CUMBRIA'S four far-flung colleges could be fused into one super college under a merger plan mooted by further education's funding authority.
The Cumbria Learning and Skills Council (LSC) has commissioned a detailed feasibility study into merging Kendal College and Furness College in Barrow with Carlisle College and Workington's Lakes College.
Cumbria LSC Director Mick Farley said the move was prompted by a consultant's study, which compared the running costs of similarly sized colleges and concluded that around £1 million could be saved by combining "back house operations".
The feasibility study will now explore a range of options from merging two to all four of the colleges with varying degrees of interconnectedness of their services.
But the LSC's preferred option, following an initial review by consultants, is what Mr Farley called a federated structure of all four colleges' to be established by September 2004.
He said the idea would be to centralise services like personnel, pay roll, financial management and marketing.
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May 16, 2003 09:30
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