Aberdeen College is the largest further education college in Scotland. It was formed from the amalgamation of the former Aberdeen Technical College, Aberdeen College of Commerce and Clinterty Agricultural College.
The main college centre is based at the Gallowgate in Aberdeen, but the College has a number of other centres, including Altens, Clinterty, Peterhead and Inverurie and also provides training in over 100 community settings throughout Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire.
Aberdeen College fulfils a critical role in developing the skills base and economy of Aberdeen and the North-east Scotland. Operating across four major subject areas: Business, Computing & Landbased; Creative Industries, Sport and Languages; Engineering & Construction, Care, Service Industries & Social Sciences, total full-time and part-time student enrolments currently number around 35,000 to 50,000.
Aberdeen College also has a wide range of resources available to students to help them with studies which include;
BECTA Beacon Award winning IT/IS infrastructure, managed by RM plc.
IT Centres: All College Centres are equipped with their own IT Centres. The Gallowgate houses the largest with over 260 computer workstations in a custom built environment.
The Library: Available to all students and staff on or off campus. The main library is at the Gallowgate Centre and there are also libraries at Clinterty, and Altens. The Library at each site holds resources to cater for the courses run at that site, plus general reference material, careers resources and newspapers.
Blackboard Virtual Learning Environment system
Other resources include a Multimedia Centre, Hair & Beauty Academy and Video Conferencing facilities.
ISO Standard for Environmental Systems
In June 2009 the College received accreditation to the ISO 14001:2004 Standard for Environmental Systems. The Standard provides a framework for an organisation to control the environmental impacts of its activities, products and services, and to continually improve its environmental performance.
Matrix Standard Accreditation[1]
Following a rigorous assessment in June 2009, the College's guidance service was accredited with the matrix Standard. The matrix Standard is the national quality standard for any organisation that delivers information, advice and/or guidance on learning and work. Currently there are only nine education establishments in Scotland who have been successfully accredited against this national standard - eight universities and Aberdeen College.
Scotland's Healthy Working Lives Mental Health and Well-being Commendation Award[2]
In October 2008 the College learned that it had been successful in achieving this award. This Commendation Award sets a workplace standard for good practice in promoting positive mental health and well-being, supporting staff with mental health problems in the workplace and reducing barriers to recruiting staff with a history of mental health problems. The College is the first educational establishment in Scotland to receive the award, and is one of only eight Scottish organisations who currently hold the award.
Customer Excellence Standard[3]
The College has held the Charter Mark continuously since 1994, reflecting its commitment to customer service. In 2008 the Charter Mark was replaced by a new Standard – Customer Excellence Standard. The College first achieved the new Standard following an assessment visit in June 2008, and in June 2009 was successfully reassessed with a grading of 100% compliance awarded for the second time.
ISO Standard for Complaints Handling
Aberdeen College has held the BSI standard ISO 1002:2004 for Complaints Handling since 2007. The College is audited annually to ensure it continues to meet the standard. An audit was carried out in March 2009 which found 100% compliance, confirming that the College continues to meet the standard.
Investors in People Standard
The College has been awarded the Investors in People (IIP) standard 4 times, and in 2006 received an IIP 10 Year Achievement Award and the IIP People Development Award for Scotland. In 2008-09 the College successfully maintained its Investors in People status.
AoC Beacon Awards 2008-09[4]
The College won the FENC Award for Creative Production, Adaptation and Delivery of Learning Resources in November 2008. The award was presented in recognition of the College’s development and innovative use of high quality electronic learning in all areas of programme delivery.
2009 Becta Next Generation Learning Awards: "Special Award for Achieving Efficiency and Effectiveness"[5]
At the Becta Awards Ceremony at the Science Museum in London on 4 March, the College received the Highly Commended award in the General FE category and received a special award for efficiency and effectiveness in the use of IT.
Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA)
For the sixth consecutive year, Aberdeen College received the RoSPA Gold Award for Occupational Health and Safety. RoSPA Gold Award winners have achieved a very high level of performance, demonstrating well developed occupational health and safety management systems and culture, outstanding control of risk and very low levels of error and harm. In acknowledgment for achieving the award for six consecutive years the College was also presented with its second Gold Medal.
British Safety Council (BSC) International Safety Award[6]
The International Safety Awards scheme is devised to recognise and reward organisations that show a commitment to improving corporate health and safety. The award is also acknowledged by the Health and Safety Executive as a powerful motivator for achieving high safety standards. Aberdeen College received this award in February 2009.
RoSPA MORR Award[7]
RoSPA MORR Awards reward excellence and encourage improvement in managing occupational driver road safety. The College received a silver award in April 2009 after meeting specific criteria including, a satisfactory occupational health and safety management systems and culture, action on health issues, and a reduction of accident rates.
SQA Star Awards 2008-09[8]
At the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) Star Awards ceremony held in November 2008 Aberdeen Skills and Enterprise Training Limited, the College’s wholly owned subsidiary company, received the International SQA Star Award, which recognises the work of SQA centres delivering SQA qualifications to international candidates in Scotland and abroad.