The Scottish Funding Council (SFC) today published three crucial reports - College Performance Indicators for 2015-16, assessing if the sector has met the government’s targets on provision and delivery, the sector’s first student satisfaction and engagement survey, and College Statistics 2015-16 - which offers an annual overview of the provision offered by the sector.

• According to the SFC, the sector exceeded its student number target for 2015-16, delivering 117,204 Full Time Equivalent (FTE) student places. That is 935 more than the 116,269 FTE target it was set in exchange for its SFC funding.
   
• The sector also delivered an additional 3,980 FTEs for European Social Fund (ESF) programmes in 2015-16. Colleges Scotland said this was “one reason why we are extremely concerned about the implications of Brexit”.
   
• Between 2014-15 and 2015-16, the number of students at Scottish colleges increased by 339, to 227,258. However, the number of enrolments decreased to 281,051 in 2015-16, down by 15,960 from 2014-15. This decrease follows a fall in FE enrolments, in part because fewer FE students did multiple courses, while HE enrolments increased between 2014-15 and 2015-16.
   
• 74.8 per cent of full-time students were in the 16-24 year old age group.
   
• The gender gap on college courses has been narrowing, with 49.2 per cent of enrolments down to male students, while 50.8 per cent were female in 2015-16.  
   
• According to the SFC’s student satisfaction survey, in which over 31,000 students took part, 90 per cent of full-time college students said they were satisfied with their overall student experience. This figure was even higher among part-time students, where 93 per cent were satisfied.
   
• Almost nine in 10 full-time learners said their time at college had developed the knowledge and skills they needed in the workplace - the same was the case for 91 per cent of part-time students.
   
• However, only three in four students felt their suggestions were taken seriously.