Education Scotland has produced a very positive report on Shetland College and the inspectors have cited one area of the College's work as "excellent".
Shetland College is only the second of Scotland's colleges to have received an overall judgement of "Effective", the highest grading under Education Scotland's current model for external review.
The review team visited Shetland at the end of October, and talked with students, staff at all levels in the college, members of the Board of Management, employers, external agencies and other College users.
The report highlights the College's many strengths. Its success in strengthening employability and developing entrepreneurship skills in Art and Design is rated "excellent". There's more about the college's approach in the Autumn issue of our online magazine, 60 North, which described the well-regarded BA Contemporary Textiles course.
Councillor Drew Ratter, who chairs the College Board, said: “Our staff work hard to develop and improve the service we provide, and this recognition of that work is very welcome. It is worth emphasising again that “Effective” is the highest grade available, and that it is very unusual for any college to get “Effective” across the board. It is a tribute to all concerned, and I would like particularly to mention the work which Irene Peterson has put in since taking up post as acting principal, in achieving this.
Links to the full report and a summary version can be found on this Education Scotland web page.