Far South Coast Community College

VISION

Accessible, affordable, community-based, lifelong adult education and cultural activities in the Bega Valley Shire for a wide range of participants including Indigenous people, older people, people from diverse ethnic backgrounds and people with disabilities.

OBJECTIVES

The Far South Coast Community College provides a broad range of stimulating and affordable accredited and non-accredited courses relevant to local communities in friendly, relaxed settings. We value life-long learning, education for all and community involvement in all aspects and are committed to quality, accountability, responsiveness and strong partnerships. The term ‘courses’ is a broad one, as it also includes educational seminars, events, exhibitions and creative activities.

Our objectives include:

a) To plan, promote and conduct educational programs and provide other learning activities and opportunities to meet the educational needs and interests of the community in the Bega Valley Shire
b) To co-operate with and assist others to conduct educational programs for individuals or particular groups in the community
c) To form partnerships with other community groups to further learning in the community
d) To encourage participation by the community in learning opportunities available to them through the College or other sources
e) To seek expansion of the range of continuing education programs available to the community
f) To co-ordinate community education activities and events in the community
g) To obtain funds and other assets for the achievement of the College’s purposes

STRUCTURE

The Far South Coast Community College Inc is a small, independent, non-RTO (Registered Training Organisation) Community College, managed by the community.

It is registered as an incorporated, not-for-profit association with the NSW Department of Fair Trading and as a charity with the ATO.

It is a member of Community Colleges NSW and the Coast-2-Country cluster of Colleges in the south east of NSW.

GOVERNANCE

The College has always been directed by a volunteer board or management committee and there have usually been a part time paid coordinator, a part time bookkeeper and a variety of project managers and casual tutors. It has never been a large organisation.

In the last few years, changes to the statutory and fiduciary responsibilities of governing boards, coordinators and/or managers of not-for-profit associations, especially those receiving government funding, have changed considerably. For the first time, in 2005, the FSCCC College Board engaged in board training, prepared strategic and financial plans and began to meet the challenges of running the College as a business rather than as a community activity. It now prepares business plans and working budgets, reviews its job descriptions and conditions and has transitioned to electronic records management and banking.

All Directors have a ‘portfolio’ of responsibilities that link into the College’s activities and are more than generous with their volunteered time.

The College management has a flat hierarchical structure with a College Manager, a Community Programs Coordinator, a Bookkeeper, a large number of contract tutors and will soon appoint a VET Programs Coordinator.

The College operates with the ‘dynamic’ Board approach – a changing board membership with 3 to 5 years service being the norm. New people are always welcome to apply to join the FSCCC Board, but they must bring with them skills the College needs and be prepared to undertake Board Training and to contribute in practical ways other than simply attending a monthly meeting. Inquiries should be directed to the College Manager in the first instance.

REGION

The Bega Valley Shire has many communities separated by significant distances in a region with no public transport. The College strives to offer courses in all areas of the Shire and this will improve as time goes by. We need an administrative point in the north and the south as well as in the middle (Bega) to be fully effective and, as finances permit, we will be offering more classes in all parts of the Shire.

However, where there are sufficient numbers of participants in an area, virtually all classes can be held anywhere.

On occasions we have also offered classes in the Eurobodalla and Bombala Shires.

HISTORY OF THE COLLEGE

The Far South Coast Community College was founded in 1990 and has had a number of incarnations over nearly 20 years. It has been variously centred in Eden, Merimbula and Bega. The original program concentrated on free literacy classes and a range of leisure and general interest courses for adults and youth.

The various Coordinators established a firm identity for the College over the years and it became a respected community education entity in the Bega Valley Shire, eventually joining a South East Cluster of Community Colleges. Its offerings began to change because new adult education needs were not being met by other education providers. In particular, the needs of niche groups and DET equity target groups became a focus. At the same time, a rich offering of ‘leisure’ courses is always available, as these courses are anything but luxuries and are often vital to the health and wellbeing of many members of any community.

FUNDING

The College operates with the assistance of a small but welcome grant from the NSW Department of Education and Training / Adult and Migrant Education Sector (DET), other small grants and income from classes. The DET grant is insufficient to ensure the College’s bare survival and the Government’s increasing emphasis on Vocational Education and Training (VET) and quality assurance and extensive statistical reporting have made changes imperative because of the costs of implementation.

In the past, the College was funded by non-competitive annual funding from Community Colleges NSW. This permitted about half of the running costs of the College to be met plus a funded, free Literacy program. In addition, the College competes for other small grants for specific projects. The greater part of the College’s expenses, however, were always met by the income from classes, which in 2004 represented over 20,000 student contact hours. For its 2006 funding, due to NSW Government funding criteria changes, the College was required to submit a competitive grant application directly to the Department of Education and Training. Like all non-RTOs (and many RTOs), it lost its DET Literacy Program funding while increasing funding for its core programs and its equity programs. This is because of Bega Valley Shire’s remote geographical location, older age profile, Indigenous needs and high unemployment statistics.

The College’s core funding in 2009 is now tied to the delivery of accredited VET courses, which presents the College with some challenges in that it is not a Registered Training Organisation. Nor can it afford to be one because of the extremely high compliance costs of running accredited courses, costs that the community would find it hard to absorb in terms of fee raises. Instead, the College partners with other RTOs.

A number of additional small, focused grant applications have been successful and have funded particular aspects of the College’s new infrastructure – such as the computers made possible by the IMB Community Foundation. The DET emphasis is ‘user pays’ for all programs unless specially funded - and the College is required to compete for these special grants on a case-by-case basis.

The majority of classes must therefore operate on a cost recovery, user-pays basis of about $12 - $14 per contact hour per student. Some classes are subsidized or free if they are part of a special program. Scholarships are sometimes available in cases of special need.

Transport is an issue - the distances travelled by people in the Shire, poor roads, expensive petrol and the complete lack of public transport make attending classes for those living in distant parts of the Shire very expensive. The issue of distance has been addressed in part by our Travelling IT Lab strategy and flexible education programs and the growth in classes offered in more venues across the Shire.

Linked to that are the numbers needed to make all courses viable. They are calculated on 6 to 8 participants as a break-even point and costs to participants can sometimes (but not always) be scaled down as numbers rise.

PREMISES

Between 2002 and 2005 the College settled in Bega as the geographical centre of the Shire and shared a first floor office space. Until 2006, the College did not have teaching spaces of its own but relied on hired or loaned spaces. This has now changed.

In 2006 FSCCC moved to a street level, accessible, shop-front premises at 32 Church Street Bega, next to Candelo Wholefoods, which are both part of the Ingoodwe Trust. It now has an office and a teaching space with a fully equipped IT laboratory and a comfortable office. While not in any sense flash or large, the premises are visible and have been improved by the College. The building (being very old) is unfortunately not fully accessible to wheelchairs but special accommodation can be made for individual participants in many cases by holding classes in a different venue, where possible.

STAFF PROFILES

The Coordinator’s role was, in the past, to manage the day to day running of the College office, to program and service the classes and to organise the venues and tutors. There was some PR work in the mix, with attendances at many community meetings, events and expos. The Coordinator did not manage the finances other than on a day-to-day cash basis, very little business was conducted electronically, and statistics reporting to Department of Education and Training was limited. The Bookkeeper was employed on an ‘ad hoc’ casual basis and record keeping was limited.

This has changed considerably with an upgrade of the position to a Manager, who is now being required to have excellent IT skills, experience in statistical reporting, and training and qualifications in administration and a Cert IV in Training and Assessment. The days have increased from 3 to 4 per week, with a part time Community Programs Coordinator assisting the Manager.

The College employs a qualified Bookkeeper with regular hours at the College, who has set up clear financial practices and a close relationship with the College accountant and auditor. There is now collaboration between the Manager and the Bookkeeper. The volunteer Board is no longer involved with ‘managing the money’, but acts in a governance role through the Treasurer and the Secretary

Broad community and institutional liaison and advocacy are managed by the Board, with the Manager involved in key promotional activities: local meetings, expos and community events as well as direct relations with business and professional partners.

Volunteers are needed now far more than before, and recruiting a small team needs to be a priority for 2009. Interested volunteers can contact the Manager.

Tutors are recruited in two ways: from people who approach the College with their ideas and expertise to offer classes at the community level - or from a local pool of qualified tutors in specific areas, such as required by accredited courses.

The College runs a free Grass Roots Tutor Course, which also acts as an induction to working with the College, for all new tutors and an accredited Certificate IV in Training and Assessment for those requiring a formal qualification to teach VET courses.

DEMOGRAPHICS

The labour market in the Bega Valley has changed rapidly, with new job opportunities opening up as the traditional rural farming and fishing demographic changes and development occurs in retail, education, tourism, creative industries and other areas. Population is increasing.

Demonstrating their recognition of growth predictions, both Coles and Woolworths have invested heavily in the Bega Shire with major retail and Local Government developments in Bega and Merimbula. Massive land rezoning is occurring and major school re-building has taken place also in both Merimbula and Bega, with the Wollongong University Bega Campus doubling in size in 2007/8.

As required by DET, the College has developed a strategic and targeted approach to its client base and operates now across a wide spectrum of the community in areas of education that are likely to lead to some kind of employment, mostly at the pre-certificate stage but increasingly in accredited courses. In particular focus in 2009 are learners with special needs, and the College has engaged in a process of developing a Disabilities Policy and applying for funding for programs modified for learners who have special challenges.

The College and its partners continue to research this and have held a number of well-attended community and professional consultations, seminars and focus groups to initiate the kinds of adult education changes that need to occur across the board. We believe the community is now thinking about adult education and training in a far more comprehensive way and broadening the base of what kinds of training are necessary in our region.

Tourism, the arts and creative industries, improved Indigenous engagement with mainstream, growing retail markets, small industries and an aging, but active population engaging in various kinds of self-employment enterprises, accelerated by the very large numbers of early retirees have greatly stimulated the economy and created a diversity of new employment opportunities. In addition, there is a greater demand for education and training in IT, training in sustainable working and living, assistance for new small business, and the development of creative industries and tourism as new markets.

Bega is a ‘lighthouse community’ for climate change and sustainable land use and living with Clean Energy for Eternity and the Sapphire Coast Producers Association taking a leading role, together with the Catchment Management Authority, Bega Eco Neighbourhood Development (BEND) and the many land care groups. The College is committed to working with these groups to improve community access to the information they need to cope with climate change.

There is a substantial Indigenous population and much needs to be done in that area, especially with the development of small business enterprises – which have already begun, and two Indigenous businesses registered as the result of FSCCC training and assistance.

Significant also has been an increased College contact and participation with Job Network providers, DOCS, Centrelink and other agencies.

In summation, the College is developing into a diverse and exciting organisation, in tune with its community and able to respond to local needs.

If you can’t find the course you want, whether work oriented or for leisure, let us know and we will endeavour to set it up if demand is there.

PARTNERS

The College has active partnerships. They include:

Far South Coast Community College is kindly supported by, or partners with organizations that include:
NSW Department of Education and Training
NSW Board of Adult and Continuing Education
Regional Arts NSW / NSW Ministry for the Arts
Community Colleges NSW
IMB Community Foundation
University of Wollongong
Local Community Services Association
SCPA (Sapphire Coast Producers Association)
CEFE (Clean Energy For Eternity)
Mumbulla Foundation
BEND (Bega Eco Neighbourhood Development)
Kari Yalla Indigenous Artists Cooperative
Far South Coast Arts and Cultural Workers Network
SEAR (South East Arts Region Inc)
Bega Valley Shire Council Library Services
CTCs of Bermagui and Eden
South East Area Cluster of Community Colleges (C2C)
Spiral Gallery
Bega Valley Regional Gallery