Welcome to Colchester Institute
Colchester Institute provides first class education, professional development and technical skills training to over 8,000 young people and adults every year. The College supports individuals to launch or develop their careers, and local businesses to access the skills and talent they need to thrive. The College has two main campuses in Colchester and Braintree.
Programmes include full and part time further education courses, degrees and Apprenticeships as well as short courses for industry.
Vocational learning is an integral part of all of our courses, where the knowledge gained from practical activities with cutting edge, industry standard resources, work placements and theory provides students with strong knowledge and skills in their chosen field. Our ambition is to ensure that all students achieve the best possible results they can, giving them a competitive edge when entering employment or taking their studies to the next level.
Colchester Institute is regionally recognised for its outstanding facilities, which are constantly being renewed and refreshed. Recent developments include a brand new STEM Innovation Centre at our Braintree campus, extensive new facilities for Creative and Digital Media in Colchester and Braintree and a welcoming library and study zones in Colchester. These developments complement our existing fantastic facilities for Hospitality and Food, Performing Arts and Art and Design and many well equipped classroom spaces. Projects currently underway include a new Learning and Technology Centre in Braintree and a new Health and Care Development Centre in Colchester, with realistic clinical and care facilities.
Our degree students, enrolled at University Centre Colchester enjoy their own building and facilities and study on a wide range of degrees and apprenticeships, which are also focused strongly on preparing them for work, or progression at work. UCC has an excellent track record for its graduates gaining work or further study on leaving the University Centre.
Alison Andreas, Principal and Chief Executive
Our Vision, Mission and ValuesStrategic PrioritiesCode of ConductOur CampusesGovernance InformationEquality and DiversityCommitment to SafeguardingCommunity EngagementColchester Institute Foundation Trust (CIFT)
The Board discharges its responsibility for setting the strategic direction of Colchester Institute by agreeing the Vision and Mission statements and the College’s Strategic Plan.
All these statements are reviewed and updated regularly to reflect the developing needs of students and the changing educational and training requirements of the community. The current Strategic Plan, “Better Careers Begin Here” covers the time frame 2017 -2020.
Our Strategic Priorities
The staff and board here at Colchester Institute have a five-step strategic plan that they believe will improve every area of the college and create a positive learning and working environment for everyone involved:
Colchester Institute will…
- Be known for its excellence in teaching, learning and assessment. This will be evidenced by exceptional rates of student progress, achievement and progression with outstanding destinations a known characteristic of the College.
- Play a greater role in driving local and regional economic growth.
- Be valued as a great place to work by staff and recognised as a good employer within the community.
- Build further financial resilience. This will allow greater capital and capacity development, safeguard provision for the future and enable fair reward for staff.
- Be a brand that is recognised locally and regionally. The brand will be synonymous with academic and commercial success.
The Vision and Mission Statements seek to encapsulate the core purposes and aims of the College. The Board recognises its obligations to all those with whom it has dealings: students, employees, local and national employers and industries, suppliers, other educational institutions and the local community. It also recognises that it has accountability to tax payers. Board members are committed to ensuring that they conduct their business in accordance with the highest ethical standards, to this end, every Board member signs a Code of Conduct. This is based upon the seven Principles of Public Service set out in the Nolan Report, these are:
- Selflessness
- Integrity
- Objectivity
- Accountability
- Openness
- Honesty
- Leadership
The Code sets out the ways in which members are expected to deal with their statutory accountability, how they exercise skill, care and due diligence, and the Board’s powers, conflicts of interests, collective responsibility, openness and confidentiality, complaints, attendance and good governance.
Colchester Institute is a mixed economy college of Further and Higher Education, established by the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. The statutory Instrument and Articles of Government sets down the membership, the powers and the responsibilities of the Board of Governors.
Much of the further education work of the College is funded through the Skills Funding Agency and the College is required to abide by the Financial Memorandum and the Audit Code of Practice.
The Colchester Institute Board of Governors is made up of members from a wide range of backgrounds, reflecting the communities the College serves and members elected by the staff and by students. The Principal is the only member who is both a Board member and a member of the executive.
The Board has overall responsibility for the educational character and mission of the College, for the general oversight of its activities and is accountable for the proper use of public funds and for exercising a duty of care for the assets of the College.
The Board of Governors and Colchester Institute are committed to ensuring that there is no discrimination within the College on the grounds of age, disability, family responsibility, marital status, race, colour, ethnicity, nationality, religion or belief, gender, sexual orientation, trade union activity, and any other irrelevant criteria.
Visit our governance section for further information
Colchester Institute aims to provide a welcoming environment in which all learners and employees are encouraged to realise their full potential, where every individual is valued and offered equal opportunity to progress.
The College will treat all employees and learners with respect and dignity, and in an equivalent fashion, and will seek to provide a working and learning environment free from harassment, discrimination and victimisation.
The College will not tolerate any form of discriminatory behaviour from other employees, learners or members of the public.
Colchester Institute is committed to the wellbeing of learners within all its learning locations and campuses; it is committed to promoting their welfare, protecting their physical and emotional well-being and safeguarding them from all forms of abuse.
The College’s Safeguarding policy aims to ensure that all learners attending the College and any of our other training locations do so in a safe and secure environment.
Colchester Institute expects all staff, students and visitors to share this commitment.
Colchester Institute welcomes the opportunity to forge relationships with the many communities that surround us, and to work collaboratively with our local contacts. These are some of the ways in which Colchester Institute provides community engagement opportunities and works with other organisations, for the benefit of local people and communities:
Colchester Institute Foundation Trust (CIFT) is an independent charity which raises funds to benefit students residing in the catchment areas served by Colchester Institute, including students studying Further Education, Higher Education and Apprenticeships.
The principle purpose of CIFT is to benefit Colchester Institute students who are experiencing financial hardship to the extent that they are struggling to participate at College / University and complete or achieve their qualifications.
Whilst the College has access to Government awarded discretionary Learning Support Funds to provide financial support for students on low incomes, who meet pre-defined eligibility criteria, in the current economic climate there are often cases where an individual student needs more financial help than these funds can provide. Additionally, some students who do not meet the eligibility criteria for government-funded support, can still struggle to meet the costs associated with studying on vocational programmes and CIFT can often provide support here too.
In most cases students should first approach the College / UCC to see if funded support is available to them after which they can then submit an application to CIFT, see application form below,
Colchester Institute Foundation Trust awards can only be considered where a student can demonstrate commitment to their chosen course of study and that the impact of the award could mean the difference between them staying on the course or having to withdraw.
Support for Apprentices
As apprentices are classed as being in full time employment, the College is unable to use government funds to support their expenses, this group of students are often the ones most in need of financial assistance as they, and their families, are unable to claim most state benefits. CIFT actively encourage applications from Apprentices.
