Fears over the merger of two north-east colleges have proved unfounded, students attending a graduation ceremony heard yesterday.
North East Scotland College (NESCol) principal Rob Wallen made the comment as he welcomed guests to the new seat of learning’s first awards ceremony at Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom. The event took place almost exactly a year after Aberdeen College merged with Banff and Buchan College.
Speaking of the merger, he said: “I know there were some students last year who feared that merger would lead to disruption, a reduction in provision or a diminution of the quality of service provided to students.
“But as we can now demonstrate, that is far from being the case. The range of courses across all of our campuses has been maintained, and we have worked hard to ensure the same high standards apply in all parts of the college.”
He also took the opportunity to discuss improvements to the college including the upgrading of facilities at Aberdeen’s Gallowgate campus, and the start of an £8million project in Fraserburgh to build new facilities for engineering, construction, motor vehicles and science.
“Of course, there’s more to a college than its buildings,” he explained.
“But having high quality premises and equipment is an essential part of providing a great experience for students and we are proud that we have been able to get on with this work now, using our own reserves, rather than having to wait for central government funding, which these days is in such short supply.”
Mr Wallen went on to congratulate the students receiving their awards, saying: “We are here to focus on the most important success of all – the success of our students in achieving Higher National qualifications which offer them a passport into work or in some cases into the advanced years of university programmes if they choose to study further.
“I commend all of you for the hard work that you put in to achieve these awards, I congratulate all of you on your success and I wish you all the very best in your future careers.”