College of Guidance Studies

The records mainly consist of Governors' Papers and papers of the various sub-committees. The majority of these papers are meeting papers which comprise minutes, agendas and reports to the committees, which are treated as appendices to the minutes. There are very few papers remaining from the Principal. Only one file has survived and this is very similar to the Governors' papers. There is one Unofficial file, which is a collection of items of historical interest about the College. The majority of the papers date from 1970 to 2000.

The College of Guidance Studies (COGS) was a training college for careers officers. It was the oldest and largest provider of the professional qualification for careers guidance practitioners. It accounted for roughly 20 per cent of the market share.

In the mid-1940s the need for proper training for careers officers was recognised. Then, careers officers were known as youth employment officers. In 1948 the Principal Careers Officer persuaded Kent County Council to set up a training centre at Lamorbey Park in Sidcup. This centre was known as the Kent Training College for the Youth Employment Service. It later became known as the Kent College for the Careers Service and finally in 1993 as the College of Guidance Studies. Although it was originally based in Sidcup, in 1967 it moved to the former horticultural college at Hextable where it remained until the year 2000.

In 1974 the Careers Service run by the Employment Department and the youth employment services run by local authorities came together to form a single Careers Service run through the local authority.

The professional qualification offered at this time was the Diploma in Careers Guidance. It was offered full-time from 1974 and part time from 1989. From 1985 the College wished to develop new services in order to become known as a centre of excellence. It continued to offer the Diploma in Careers Guidance (known as the DCG) but in addition offered continuing professional development courses with NVQs and BTECs. It also undertook research both commissioned and self-directed and tried to expand overseas.

In 1993 the College's legal set-up changed considerably. The College chose to opt out of local authority control. This came as a result of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992. It became an incorporated body with charitable status funded directly from central government via the Higher Education Funding Council for England. At the same time it changed its name to COGS. The corporation was an exempt charity. It was a charity by virtue of its status as a higher education institution and had an Instrument and Articles of government to dictate its legal set-up.

The corporation was run by a board of governors consisting of seven independent members, the Principal, a member of staff, a student and three co-opted members. There was also a Clerk to the Board of Governors who took minutes and attended to business matters. The other directors of the College usually attended meetings, which were held four times a year. There were three main sub-committees who answered to the governors. These were the audit sub-committee, the finance sub-committee and the personnel sub-committee. Other sub-committees were established when needed.

From 1998 onwards the college governors decided to seek a merger partner. By 1999 it had selected Canterbury Christ Church University College. In August 2000 COGS had officially merged with Canterbury Christ Church University College. The College's work in training careers officers therefore continues but is now part of a new department known as the Centre for Career and Personal Development, which is within the Faculty of Education at Canterbury Christ Church University College.

The College was awarded University status in 2005.

The papers are arranged into three sub-groups namely Governors' Papers, the Principal's Papers and Unofficial Papers. The various sub-committees answered to the governors and their papers appear as a subsection of the governors.

To view this collection please apply in writing to Theresa Thurston, Assistant Director, Resources and Digital Discovery, Library and Learning Resources, Canterbury Christ Church University, North Holmes Rd, Canterbury, Kent. CT1 1QU

Email theresa.thurston@canterbury.ac.uk

Acquired from the College Secretary of Canterbury Christ Church University College by internal transfer, 2002

Description created by Nicola Waddington

A rough hard-copy catalogue exists.

Reproduction of these documents is at the discretion of the Director of Library Services and is subject to Copyright.

On merging with Canterbury Christ Church University College the Governors' Papers were selected for permanent preservation. They were sent to the care of the College Secretary of Canterbury Christ Church University College. Student records were retained by the new Centre for Career and Personal Development.

Further accruals are possible

See also the records of Canterbury Christ Church University.