The Scottish Government is due to publish its budget later this month and NUS Scotland is continuing to make the case for investment in our colleges and college students. After contacting and meeting with Government Ministers, we've now responded to a 'Call for Evidence' from the Scottish Parliament's Finance Committee, who will be studying and commenting on the Government's plans.
The Finance Committee is looking particularly at how the budget will improve employability for people experiencing deprivation, so there's a really strong argument that investing in our colleges is key to making this happen.
We're urging MSPs + the Scottish Government to:
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protect college places
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protect college student support
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protect access to college
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protect the quality of the student experience at college
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end the funding unfairness that means colleges receive less funding from SAAS for HNCs + HNDs than universities receive for 1st + 2nd year degree study, when these are equivalent level qualifications
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provide funding to support the great work colleges do to support students to progress from HNs to university
You can download our submission here for more detail. Also if you want more information or advice to raise these issues with your local MSPs, please get in touch.