COURSES STUDY AT WHC SCHOOLS BUSINESS RESEARCH





People choose to study with us for all sorts of reasons: to gain qualifications; improve skills; gain employment; for personal and professional development or to enhance their business.

About to Leave School?

Why not choose to study full time with us – one of the newest and fastest growing colleges in Scotland. With college centres throughout the Highlands, you have the opportunity to study in one of the most beautiful parts of the world and to gain the qualifications you need to enter the world of work or to help you go on to a higher level of study. We have courses at all levels that can help you onto your chosen career path – and all of them can be studied near to home, if that is your choice, with the support of friendly local staff. We offer a range of further and higher education courses from access through to degree and postgraduate level – there will definitely be something for you.

Returning to Study?

We have Access courses to help you back into study if you have been away for a while – and courses that are part time, or can be studied at home if you want to take things slowly. Many of our students fit study around part time work, so contact us if you would like to know more.

Already Working?

Perhaps you are already working and are keen to develop your professional skills? We have something for you too. We offer a range of short courses suitable for professional development and we have a range of SVQ qualifications open to employees through Modern Apprenticeship initiatives - contact us to find out more.

Looking for Work?

We are also committed to helping unemployed people to return to work and offer a number of initiatives including the “Work Readiness Programme”. Several of our college centres offer drop in sessions for support and advice so please get in touch with us to find out more.

Training for Business?

BEST is our business training division …

Business, Enterprise, Solutions & Training, “doing the BEST for your business” works with businesses to identify and deliver a comprehensive range of business training - from First Aid to Chainsaws, Food Hygiene to Day Skipper - for businesses and organisations, large and small, covering all sectors across the West Highlands.

Training courses will often be delivered locally via the college’s network of 10 centres.

We are determined to be the college YOU choose because we provide excellent learning , training and support for ALL students, businesses and rural communities - we are really looking forward to hearing from you!

Funding information for EU/EEA Nationals

West Highland College UHI continues to welcome applicants and students from the European Union/European Economic Area and beyond.

We are pleased to confirm that the Scottish Government has made a commitment that eligible EU/EEA nationals studying in Scotland will continue to have access to free tuition, including tuition fee support from the Student Awards Agency Scotland (SAAS).

This applies to existing students who commenced their course before 2017 and to students starting a new course with us in academic year 2017-18. We also now have confirmation that this will be extended to students starting in 2018-19.

SAAS will assess applications against existing eligibility criteria, and will provide funding in the normal way. These students will be eligible to apply for funding from SAAS for the duration of their course.

Further information about eligibility, funding and how to apply.

For clarification, the UK government has confirmed that there has been no change to the right of EU/EEA nationals to reside in the UK and therefore no change to the circumstances in which someone could be removed from the UK as a result of the UK referendum to leave the EU.

However, we would like to remind EU/EEA applicants and students that it is a requirement that you and any dependants living with you while you are studying the UK have comprehensive sickness insurance (CIS). This requirement can be met by obtaining the free European Health Insurance Card (EHIC) from your home country.
Find out how to apply for an EHIC in your country

New for 2018
Want a new challenge for 2018? Why not start by learning something new? Lots of great full and part time courses on offer for 2018.

And if you would like to get back into study gently by taking on just a few units at HNC level or up to degree level in a variety of subjects – get in touch, we have loads to offer.

Courses that lead to careers...
Courses that you can often combine with work...
Courses that fit in with your life....

WE ARE ACCEPTING APPLICATIONS NOW - CALL 01397 874000
Coming in August 2018

Access to Nursing
New course comprising our NC Health and Social Care with the addition of Highers in Human Biology and Psychology (available for study in the evenings) is exactly what you will need to apply for BSc Nursing at Inverness or Stornoway with the University of the Highlands and Islands.
This course is available in our 10 local centres using a combination of video conference and online study, with expert support from our lecturers and college centre staff to help you with your studies. Available for full or part time study to fit in with your needs.

Higher Human Biology
Higher covering Human Cells, Physiology & Health, and Neurobiology & Immunology forms part of our new Access to Nursing course. It is also available to study as a stand alone higher or as part of our Access to Higher Education course.

HNC Textiles - Fort William
This is a new and extremely creative design-led course, which will give you experience in surface decoration, creative textile development, drawing and design development relating to the production of fashion, interior and accessory design. It is a portfolio-based course, which encourages the exploration and experimentation of materials, media and techniques to provide a broad range of skills and knowledge in textiles and fashion design. It will help you prepare for degree programmes or employment in an exciting and dynamic creative sector.

HNC Digital Design and Web Development - Networked to all college centres
This award has been designed to meet the growing needs of the growing number of web design and media companies in the Highlands and across Scotland. This course will provide you with a strong foundation in both the technical and creative aspects of a range of opportunities within the profession. It's a very practical course; you will learn to design and create websites to a professional standard and you will gain skills in how to use industry standard software to create videos and images to be used in their websites. The course contains an emphasis on meeting a brief from a prospective customer and producing a design which meets all customer requirements.

HNC Computing - Networked to all college centres
This course could be your route to an exciting career in a wide range of industries, all of whom rely on digital technology. At West Highland College UHI, you can study this in any of our college centres using our highly successful combination of video conferencing and virtual learning platforms and the support.

HNC Photography - Broadford
An exciting new two-year part-time course providing candidates with a strong foundation in both technical and creative aspects of a range of opportunities within the professional photographic world. There are a broad range of units covering different photographic styles – from studio and environmental portraiture, through studio still-life, social photography, stock, corporate and library photography to shooting images in the environment. There will be excellent opportunities ffor you to become technically competent while offering many opportunities to develop a style and creative flair.

HNC Music - (Fort William - full and part time)
If you are interested in pursuing a career in popular or traditional music performance, this will give you a strong grounding and allow you to develop and enhance your musical skills and understanding of the music industries. You will have opportunities to perform your music locally and further afield and to benefit from studying with award winning professional lecturers who have strong links to the current musical scene in Scotland.
Call us for more information on any of these courses - 01397 874000

Open Days
We have drop in sessions scheduled at exam results time in August and regularly throughout the year - call our Admissions Team on 01397 874000 to find out more

Or our Open Days on November 10th 2018 and March 9th 2019 are ideal opportunities for you to come and meet our staff and students to find out about all of our new courses.

Our network of ten college centres is spread throughout the West Highlands of Scotland. They offer a range of modern facilities and a supportive and encouraging environment in which to study.

For our full time students, we offer a very different learning experience to that of many other colleges.

Some of our courses are only available in certain locations. Others are available in any of our centres using video conferencing and UHI virtual learning environments.

Individual course pages will tell you where your course is based and how it is delivered.

Online learning with West Highland College UHI So how can you study a course if you don’t live near the centre where it is based?

UHI has equipped all its partner colleges and their local centres with web based learning technologies. College staff are there to familiarise you and support you in this unique learning experience.

What methods you use to study your course will vary depending on your chosen course and venue but it’s likely that you will be using some or all of the following online learning resources.

Video Conference (VC)

VC technology enables you to connect to staff and students at any number of UHI centres.

Using cameras and microphones, this technology allows you to see and hear your tutor and other class members. You can share common learning resources and materials on screen. VC can be accessed in a dedicated VC room with a large screen or it can be accessed on a laptop or desktop computer. You may share the facility with a group of students or you may be on your own.

Blackboard, Virtual Learning Environment (VLE)

This web based system connects you to your online learning materials, online guidance and support and enables you to access and submit course assessments. You can talk with your tutors and other students in your online classroom through discussion boards, forums and live chat.

For Professionals
West Highland College UHI has close links with our local secondary schools and we offer a range of courses individual to each school, mainly at SCQF levels 4 & 5 with some at SCQF Level 6. These are typically delivered in years 3-6 as part of the Highland Council delivery of the Senior Phase of Curriculum for Excellence. Pupils will be able to access these by choosing form the selection available as part of their Column Choices discussions.

We currently have around 600 school pupils studying courses with the college. Some courses have classes with lecturers attending the school, some pupils utilise our state of the art facilities in local college centres to access courses such as Higher Psychology via VC and other pupils, studying specialist subjects such as Hairdressing or Construction, may come into our college centres to use specialist equipment.

It’s our aim to engage positively with even the youngest of our students to offer vocational pathways which have clear progression routes within the college. Ideally we will be able to complement the provision of the local High School in order to offer levels of further study and will allow our young people to realise their potential and gain employer recognised qualifications which will enhance their prospects within the job market,

The list of subjects available for delivery within each school is constantly being revised and extended – and can only be available subject to an appropriate level of demand. However, the list of courses offered over the current academic year will give you a flavour of what can be available and we would encourage you to contact us with any suggestions for further delivery or any questions you may have about what is available in your school.

Student support

Our Student Services team is here to help you and offer advice and guidance on a wide range of matters which might affect you at college, such as: funding; study support; career coaching; finding accommodation; library resources etc.

If you have a disability or learning difficulty of any kind, you may find learning is more of a challenge and you may require additional support. At West Highland College UHI, we recognise these challenges are individual to you; therefore we try to ensure that the support given is designed to suit you. The Extended Learning Support team are here to provide additional support, assistive technology and/or assistive materials as well as confidential guidance.

If you think you are affected by any of the following, then support is available:

Specific learning difficulties Attention deficit disorder (ADD) Sensory or hearing impairment Mental health issues We are also available to assist Higher Education students who qualify for the Disabled Student’s Allowance (DSA) with the completion of their application form and we can advise them on supportive technology