Lockdown support for students spells win for college

Staff from The Cornwall College Group (TCCG) are celebrating after receiving a regional award recognising the high quality of support they provided students during lockdown.

The highly-regarded accolade was awarded to teams working in eight different learning centres across TCCG’s sites in Devon and Cornwall, by the South West Regional Library Services (SWRLS).

The Initiative Award for Lockdown Services acknowledges the agile and creative manner in which TCCG staff adapted in the wake of the pandemic, to provide remote services to both staff and students during the lockdown.

“Lockdown was an unusual and challenging time, and proved to be particularly difficult for those studying at college,” said Learning Resource Manager Sim Taylor.

“As a team, across our numerous campuses, we were really keen to ensure we could continue helping our students as much as possible during lockdown. We are proud to have seen the impact our efforts have had.”

SWRLS covers all library and information services across the South West, including public libraries, university libraries, school libraries and special libraries, so it is testament to the quality of support provided by teams at TCCG that they won this award in such an unprecedented period.

“We had to adapt the services provided by library staff teams significantly to suit the situation,” continued Sim.

“To retain essential access to information and resources needed by students and staff stuck at home, we quickly had to reshape the way in which we had been working. This included developing and implementing a live chat function, as well as a click-and collect service.”

Due to the work carried out by college staff during the lockdown, eBook usage increased by 162 per cent between March 2020 and March 2021. Due to its success, the use of live chat remains a means of communication with students at the college to the present day.

“The live chat service meant that students, including those with learning difficulties, who might have been feeling isolated were able to stay in touch in a quick and easy way. Without this service, the impact of the lockdown might have been significantly increased for those learners,” explained Sim.

Director of student experience Rebecca Barrington, described the “tireless dedication” of her staff as making “all the difference during the toughest of times.”

“I am delighted and proud to see learning centre teams working across the Cornwall College Group being recognised for the remarkable level of support they offered during lockdown,” commented Rebecca.

“Congratulations to you all. You add so much to our student experience with the attentive and thoughtful level of support you provide.”

For information on studying with The Cornwall College Group visit HERE