Rural and Islands College Merger Project

Financial case

Q) What is the financial case for merger?

The status quo of remaining as three individual colleges is not financially sustainable in the long term. Two of the colleges are operating at a deficit this financial year. The financial plan demonstrates that by coming together we will become more financially resilient, reverse a collective deficit and be able to invest in the future. Please see our merger proposal for more information. The financial business case is provided in this document as a supplementary report.

Q) Are we being made to merge because of the financial challenges?

The decision to merge has come from the three colleges.  We want to ensure our financial sustainability in the years ahead and do more. By coming together, we continue to serve our local communities in the way we do now, but with combined capacity to grow and deliver the learning needs and ambitions of our communities and future workforce, particularly around the land and marine based sectors, net-zero, engineering and advanced manufacturing, and the space industry.

Q) Has the impact of the cost-of-living crisis been considered as part of the financial projections for the merged college?

The financial case for merger was fully updated in October 2022 to take into account the change in inflation and the cost of energy. Updated projections are in line with advice from the Scottish Funding Council on how to model pay increases and inflation over the next five-year period. We have been deliberately cautious in our projections due to the global financial environment. The model for the merged college will continue to be revised and updated until vesting date. 

Q) The merger proposal talks about investing in the student experience. Where will funds for investment come from?

Merger will create efficiencies and, with our growth plans, will generate funds to re-invest in the student experience. We have been deliberately cautious in our financial planning to ensure investment ambitions.

Management, leadership, and governance

Q) How will you avoid centralisation through merger?

This merger is a coming together of equal partners and we are not seeking centralisation. While we will have a single principal, executive management team and board, we will adopt a distributed management model, ensuring senior leadership remains distributed across our merged college area. This decentralised model has been successfully implemented at UHI West Highland, where key leadership roles are distributed across its 10 learning centres and campuses in Skye, Lochaber, and Wester Ross. Through this successful model, UHI West Highland created more jobs through merger, not less. 

Our teams are also used to working across dispersed geographical areas. UHI North Highland currently operates across four campuses stretching from Alness to Thurso, UHI Outer Hebrides has five campuses stretching from Barra to Stornoway, while UHI West Highland operates across 10. We will ensure good practice is built upon and line managers are provided with the support and training they need to manage bigger, more dispersed teams.

We are committed to ensuring we have local management in place, continued presence in our communities and relationships with local stakeholders are maintained. It is our intention to form local advisory committees across our existing college areas to ensure local needs are met. These local advisory committees will work alongside a transition board, which will oversee the implementation of the new college and eventually become the new college board.

Q) When will an executive management team be in place for a new college?

Lydia Rohmer was appointed Principal Designate of the merged college in November 2022, and will lead implementation of the new college, including establishing an executive management team and organisational structure. We expect an executive management team to be in place early in the 2023/24 academic year with transition arrangements in place until then. 

Q) Will local management remain in place?

Senior leadership will remain distributed across our merged college area, and we are committed to ensuring we have local management in place, continued presence in our communities and relationships with local stakeholders are maintained. It is our intention to form local advisory committees across our existing college areas to ensure local needs are met. These local advisory committee will work alongside a transition board, which will oversee the implementation of the new college and eventually become the new college board.

Q) How will teams be managed over such a large geographical area?

Senior leadership will remain distributed across our merged college area, and we are committed to ensuring we have local management in place. Teams are used to working across dispersed geographical areas currently. UHI North Highland operates across four campuses stretching from Alness to Thurso, UHI Outer Hebrides has five campuses stretching from Barra to Stornoway, while UHI West Highland operates across 10 campuses and learning centres. We will ensure good practice is built upon and line managers are provided with the support and training they need to manage bigger, more dispersed teams.

Q) Will there be support and academic staff representation on the UHI North, West and Hebrides board from all three colleges?

The membership of the Board of Management is dictated by governmental legislation which only permits two members of staff as board members.  The membership of the Board is therefore determined by Schedule 2 to the Further and Higher Education (Scotland) Act 1992 as amended by the Post 16 Education (Scotland) Act 2013 to include:

• One independent chair 
• One college principal (Principal Designate)
• Six independent area committee representatives (chair and vice-chair from each local advisory committee) 
• Five independent members 
• Two HISA representatives 
• One teaching staff member
• One support staff member 
• Two union observers (EIS and UNISON)

We are in the process of developing the governance arrangements for the merged colleges and will enhance staff representation through local advisory committees, one for each of the founding partners whose chair and vice chair will sit on the merged college board as independent members.  The terms of reference, membership, and process for being appointed to these boards will be communicated in 2023. In the meantime, there is a staff representative from each of the merging partners on Partnership Board who will continue in their current roles for the Transition Board, standing down once the Transition Board becomes the Board of UHI North, West and Hebrides.   

Q) How will local advisory committees work, and will they have any powers?

It is our intention to form local advisory committees across our existing college areas to ensure local needs are met. These local advisory committee will work alongside a Transition Board, which will oversee the implementation of the new college and eventually become the new college board. In December 2022, a Chair will be appointed to lead the Transition Board, followed by staff, student, and independent representatives. Once this has taken place, plans for local advisory committees, including terms of reference and remit, will be developed in more detailed in consultation with local stakeholders.

Jobs and organisational structure

Q) Will staff lose their jobs?

We have committed to no compulsory redundancies as a direct result of merger. It is our intention to launch a voluntary severance scheme in year one of the new college. We’ll reduce duplication by re-aligning roles based on business need, allowing our staff to focus on specific projects, opportunities or areas of the organisation that require support. This merger is about creating capacity to do more, to enable growth.

Q) Will staff face cuts in hours?

Staff terms and conditions (excluding pensions*) are protected by TUPE (Transfer of Undertakings (Protection of Employment) Regulations 2006) when the colleges merge. This includes role, hours of work, place of work, rate of pay and entitlement to contractual benefits. We are working proactively with trade union colleagues to ensure terms and conditions are not only protected but enhanced. TUPE protection applies indefinitely, unless there are proposed ETO (economic, technical or organisational) changes to terms and conditions.

Any ETO changes in year one or two of the merged college would be made in full consultation with staff and trade unions. We are committed to no compulsory redundancies as a direct result of merger and we’ll reduce duplication by re-aligning roles based on business need, allowing our staff to focus on specific projects, opportunities or areas of the organisation that require support . This merger is about creating capacity to do more, to enable growth.

TUPE transfer FAQs are available for staff here.

* All staff in the merged college will be eligible to join the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS) or Scottish Public Pensions Agency (SPPA) pension schemes if not already a member.  Staff who are already members of either scheme will undergo a ‘change of employer’ with and will remain a member of their current pension scheme.

Q) Will staff have to reapply for their jobs?

Any restructure will be made in full consultation with staff and trade unions. This will include consulting on any plans for restructuring teams, the process for restructuring and conversations on where roles may be ringfenced and individuals needs to enter a protected recruitment exercise. There will be no compulsory redundancies as a direct result of merger and the transferring staff terms and conditions will be fully protected under TUPE. Staff will be supported through the merger process.  No positions or teams will be restructured prior to a vesting date in August 2023, however, teams will be aligned to ensure services of the new college can be delivered from the vesting date. TUPE transfer FAQs are available for staff here.

Q) How will this impact staff’ terms and conditions?

TUPE protects the terms and conditions of all current staff transferring into the new merged college. In addition, we are working proactively with trade union colleagues to ensure terms and conditions are not only protected but enhanced. The new college will have incorporated status, which ensures access to public sector terms and conditions, as well as pension continuity. We are also committed to national pay bargaining, implementing job evaluation for the college sector as the process develops and fair working practices. TUPE transfer FAQs are available for staff here.

Q) Will length of service be transferred over?

Staff terms and conditions are protected via TUPE regulations and all current terms and conditions will transfer with staff into the merged college on vesting date.  This will include length of service. TUPE transfer FAQs are available for staff here.

Q) When will teams merge and how will it work?

Lydia Rohmer, as Principal Designate, will lead on implementation planning, including establishing an executive management team and organisational structure early in the 2023/24 academic year. Once this takes place, the executive management team will be responsible for overseeing the merger of teams and timelines. No positions or teams will be restructured prior to a vesting date in August 2023, however, teams will be aligned to ensure services of the new college can be delivered from the vesting date. Work has taken place to identify priorities for day one, year one, year two etc. Any changes will be made in full consultation with staff and trade unions with terms and conditions for staff transferring into the new college, protected via TUPE regulations . TUPE transfer FAQs are available for staff here.

Q) Where will senior posts be located?

We will have a single principal, executive management team and board, we will adopt a distributed management model, ensuring senior leadership remains distributed across our merged college area. This decentralised model has been successfully implemented at UHI West Highland, where key leadership roles are distributed across its 10 learning centres and campuses in Skye, Lochaber, and Wester Ross. Lydia Rohmer was appointed Principal Designate of the merged college in November 2022, and will lead implementation of the new college, including establishing an executive management team and organisational structure. We expect an executive management team to be in place early in the 2023/24 academic year with transition arrangements in place until then. 

Q) UHI Outer Hebrides staff working in the Western Isles currently receive the Distant Islands Allowance. Will this continue?

Staff terms and conditions are protected via TUPE regulations and all current terms and conditions will transfer with staff into the merged college on vesting date.  This will include the Distant Islands Allowance.

Q) How can efficiencies be made without redundancies?

We have committed to no compulsory redundancies as a direct result of merger. It is our intention to launch a voluntary severance scheme in year one of the new college. Merger will create efficiencies at senior management and board level. We also expect to achieve efficiencies by reducing duplication and aligning core business systems, including human resources and finance.  This will help free up staff to focus on specific projects, opportunities or areas of the organisation that require support . This merger is about creating capacity to do more, to enable growth.

Q) What are you doing to support staff wellbeing through this change process?

We acknowledge the impact change can have on staff wellbeing. As part of implementation planning, wellbeing will be a priority for our people and culture workstream. It is also important we ensure staff are fully involved in the implementation of a new college and have a role in shaping its future. We urge staff to share any concerns with their line managers or directly via rural-islands-merger@uhi.ac.uk so we can ensure we address these.

Q) Is the voluntary severance scheme mentioned in the business case linked to the voluntary severance scheme at UHI Outer Hebrides?

No, the recent voluntary severance scheme at Outer Hebrides was focused on savings that were required in the immediate future for the college, it is in no way related to merger.  Any new voluntary severance scheme post 1 August 2023 will be separate and offered across the three merger partners.

Q) Are the staff involved in the implementation working groups going to have lead roles in the new structure?

The working groups are leading on implementation and are a fundamental part of shaping our new college.  As such they have been formed collectively by our three college principals to ensure a wide spread of expertise and experience and are drawn from staff across all three colleges. Whilst they will play a major role in shaping the future of the organisation, they are in no way indicative of any future structure or reporting lines. 

Local identity and college name

Q) What will the new college be called?

More than 200 people provided feedback on the name of our merged college as part of our consultation, which involved staff, students, prospective students, employers, influencers, members of the pubic and other key external stakeholder from across the three college areas. There was support for a single, unified identity that connects all three colleges and recognises the importance of local identity, while aligning with the wider place based UHI brand.

At the end of November 2022, Partnership Board met to consider the feedback. The board decided the name of the merged college will be UHI North, West and Hebrides when the three colleges merge. UHI North, West and Hebrides was considered most inclusive and celebrated our local identities. It was also the preferred choice of the Highlands and Islands Students’ Association (HISA) for these reasons. Our logo will be bilingual to celebrate our English and Gaelic heritage. For more information, visit: Name and identity - Rural and Islands College Merger Project (uhi.ac.uk)

Q) Why do you need to change the college name?

From our initial consultation on the proposal to merge, which took place between December 2021 and February 2022, the majority of respondents to our survey were in favour of a single college name/brand, highlighting the need to create a single identity for the three colleges, particularly as they cover a large geographic area with distinct local cultures and identities. This was a view supported by the Partnership Board, the individual colleges’ Boards of Management and senior management teams. In the statutory consultation on the full merger business case that followed in August to October 2022, the majority of staff supported a shared identity to create a ‘one college’ culture. We recognise changing our name so soon after the recent changes to the UHI partnership’s visual identities presents challenges.

Q) How will you recognise the importance of local identity across such a large geographical area?

We know how important local identity is, so finding a name that encompasses the large geographical area our merged college covers was important to us. Our Partnership Board chose the name UHI North, West and Hebrides because of its inclusiveness. It’s a name that celebrates all our local identities and was favoured by our students’ association. Through the branding, it’s also our intention to celebrate our distinctive spread of learning centres and campuses and their particular specialisms through use of place-based sub-identities.

We also know that the name of our college cannot communicate all that we are, and what we aspire to be. We need to bring meaning to our name by celebrating our unique local identities. We will do this through our actions, our college culture, and the way we talk about ourselves and the imagery we use.

Q) Will logos and visual identities celebrate Gaelic identity?

All our signage will be bilingual to celebrate our English and Gaelic heritage.

Learning, teaching, and the student experience

Q) How will merger impact on learning and teaching?

Merger won’t negatively impact on our students’ experience. Students will continue to access the courses they do now, and there will be no changes to how/where a course is studied. It is our intention to review our curriculum in year one of the merged college, which may mean more courses become accessible across a wider area. This won’t detract from our current face to face offer, which is important, particularly for some of our practical and further education courses. Where courses are currently delivered remotely/online, we want to explore more opportunities for face-to-face residentials to enhance the student experience. Merger also allows us to ensure best practice is shared.

Q) How will merger impact on the student experience?

Merger is about being able to do more, not less, for our students. By coming together, we can share capacity and resource, so our students benefit from a wider, more accessible learning offer, and a more consistent student experience through sharing of good practice. This will include more online provision, enhancing access to skills and qualifications, but also capacity to provide more face-to-face opportunities across our rural and island communities. Students will also benefit from a stronger student voice through the Highlands and Islands Students’ Association. Merger will also free up resource so we can invest in the student experience, including technology, our estate, and student support.

Q) Does merger mean less face-to-face teaching and more online delivery?

We know how important face-to face learning is, particularly for some of our practical and further education courses, and we don’t intend to reduce this. It is our intention to review our curriculum in year one of the merged college, which may mean more courses become accessible across a wider area through more online provision, but this won’t be at the expense of face-to-face learning. Where courses are currently delivered remotely/online, we want to explore more opportunities for face-to-face residentials to enhance the student experience.

Q) Will improvements be made to online learning?

As a merged college, it will be easier to share and embed good practice in learning, teaching, and student support. We aim to continually improve and build on this good practice to ensure a consistent student experience.

Q) Will merger strengthen the offer available in rural areas like the Outer Hebrides?

Yes. By coming together, we can share capacity and resource to provide a wider, more accessible learning offer for our students. We also have ambitions to grow the curriculum in response to local needs, and in line with regional and national priorities. We’re also keen to expand face to face residential opportunities within our learning centres and campuses, particularly for students studying remotely or online. Gaelic will be a priority for our merged college, and with that, we see an increased role for some of our learning centres, particularly in the Outer Hebrides.

Q) How will merger impact on work-based learning opportunities?

Students will continue to access the range of courses in the same way they do now. It is our intention to review our curriculum in year one of the merged college, including our work-based learning offer. This will include consultation with stakeholders to ensure local needs are met. We will also be working closely with local employers to ensure we are responsive to skills needs now and in the future. We’re also keen to work with Skills Development Scotland, our local councils, and employers, to enhance the Foundation Apprenticeship offer across the North and West Highlands and Outer Hebrides.

Q) Will merger make the delivery of provision more complicated?

By coming together, we can share capacity and resource, so our students benefit from a wider, more accessible learning offer available through multiple modes of delivery, including local, online and hybrid modes of study. The proposed merger will enable a more consistent student experience through sharing of good practice, as well as creating capacity for innovation to meet the needs of students in a changing world. We will also have more capacity and resource to ensure we remain agile in response to our communities needs and our courses remain relevant.

It is our intention to review our curriculum fully in year one of the merged college, to ensure our current curriculum is relevant and accessible, and that we can grow our curriculum in line with regional strategic developments to meet emerging and future workforce needs. The review will seek to make our curriculum offer as accessible to as many current and future learners as possible, supporting all modes of study, including local, online, or hybrid, and all modes of attendance (full-time, part-time and work-based). The review will build on our current strengths and areas of excellence across the three merging colleges and will seek to develop new curriculum to support regional economic growth areas and industry sectors, so people in our rural and island communities have clear pathways into new jobs in those growth sectors, including those in the green and blue economy.

As part of our merger implementation plans we are working with the Highlands and Islands Students’ Association (HISA) and staff across the three colleges on making our new website, and our combined course information and application processes for the new college fully centred on the needs of current and future students as well as the needs of employers and other stakeholders, and as easy to navigate as possible.

Q) There's already shared delivery between some of the colleges and UHI Argyll, how will merger impact? 

UHI Argyll, UHI West Highland and UHI North Highland currently share delivery of some further education courses, and we see no reason why this wouldn’t continue. Delivery of many of our higher education courses share delivery across multiple partners in the UHI partnership.

Communities

Q) How will you ensure high quality jobs remain in local areas, particularly the islands?                                                                                                                

Staff will not be asked to relocate as a result of merger. While we will have a single principal, executive management team and board, we will adopt a distributed management model, ensuring senior leadership remains distributed across our merged college area. This decentralised model has been successfully implemented at UHI West Highland, where key leadership roles are distributed across its 10 learning centres and campuses in Skye, Lochaber, and Wester Ross. Through this successful model, UHI West Highland created more jobs through merger, not less. All posts for the merged college will be advertised as location-neutral and applicants will have the choice to be based at any of our 19 learning centres or campuses.

Q) Do you plan to close any of the existing college estate, particularly smaller learning centres?

Merger is about creating capacity to do more in our communities. Our spread of 19 learning centres and campuses, dispersed over a vast rural and island area, makes us who we are. There are no plans within our merger proposal and business case to close learning centres. Merger does however provide us with an opportunity to reconsider our estate - to look at where we need to invest and consider how we better use our estate for student and community benefit.

Q) How will you engage with stakeholders, including public agencies, employers, industry bodies, and third sector organisations, to ensure a relevant curriculum?

Business development and curriculums teams within our three colleges currently engage with stakeholders in their local areas to ensure their needs are met. This happens in a variety of ways. As a partnership, UHI subject faculties operate curriculum development and employer engagement groups made of public and private sector employers to help shape our offer. We also have relationships with employers through our apprenticeship and commercial course offer and partnerships developed through sectoral working groups and local forums. As part of implementation planning, our teams will be looking at how we collectively engage and network with employers, industry bodies, business organisations, and third sector organisation, as a merged college. 

Q) Has an island impact assessment been carried out?

An island impact assessment will be carried out in line with the Scottish Government’s island communities impact assessments: guidance and toolkit and any fundamental changes to the service we provide. We are not proposing to remove any services we provide in the Outer Hebrides. It is our intention merger will enhance services in the islands. An organisational restructure and curriculum review is likely in year one of the merger and will require an island impact assessment, which will also consider any impact on the Gaelic language.

Q) How will you remain responsive to local needs?

Senior leadership will remain distributed across our merged college area, and we are committed to ensuring we have local management in place, continued presence in our communities and relationships with local stakeholders are maintained. It is our intention to form local advisory committees across our existing college areas to ensure local needs are met. These local advisory committee will work alongside a transition board, which will oversee the implementation of the new college and eventually become the new college board.

Q) How will merger impact on engagement with local communities and employers?

Our three colleges maintain excellent stakeholder relations with their local employers and communities to ensure they are responsive to their needs. These relations are maintained in a variety of formal and informal ways – from strategic engagement at college level with key stakeholders including schools, community planning partners, individual key employers and relevant industry sector bodies, chambers of commerce, DYW, schools, local government education and economic development partners, as well as at partnership working at regional level via UHI and at national level via sector bodies, including Colleges Scotland, CDN, SDS and SFC. Specifically, these partnerships influence curriculum development and employer engagement groups made of public and private sector employers to help shape our offer. Our teams also regularly engage employers through our apprenticeship and commercial course offer and partnerships developed through sectoral working groups and local fora. Our schools team also engage regularly with head teachers, guidance staff and DYW. Over and above, our senior staff are represented on various boards including local chambers of commerce and local development fora.

As part of implementation planning, our teams will be looking at how we can harness our collective local engagements and networks, and work more strategically with employers, industry bodies, business organisations, and third sector organisation, as a merged college. Work is already underway to support this, including an extensive mapping exercise and development of a customer relationship management system to ensure we continue to maintain good relations with our local communities.  In order to ensure local needs continue to be met in the merged college, our intention is to form local advisory committees across our existing college areas. These local advisory committees will work directly with the new college board, and be chaired by members of the new college board.

Gaelic language

Q) How will you ensure Gaelic identity and language is protected and promoted by the merged college?

The merged college is committed to protecting, developing and promoting the Gaelic language, with a focus on enabling cultural and economic benefit. It is our intention to develop a new Gaelic Language Plan, aligned with the UHI Gaelic Language Plan, in conjunction with our key partners.

Priorities for our merged college will include driving forward the availability of Gaelic medium education across the Outer Hebrides, North and West Highlands; supporting the development of language skills as a community asset; and building partnerships with key Gaelic stakeholders to create opportunities that support the language. We will take a lead role in the development of Gaelic teacher training and increasing the offer of undergraduate Gaelic medium teacher education. This could include the development of new curriculum, flexibility within current curriculum and links with Cnoc Soilleir to provide possible periods of immersion in Gaelic speaking communities for online students. We are also committed to enhancing the development of Gaelic provision for health, early years and childcare professional and supporting the development and delivery of short online and in-person community and vocational-based language courses.

All our signage will be bilingual to celebrate our English and Gaelic heritage.

UHI and the wider partnership

Q) Are UHI supportive of merger?

Yes, UHI are very supportive of the merger project and UHI Court endorsed the merger proposal and business case as the Regional Strategic Body.

Q) How will merger impact on shared services individual colleges may have with other UHI partners?

Shared serviced with other UHI partners have been reviewed as part of the merger proposal. We are committed to continuing the current shared finance service between UHI Inverness and UHI North Highland, which will become a shared service between UHI Inverness and UHI North, West and Hebrides.

Q) How will this affect the ongoing UHI curriculum review?

Post-vesting it is our intention to conduct a review of our own curriculum, which will align with and reflect outputs of the wider UHI curriculum review.  

Q) How does merger align with UHI 2024?

UHI 2024 is a strategic initiative designed to reduce expenditure, increase and diversify income, simplify governing structures, and develop a five-year strategic vision for the UHI partnership. We have been working closely with UHI on merger to ensure it aligns with any wider changes within the partnership. Indeed, UHI 2024 will build on the significant collaborative work that has taken place as part of the merger, to help ensure its success.