Sharon Townes, the colleges new programme area manager for multimedia, said: It has been a very difficult year and weve lost three full-time members of staff from the print area but our new principal, Mal Cowgill, wants to retain print.
However, less than five students are currently taking the HND. Townes said the college had found it very difficult to attract students, although it was not for the want of trying.
Is it that the printing industry itself is in decline or are we offering the wrong courses? We hope to get some pertinent answers so we can address what employers and young people want, she said.
Earlier this year the colleges former principal, Ahmed Choonara, resigned after a 3.3m shortfall was found in its books (PrintWeek, 17 January). The college had overestimated the number of students it would recruit and owed more than 1.3m to Nottinghamshire Learning and Skills Council (LSC). Cowgill is in talks with the LSC about the implications of the shortfall.
The print course plans are for the next academic year and the college will look to put a bid to the LSC for future funding.
South Nottingham Colleges troubles
Former principal Ahmed Choonara resigned in January after a 3.3m shortfall was found in the colleges books
It owed more than 1.3m to Nottinghamshire Learning and Skills Council and 2m to Learndirect after overestimating the number of students it would recruit
New principal Mal Cowgill was appointed in July to sort out the problems
Story by Gordon Carson
