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The Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) was the national degree-awarding authority in the
United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
from 1965 until its dissolution on 20 April 1993.


Background

The establishment followed the recommendation of the UK government Committee on Higher Education ( Robbins Committee), one of whose recommendations being the replacement of the diploma-awarding National Council for Technological Awards with a degree-awarding council. That gave colleges more flexibility, as they could devise their own courses with the oversight of the council, rather than depend on existing universities to accredit courses. In 1974, the National Council for Diplomas in Art and Design was merged into the CNAA. The CNAA's Latin motto, as it appears on its Coat of Arms, is: ''Lauream qui Meruit Ferat'' this can be translated as 'let whoever earns the palm bear it'.


Qualifications

Qualifications included diplomas, bachelors, masters and doctorate research degrees; by the time of dissolution, it had awarded over 1.3 million degrees and other academic awards. The CNAA awarded
academic degree An academic degree is a qualification awarded to students upon successful completion of a course of study in higher education, usually at a college or university. These institutions commonly offer degrees at various levels, usually including und ...
s at polytechnics, central institutions and other non-university institutions such as colleges of higher education until they were awarded university status. When the CNAA was wound up, the
British government ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd , image = HM Government logo.svg , image_size = 220px , image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg , image_size2 = 180px , caption = Royal Arms , date_est ...
asked the
Open University The Open University (OU) is a British Public university, public research university and the largest university in the United Kingdom by List of universities in the United Kingdom by enrolment, number of students. The majority of the OU's underg ...
to continue the work of awarding degrees in non-university institutions. Additionally, the university has responsibility for CNAA records. The CNAA, through its many subject panels, oversaw the degree-awarding powers of polytechnics. Above all, the CNAA saw itself as preserving a comparability at the national level with degree level awards in universities, a feature which can be seen as having both positive and negative aspects: positive in that it preserved a formal "parity of esteem" between the awards of the two parts of the binary system (such as retaining the common currency of the undergraduate degree for entry to postgraduate study), but other scholars viewed it as negative because it encouraged an "academicism" in the new sector and slowed an acceptance of the transformations required finally to break the boundaries of the old, "elite" system. In the event, the polytechnics were associated with many innovations, including
women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining social and cultural constructs of gender; systems of privilege and oppress ...
, the academic study of
communications Communication (from la, communicare, meaning "to share" or "to be in relation with") is usually defined as the transmission of information. The term may also refer to the message communicated through such transmissions or the field of inquir ...
and
media Media may refer to: Communication * Media (communication), tools used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Broadcast media, communications delivered over mass e ...
, sandwich degrees, advanced
engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...
degrees in all functional specialities, and the rise of management and
business studies Business studies, often simply called business, is a field of study that deals with the principles of business, management, and economics. It combines elements of accountancy, finance, marketing, organizational studies, human resource management, ...
; not least, they were much more responsive than older institutions in providing for the admission of non-standard students from technical colleges, advanced apprenticeships and other sources.


Patronage and governance

The Presidents of the Council for National Academic Awards were: * The
Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not prod ...
, 1965 to 1976 * The
Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rule ...
, 1976 to 1989 * The Princess Royal, 1989 to 1993. The Council comprised a Chairman and 21 to 25 members all appointed by the
Secretary of State for Education The secretary of state for education, also referred to as the education secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the work of the Department for Education. The incumbent is a member of the C ...
. The CNAA’s seven Chairmen were:Who's Who and Who was Who * Sir
Harold Roxbee Cox Harold Roxbee Cox, Baron Kings Norton (6 June 1902 – 21 December 1997) was a British aeronautical engineer. He was notable for his contributions to British industry, particularly aeronautical engineering, and for his part in the establishment ...
, Lord Kings Norton, 1964 to 1971 * Sir Michael John Sinclair Clapham, 1971 to 1977 * Sir Denis Rooke, 1978 to 1983 * Sir Alastair Pilkington, 1983 to 1987 * Sir Ronald Ernest Dearing, Lord Dearing, 1987 to 1988 * Sir Bryan Nicholson, 1988 to 1991 * Sir Raymond Mildmay Wilson Rickett, 1991 to 1993


Academic dress

For
graduation ceremonies Graduation is the awarding of a diploma to a student by an educational institution. It may also refer to the ceremony that is associated with it. The date of the graduation ceremony is often called graduation day. The graduation ceremony is al ...
the CNAA had its own academic dress comprising gown, hood and headwear. The bachelors’ gown was a black Cambridge pattern worn twelve inches off the ground with sleeves reaching the elbow; the doctors’ and masters’ gowns were a standard black Oxbridge pattern worn eight inches off the ground; PhD gowns had a maroon silk yoke and facings; higher doctorates had a gold-yellow gown with cream
brocade Brocade is a class of richly decorative shuttle-woven fabrics, often made in colored silks and sometimes with gold and silver threads. The name, related to the same root as the word " broccoli", comes from Italian ''broccato'' meaning "emb ...
facings. Hoods were a gold-yellow
panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...
, with a silk lining: turquoise for bachelors’; white for masters’; turquoise with a white facing for a MEng; maroon for a PhD; cream
damask Damask (; ar, دمشق) is a reversible patterned fabric of silk, wool, linen, cotton, or synthetic fibers, with a pattern formed by weaving. Damasks are woven with one warp yarn and one weft yarn, usually with the pattern in warp-faced satin ...
for higher doctors. Bachelors’ and masters’ wore a black mortar board; PhDs a cloth bonnet with a maroon cord; higher Doctors had a velvet
Tudor bonnet A Tudor bonnet (also referred to as a doctor's bonnet or round cap) is a traditional soft-crowned, round-brimmed cap, with a tassel hanging from a cord encircling the hat. As the name suggests, the Tudor bonnet was popularly worn in England and ...
with a gold cord.


See also

*
Business and Technology Education Council The Business and Technology Education Council (BTEC) is a provider of secondary school leaving qualifications and further education qualifications in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Whilst the T in BTEC previously stood for Technical, acco ...


References

{{reflist


External links


Catalogue of the CNAA archives
held at the
Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick The Modern Records Centre (MRC) is the specialist archive service of the University of Warwick in Coventry, England, located adjacent to the Central Campus Library. It was established in October 1973 and holds the world's largest archive collecti ...

Catalogue of the NCTA archives
held at the Modern Records Centre, University of Warwick
Open University Validation Services
CNAA Aftercare
The National Archives
Records created or inherited by the Council for National Academic Awards, and related bodies Academic degrees of the United Kingdom Business education in the United Kingdom Higher education organisations based in the United Kingdom 1965 establishments in the United Kingdom 1993 disestablishments in the United Kingdom