing Scottish Funding Council ( SFC) capital funds. The profile illustrates the relatively long timescale involved in setting up and implementing a capital programme on this scale, straddling as it does SR 2004 and SR 2007.

Chart 13 Anticipated Construction Profile for existing projects ( SFC funds)

5.5. In summary, there has been a significant shift towards major campus redevelopments, or even complete relocations, during the last two to three years. This will continue over the next three years as a consequence of the major capital investment provided by the Scottish Executive.

5.6 Such developments effectively provide a step change in how colleges can deliver their curricula. This, in turn, transforms the student experience and the way in which the business world perceives, and engages with, colleges at a local and national level.

C. RELATED ACTIVITY

Sustainability

5.7 In addition to the John Wheatley East End Campus, the Funding Council continues to support sustainable development in the following ways:

• the establishment of the Sustainable Development Forum's Education Policy Network as a vehicle for coordinating the Council's sustainable development learning and teaching policy;
• the extension of the Environmental Association for Universities and Colleges Campus Sustainability Programme ( CaSPr); and
• post-project evaluations of three sustainability projects: John Wheatley Glasgow East End Campus, Lauder College sustainable construction facility and Queen Margaret University Edinburgh campus relocation.

Spaces for Learning

5.8 In 2005, the Scottish Funding Council commissioned Alexi Marmot Associates ( AMA) to undertake a review of learning spaces in further and higher education. The report, published in 2006, identifies the key trends in how spaces for learning are being developed across both sectors. The report is available from the SFC website ⁴⁴.

E-Activity

5.9 The SQA is committed to increasing the use of e-assessment to support delivery of its qualifications. Its work and plans in this area reflect the wider trend of increased use of ICT to support teaching and learning. This increased use of ICT within the learning and assessment process will have significant implications for the infrastructure within Scotland's colleges, both in the availability of the appropriate technology and in the way in which colleges are designed and managed to make the most effective use of this technology.

5.10 It is essential that the SQA works closely with Scotland's colleges to develop approaches that inform, and are informed by, existing and planned infrastructure. Some of the main challenges are to make the most effective possible use of existing infrastructure, for example college Virtual Learning Environments ( VLEs), and to develop new approaches that keep pace with developments in technology and in learners' experiences and expectations of the use of this technology in their daily lives.

Accessibility and Inclusion

5.11 The BRITE Centre ⁴⁵ was established in 2002 and is based at Stevenson College Edinburgh. It continues to support Scotland's colleges in the effective use of enabling technologies to support students with disabilities and additional support needs.

D. THE QUALITATIVE IMPACT OF CAPITAL INVESTMENT

D1. The Qualitative Impact of Investment in Estates

5.12 The development of new college estates has had a positive impact on:

• learners - in regards to recruitment, retention and achievement;
• staff - in regards to their working environment, use of ICT and teaching methodology; and
• employers - in regards to services provided by the college.

5.13 The Commission for Architecture and Built Environment ( CABE) produced a report, published in 2006, entitled 'Measuring the Impact of Architecture and Design on the Performance of Higher Education Institutions' ⁴⁶. The report found that:

• well-designed buildings on a campus are a significant factor in the recruitment of staff and students;
• such buildings also have a positive impact upon retention rates; and
• 80% of staff, and many students, surveyed believed that these buildings impacted positively upon their performance. Students referred to the motivating and, in some cases, inspiring effects of well-designed buildings.

5.14 The recently published 'Analysis of HMIE Reviews of Quality and Standards in Further Education' ⁴⁷ indicates that some interesting patterns have emerged linking the quality of learning and teaching to the condition of facilities within a college. Between 2004 and 2006, 19 out of Scotland's 43 colleges were reviewed and 134 individual subject areas evaluated. Almost all learning and teaching (99%) was evaluated as either good or very good. The report also indicated other significant factors that have either a positive or negative impact on learning and teaching.

5.15 In 13% of the other significant factors recorded by HMIE, high standards of accommodation and equipment were reported as having a positive impact on learning and teaching. No other factors were identified so frequently. High quality accommodation and equipment provides a professional working environment which meets the needs of learners well by simulating the working environments they are likely to encounter when they commence employment.

5.16 Emphasising this further, poor standards of accommodation and equipment were the most commonly identified other significant factor impacting negatively on learning and teaching - 22% of those negative factors identified. The main negative theme which emerged from the other significant factors was that, in more than a few cases, accommodation was poorly designed and ventilated and lacked appropriate space.

5.17 Nine colleges, which had all recently improved their estates, responded to a questionnaire about the qualitative benefits derived from improved college estates. A number of themes emerged:

• bright and open social spaces were often used as part of the learning environment, encouraging the use of internet cafes, IT learning breakout tutorial spaces, and shared areas for staff and students to discuss issues in an informal way;
• improved environments often seemed to assist with general well-being and improved retention rates and, in turn, early achievement rates;
• estates development often leads to an increase in institutional confidence; and
• new purpose-built estates operate at a higher level of efficiency. Improved mechanical and electrical systems for ventilation, heating and lighting ensure that buildings are more environmentally friendly.

5.18 Large scale educational redevelopments are often part of an associated regeneration activity where there becomes a greater acceptance of the college as a key contributor to the local economy. The regeneration activity is often achieved as part of a relocation to a new college site.

5.19 New estates are not only used as a public relations and marketing tool to attract increasing number of students, but also to attract greater use of the facility by the business and wider communities.

5.20 Estates in the schools sector are currently undergoing renewal on a large scale. It is essential that the improvement of facilities in the college sector also continues apace in order that all of Scotland's college students can be educated in outstanding, fit for purpose accommodation.

5.21 Annex H contains a number of quotations from staff and students on their experience of new or improved college estates.

D2. The Qualitative Impact of Investment in Learning Resources

5.22 The benefits of investing in learning resources, including equipment, are widespread. We include the following as illustrations ⁴⁸:

• the success of the Beattie Resources for Inclusiveness in Technology and Education ( BRITE) initiative (see footnote 42), including the 'virtual classroom';
• the use of portable white boards, which have specific benefits for certain disabled students;
• the use of speech recognition software, large size mouse and keyboard;
• CCTV text magnifiers for visually impaired people; and
• adjustable height work surfaces and desks.

E. DEVELOPING A NEW CAPITAL INVESTMENT POLICY

5.23 The SFC has begun to consider the direction its capital investment policy should take now that the most urgent cases of backlog maintenance have been addressed.

5.24 The new SFC Corporate Plan 2006-2009 has as its Aim 7: Scotland's colleges, universities and SFC to be highly effective, world-class organisations. Within that aim, the plan sets two relevant objectives:

• Objective 3: High quality buildings, facilities and equipment. This states that SFC will: provide both formula-based and project funding to support the infrastructure for learning, teaching and research.
• Objective 4: Sustainable investment and development in colleges and universities. This states that SFC will: require and support colleges and universities to implement strategies to ensure the sustainability of their productive capacity including their financial, human, physical and environmental resources.

5.25 The SFC Corporate Plan Strategic Action 68 states that it will:

establish the evidence base to allow the Council to consider how and when colleges and universities could be provided with a sustainable capital funding stream, sufficient to allow them to renew and replace their buildings on an ongoing basis.

5.26 This Action implies a move away from the funding of large, individual, bids-based projects to a more strategic asset management funding regime where the emphasis is on providing colleges with funds, year on year, sufficient to allow them to implement their estate strategies over a period of time, and to maintain their estates in good and relevant condition on an ongoing basis ( i.e. sustainable reinvestment).

5.27 To date, the capital resources provided to the SFC have been broadly directed to the projects demonstrating the greatest strategic and estate need, as identified in the WS Atkins survey from 2000. Solutions have been, or are being, implemented for nearly half of Scotland's colleges, with business cases at various stages of development for the majority of the remainder of the colleges (including some of the larger colleges in the sector). The SFC therefore commissioned work which aimed to examine both:

• the remaining investment backlog across Scotland's colleges; and
• the possible ongoing capital investment needs for colleges.

5.28 The report concluded that there remains a capital investment backlog in the region of £400m-£450m, a significant proportion of which is accounted for by the four city centre colleges in Glasgow. It split the sector into three categories:

• 'green' colleges (18, once the current projects are complete). These colleges will require sufficient funds, year on year, to allow sustainable reinvestment, i.e. through enhanced formula capital funding from the SFC;
• 'amber' colleges (18 of these). These are colleges of which the majority (but not all) could have their estates needs addressed through enhanced formula funding, supplemented, where justified, by 'top up' funding; and
• 'red' colleges (predominantly Glasgow city centre), who will continue to require the project-based approach to capital funding in the short to medium term.

5.29 The report further concluded that, at the point where all Scotland's colleges could effectively be treated as 'green', there was an ongoing capital investment need of approximately £45 million per annum (at today's prices).

F. FINANCING THE SCENARIOS

F1. Background

5.30 The SLALE group considered two possible scenarios for financing the ongoing commitments, as well as the investment backlog and the move towards a 'steady state'. For these purposes, the sector has been split into four categories. The 'green', 'red' and 'amber' colleges remain as defined above. Meanwhile, the 'yellow' colleges refer to SFC's known commitments beyond the end of the current spending review period, i.e. where the college has submitted a business case in support of major capital funds and the SFC has made an in-principle offer of support or where the college is actually in the process of delivering its project. The two options are set out below:

F2. Uncapped scenario

Note: this is possible SFCFE capital investment by year (uncapped)

5.31 Under this scenario, it is assumed that sufficient funds are made available from SR 2007 to allow the Council's existing commitments to be met in full through capital grant support and to allow the 'amber' colleges to move relatively quickly into a 'green' state. It is also assumed that the Glasgow city centre colleges are funded through a combination of capital grant injection and some form of loan support (and so the red tail in the graph would continue for a period of 20-25 years).

5.32 The Group's main concern with this scenario was the capacity of the sector to absorb the relatively high amounts of capital grant made available in the early years.

F3. Capped Scenario

Note: this is possible SFCFE capital investment by year (capped)

5.33 Under this scenario, the key assumption is that the capital funding from SR 2007 onwards is capped at £100m per annum. Meeting its existing commitments within this constraint would require the Council to spread its contribution across a longer time period through a combination of direct capital grant and loan support (represented by the yellow tail in the graph).

5.34 The group's main concern with this scenario was the cost implication for the projects being delivered and the consequent affordability for the colleges, given that construction cost inflation is currently estimated at between 6 and 8% per annum.

F4. Public Private Partnership ( PPP)

5.35 The Group did consider two further scenarios under which the Glasgow city centre colleges' project could be financed through PPP. Whilst some members of the Group expressed concerns about the use of this procurement method within the college sector, it was recognised that PPP does play a part in a balanced investment portfolio (and one in which conventional capital investment remains dominant). PPP remains a minority investment tool in public sector procurement, and HM Treasury guidance ⁴⁹ notes that PPP is not suitable for projects with capital values of less than £20m, which would preclude many of the projects within the college sector. The Glasgow city centre estates project is an obvious exception, and in the interests of securing best value for public investment, all procurement routes should be investigated.

5.36 One of the key concerns articulated by members related to a potential loss of management control over curriculum and timetabling. It was noted that colleges must be able to adapt their accommodation to respond quickly and flexibly to changes in learner expectations and business requirements. It was recognised, however, that there had been much progress in the delivery of flexibilities within the PPP market and that an improved understanding of sector-specific issues would be helpful in this regard.

Conclusion

5.37 Modern, effective and inspiring learning environments are central to ensuring that our colleges continue their unrivalled contribution to delivering on the skills needs of Scotland. Every year, colleges provide learning in over 4,000 sites across Scotland for approximately 10% of the population. Meanwhile, over 90% of the population live within 30 minutes of a college. Our proposal aims to provide future generations of Scotland's learners with sustainable 21st century learning environments and state-of-the-art facilities. It will support the ongoing transformation of the teaching estate into modern, flexible, fit-for-purpose buildings; buildings that are energy efficient and sustainable and which provide facilities to support student-centred learning and up-to-date teaching methods; in effect, world-class environments for those working and studying in our colleges. Such buildings will also deliver efficiencies in the sector by stimulating more efficient procurement and estate management practices and by encouraging collaboration, best use of resources and the sharing of backroom services.

5.38 Just as importantly, continued investment in the college estate will protect and enhance Scotland's world-class reputation for high quality teaching and knowledge transfer; ensure that our colleges remain attractive for staff and students within and outwith Scotland; and enable our colleges to continue to act as agents for Scotland's future social, cultural and economic growth.

G. SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS ON LEARNING ENVIRONMENTS

30. We recommend that sufficient capital funding is allocated to realise the benefits that can be derived from improved estates, and acknowledge that continuing investment is needed to clear the maintenance and improvement backlog and sustain new estates and refurbished campuses. In order to achieve this, annual investment averaging around £150m would be required for a number of years.

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