Inverness College, to which Graham Clark of Falkirk College moves as principal in March, is set to grow from 6,000 students to 16,000 in the next 10 years.
A much larger number of students from the rest of the United Kingdom is predicted because Inverness will be a main centre of the University of the Highlands and Islands, which it is hoped will be fully underway earlier in the new century.
Paul Hafren, acting principal, said that following a cost-saving programme including 15-20 voluntary redundancies, a financial surplus was predicted for the first time in years.