1960-1974
The 1960s brought a period of different focus to the College. Women had proved themselves in the workplace and as the marriage bar was lifted more women were found to be working outside the home as well as in it. Better housing, labour saving devices, and convenience foods afforded them more time to take up careers and the demand for consumer goods led to increased opportunities.
The College responded to these changes by introducing courses geared towards the needs of industry. The 3 year Diploma course in Institutional Management was introduced in 1961-62. It was designed to provide managers for large-scale catering establishments and household administrators for hospitals, hotels, restaurants, industrial canteens and education institutions.
The Scottish Education Department wanted the Central Institutions to give priority to training at higher levels and so the short classes and demonstrations were phased out. The last certificate course to be offered at the College was Household and Catering Management which took its final intake of students in 1966-67.
The Domestic Science diplomas also went through many changes. In 1966-67 they were restructured. The Group II diploma was withdrawn and the Group I and Group III diplomas were extended becoming Diplomas in Domestic Science with specialism in either Dress and Design or Food and Nutrition.
By 1973 they had changed again and the first students were enrolled onto the new diploma course in Home Economics.
In 1964 the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) was established to award degrees, diplomas, and other academic awards comparable in standard with those granted by universities. This opened up the opportunity for the College to look again at offering a degree course in Dietetics. In 1975 the proposal for a joint BSc Dietetics, with Paisley College of Technology, was submitted to the CNAA. The BSc Dietetics course started in 1976-77. It was recognised by the British Dietetic Association and the Council for Professions Supplementary to Medicine.
