CROYDON College is giving its degree students the right skills and experience to get them jobs, according to a report published yesterday.
Inspectors from the Quality Assurance Agency (QAA), the higher education equivalent of Ofsted, visited the college in May to assess whether the college's university centre delivered national standards of education.
They found the college met those standards in all of the areas examined and singled out its "strategic approach" to giving students the skills for jobs.
They also said the tutorial system helps make a "significant contribution" to students' achievements and the college was good at supporting applicants with non-standard qualifications.
Around 700 students take degree-level qualifications at the university centre every year, which is run in partnership with the University of Sussex.
The college's new Employability Hub, where students can search for job vacancies, meet employers, access careers advice, get help with their CVs and receive coaching for job interviews, was also hailed.
The hub was launched earlier this year and students are given the opportunity of work experience placements.
Among those working with the scheme are John Lewis, Butlin's, Gatwick Airport, L'Oreal, Toyota and Crystal Palace Football Club – where 90 students recently found jobs. But the college was told to make sure all students were given proper inductions and the opportunity to engage in student representation by next year.
Frances Wadsworth, principal at Croydon College, described the report as "enormously valuable".
She said: "Job opportunities are fiercely contested, and at Croydon College we are working to ensure that our degree courses are a real investment, and are much more likely to lead our students to realising their dream career."
