REVIEW OF SCOTLAND'S COLLEGES [SEETLLD DCMWG-P13]
WORKING GROUP: THE DIFFERENCE COLLEGES MAKE
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TAKING FORWARD CONSIDERATION OF THE DIFFERENCE COLLEGES COULD MAKE
Purpose
1. To seek members agreement on whether (and how) to take forward consideration of the difference colleges could make if additional funding were allocated as a result of the next Spending Review.
Background
2. Paper 12 (Proposed Revised Timescale and Remit of Working Group) was discussed at the Group's meeting on 31 March. A copy of that paper is attached for ease of reference as Annex A.
3. The Group concluded that further information was required on the work expected of it before any decisions could be taken.
Need for Further Work
4. One of the primary purposes of the Review of Scotland's Colleges is to provide a robust evidence base to prepare for the next Spending Review (which will be in 2007).
5. The Group's 'Unlocking Opportunity' report, which outlines the current difference colleges make, provides evidence of the impact of the existing spend on Scotland's colleges. The Review's Long-Term Strategic Future Working Group is considering the strategic direction the sector should be taking over the next 10-15 years. The Review's Staffing, Learners and Learning Environments Working Group and the Accountability and Governance Working Group will be examining among other things, the potential costs of the matters they are considering.
6. In preparing for the 2007 Spending Review there are therefore likely to be gaps in the evidence base for future spending on matters not associated with:
n staff development;
n learning environments; and
n accountability and governance.
7. Consequently, it would be helpful if the Difference Colleges Make Working Group could gather evidence on the difference colleges could make if additional funding were allocated as a result of the next Spending Review on matters not mentioned in paragraph 6.
Nature of the Task
8. We suggest that the nature of the task is to identify, cost and evaluate the pressures and opportunities that the college sector is likely to face in financial years 2008-09 to 2010-11 to help inform stakeholders in formulating their own Spending Review case. It is not for the Working Group to advise on which matters additional resources should be directed. That is rightly a matter for each stakeholder organisation to consider in the light of their own priorities.
9. This work could perhaps be undertaken by:
n identifying the pressures (such as say the potential loss of European funding) and opportunities (say growth in college activity);
n estimating the costs (this could include a range of costs, such as £xm for y student hours and £xxm for z student hours); and
n evaluating the difference that such funding could make to learners, the economy and wider society.
Membership of the Working Group
10. The Group may which to consider whether the composition of the Working Group best suits a new remit. Some organisations may no longer wish to contribute to the Group's work. There may also be other organisations not currently represented on the Group who should now be invited to join. Similarly, there may be some individuals representing organisations who feel that another person would be better placed to represent their organisations, given their responsibilities. A list of the organisations represented on the Working Group is attached as Annex B.
Action
11. The Group is invited to agree to:
a) continue to meet regularly during 2006; and
b) extend its remit to include "to examine the difference that colleges could make if additional funding were allocated as a result of the next Spending Review".
12. Assuming the Group is content to extend its remit, the Group is invited to:
a) comment on the proposed nature of the task outlined in paragraphs 8 and 9;
b) identify pressures and opportunities that should be considered by the Group;
c) consider its membership.
Reviews Team:
Review of Scotland 's Colleges
May 2006
ANNEX A
[SEETLLD DCMWG-P11]
REVIEW OF SCOTLAND 'S COLLEGES
WORKING GROUP: THE DIFFERENCE COLLEGES MAKE
PROPOSED REVISED TIMESCALE AND REMIT OF WORKING GROUP
Purpose
1. To seek members agreement for the Working Group to continue to meet and for a revised remit.
Background
2. At the second meeting of the Core Group on 21 February, members of the Group expressed a desire for the Working Group to continue to meet to refine its report on the Difference Colleges Make to ensure a robust and up-to-date evidence base is available for the next Spending Review. The Core group also requested that the Working Group extend its remit to include consideration of the difference colleges could make if additional funding were allocated as a result of the next Spending Review.
Current Remit
3. The remit of the Review of Scotland's Colleges is to:
"provide Scottish Ministers with a robust evidence base, and where appropriate, informed recommendations for change, upon which sound decisions can be taken on how to fund and equip Scotland's colleges to meet future challenges and demands. In particular the review will:
(a) examine the difference colleges make (to the learner, the economy and wider society), including:
· the full range of colleges' current activity (and the corresponding funding streams)
· the full range of learners benefiting from college opportunities
· the changed nature and level of college activity since incorporation in 1993
· costs, efficiency of colleges and benchmarking
· the full range of college competitors and partners
· outcomes for the learner, economy and wider society, including knowledge transfer encompassing quantitative (in appropriate time series) and qualitative information"
Action
4. The Working Group is invited to agree to:
a. continue to meet regularly during 2006; and
b. extend its remit to include "to examine the difference that colleges could make if additional funding were allocated as a result of the next Spending Review".
Reviews Team:
Review of Scotland's Colleges
March 2006
ANNEX B
MEMBERSHIP OF THE DIFFERENCE COLLEGES MAKE WORKING GROUP
Association of Scottish Colleges
Careers Scotland
Communities Scotland
Equalities Co-ordinating Group
HMIE
National Union of Students Scotland
Scottish Chambers of Commerce
Scottish Enterprise
Scottish Executive
Scottish Funding Council for Further and Higher Education
Scottish Trades Union Congress
Scottish Qualifications Authority
Sector Skills Development Agency
SKILL Scotland