7
The value of college graduates to the Scottish economy, September 2017
Table 2: College expenditure for 2015/16
Type of Spending Amount (£ million) %
Staff costs 433 65.3
Exceptional staff costs 7 1.1
Other exceptional costs 1 0.1
Other operating expenses 166 25.0
Depreciation 47 7.1
Interest payable 9 1.4
Total spending 663 100
Source: Audit Scotland
Table 3 shows the revenue sources for 2015/16. Funding from public sources - grants, tuition fees and
education contracts (91.3% in 2015/16).
Table 3: College income for 2015/16
Type of Income Amount (£ million) %
SFC grants 481 73.4
Tuition fees and education contracts 117 17.9
Donations, endowment and
investment income
1 0.2
Other income 56 8.5
Total 655 100
Source: Audit Scotland
A report by education economic consultants EMSI (2015), looked at the impact of staff and college
expenditure on the Scottish economy. They found that that during the academic year 2013/14 staff at
Scottish colleges spent more than £392 million and colleges themselves spent more than £272 million to
support their operations. The direct and indirect benefits of this are estimated to have added more than
£700 million in Gross Value Added (GVA) to the Scottish economy in a given year.
2.3 Latest Student Figures
According to SFC, in 2015-16 there were 227,258 students (headcount) studying at Scotland's colleges. In
full-time equivalent (FTE) terms, this figure was 121,184. Over the past few years, the number of students
studying has reduced. This shift is largely due to a change in policies which have focused on the younger
learner and on achieving recognised qualifications.
Table 4: Number of enrolements in Scotland's colleges: 2015/16
Mode of Study Number of Enrolments Average Hours of Learning
Full-time 78,754 510
Part-time 202,297 148
Total 281,051
Source: Scottish Funding Council