A team at South Lanarkshire College has been recognised for its talent and innovation in times of uncertainty at the National College Development Network (CDN) awards.
The marketing and communications team were shortlisted in the marketing and communications category for their #StartingSLC campaign which was created during the COVID pandemic.
The campaign aimed to tackle the communication barrier with students during the pandemic and ensure students still felt part of the college community during a period of online and blended learning.
This was done through personalised postcards and welcome messages sent to students starting at the college, community welcome banners around the local area, welcome videos from college staff and engaging welcome content on social media during the first six weeks of the term.
The campaign was 'highly commended' on the evening, being recognised by the judges as a great campaign to engage students and applicants during the health crisis.
Stella McManus, depute principal, said: "The CDN awards are the most celebrated awards within the college sector in Scotland, so it is absolutely brilliant to gain 'highly commended' at the awards ceremony.
"The pandemic was especially difficult for our students as they continued to learn, and adapt to, online and blended learning.
"This campaign had the aim of ensuring our students still felt part of the college community, despite the barriers created by the pandemic.
"The campaign really did bring the college community together digitally and connected students with lecturers, the college and each other.
"Students are at the heart of every decision we make at the college and this campaign really highlights this; thinking creatively to support our students and ensure they still had an excellent learning experience whilst studying with us during the pandemic.
"Our staff really did go above and beyond during the pandemic to support our students and it is brilliant to see this, amongst other initiatives, being recognised at a national level for good practice."
Acting principal Alan Sherry told Lanarkshire Live he was "extremely proud" of all of SLC staff, who "really do go above and beyond" to offer support to applicants, students, partners and the community in the best possible way.
He added: “It’s brilliant to see our marketing and communications team being recognised at a national level for their innovation and hard-work at the CDN awards, although this is just one of the examples of outstanding practice that happens across the college every single day.
“I’ve no doubt that all colleagues will continue to strive for excellence in 2023 and there will be more award winners within our team over the next 12 months, as we continue to grow as an anchor institution within our community.”
The awards, which took place on November 25 at Radisson Blu in Glasgow with over 280 guests – the biggest Scottish College Awards ever – celebrated the talent, innovation and success of staff from across Scotland’s colleges.
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