An investigation has been launched after student records – including photographs and contact details – were found in former Inverness College filing cabinets destined for the dump.
A handful of documents containing the personal details of a number of people were left in a drawer of one of four storage units abandoned at the rear of the Longman Road campus.
The cabinets were earmarked for the scrapheap after the college moved to its new location at Inverness Campus last month.
One drawer which contained printouts of e-mails, was marked “confidential” with an instruction to be checked by a member of staff.
Some of the e-mails detail old timetable changes, while other documents appeared to be photocopies of students’ professional certificates.
A member of the public who made the discovery said he was horrified.
He added: “There were national insurance numbers and e-mail addresses.
“It doesn’t matter even if there was just one record, they should have been checked.”
With the college buying all-new furniture for the new building, many items of furniture were auctioned off.
Diane Rawlinson, principal and chief executive at Inverness College UHI, said: “We are taking this matter extremely seriously and conducting a full investigation.”
Highlands and Islands Labour MSP Rhoda Grant said: “If it was student records, then there could be confidential things involved and the handling of personal information is very serious.
“I think this must have been human error as part of the move. I can’t imagine that the college would want that sort of information to be available in public.
“I am glad they are investigating. They need to be sure that this does not happen again.”
The future of the Longman building is up in the air after the move to Beechwood.
It is thought that it will be sold, however the Scottish Futures Trust is in talks with the Scottish Government about whether another agency could use it.