Home   News   Article

College moves to extend online learning


By Alan Beresford

Easier access to your trusted, local news. Subscribe to a digital package and support local news publishing.



Click here to sign up to our free newsletters!

THE new Covid lockdown regulations have seen a north-east college extend its period of online learning provision.

Nescol Principa Neil Cowie. Picture: Nescol
Nescol Principa Neil Cowie. Picture: Nescol

Following the recent announcement by the Scottish Government North East Scotland College (Nescol) will now be operating its virtual learning until February.

The college has been working remotely since the session restarted on January 6.

Face-to-face teaching will be paused during this time. Students timetabled to attend college campuses in the weeks ahead should remain at home and follow the guidance of course leaders.

Remote learning will be delivered via the college’s well-established Virtual Learning Environment. Significant investment has been made to ensure equal digital access for all students, with additional devices and 4G internet connections made available.

Principal Neil Cowie said: “The fundamental consideration has been ensuring the health, safety and wellbeing of students, staff and the communities we serve in light of the increased transmissibility of the new variant of the virus.

"The important message to stress is that we must all stay at home, protect the NHS and save lives.

“The move from blended learning to fully online delivery for this period will of course bring challenges for staff and students, particularly in practical subject areas, but we have demonstrated previously our ability to be agile and resilient. Those qualities will once again come to the fore.”

Although campuses will be closed for general access, managed provision will be made for students who require study facilities or support services. Students should contact their academic tutor or studentadvice@nescol.ac.uk to discuss any issues arising from the move to remote delivery. The online support tools and community at www.togetherall.com are also available to all Nescol students.

Since the beginning of the 2020/21 college session, Nescol has been operating a blended model for full-time students. Courses have been delivered using a mix of practical on-campus classes and live online sessions as well as structured remote learning activities which give students flexibility in their schedule.

Those limited on-site classes have now been suspended until February 8 with the move to fully remote delivery.


Do you want to respond to this article? If so, click here to submit your thoughts and they may be published in print.



This site uses cookies. By continuing to browse the site you are agreeing to our use of cookies - Learn More