The National Open College Network (NOCN), formerly known as the Open College Network (OCN), is a

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 North ...

organisation developed to recognise

informal learning Informal learning is characterized "by a low degree of planning and organizing in terms of the learning context, learning support, learning time, and learning objectives". It differs from formal learning, non-formal learning, and self-regulated le ...

achieved by adults.

History

The first organisation of this type was created in 1981 in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

: the Manchester Open College Federation. Later as more organisations formed across the UK, the term Open College Network was adopted, each distinguished by its home geographical area. By 2000, there were 31 OCNs that worked in collaboration with NOCN (National Open College Network) that had been setup in 1991 as a formal membership organisation for the regional OCN's. In 2005, the 31 OCNs were merged to form 11 larger OCNs (nine in England, one in Wales - now Agored Cymru - and one in Northern Ireland) with NOCN acting as an advocate with government. The OCNs were the first accreditation bodies to use credit as the basis of the award system. Credit was established as the common currency for all OCNs and consistent definitions of four levels of achievement were established. The OCNs continue to offer credit-bearing courses and work-based learning programs, in various centres including schools, colleges, voluntary organisations, community centres, trades unions, prisons, training providers, and employers. The OCNs in England and Wales are all Access Validating Agencies recognised by the

Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education The Quality Assurance Agency for Higher Education (QAA) is the independent body that checks on standards and quality in UK higher education. It conducts quality assessment reviews, develops reference points and guidance for providers, and condu ...

(QAA) for award of

Access to Higher Education The Access to Higher Education (HE) Diploma is a U.K. qualification which prepares students — usually 19+ — for study as an undergraduate at university. The diploma is designed for people who would like to study in higher education but who le ...

diplomas. In 2010/2011 all of the OCNs also became Awarding Organisations recognised by

Ofqual The Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual) is a non-ministerial government department that regulates qualifications, exams and tests in England. Colloquially and publicly, Ofqual is often referred to as the exam "watchdog ...

. Some have adopted new, replacement names including Open Awards, Aim Awards, Apt Awards and Laser Learning Awards. Others, including

OCN London OCN London is a UK national not for profit awarding body organisation that creates and awards qualifications. OCN London stands for Open College Network London Region, however it is popularly known as 'OCN London' in the UK. The awarding body col ...

, Open College Network West Midlands (previously OCNWMR), OCNER, OCNYHR, have retained their historic OCN title in their names. In 2008, the Welsh OCN, Agored Cymru, ceased to be members of NOCN and in 2013 the majority of English OCNs decided not to renew their agreement with NOCN who had legally changed their company name from the National Open College Network. In 2017, NOCN acquired CSkills from the Construction Industry Training Board (

CITB The Construction Industry Training Board (CITB) is the industry training board for the UK construction industry. History The CITB was established on 21 July 1964 by the Industrial Training (Construction Board) Order 1964,Explanatory Note to The ...

), becoming one of the largest UK construction Awarding Organisations. The current NOCN Group also includes the organisations NOCN India Skills Foundation, NOCN Job Cards, CPCS, and NOCN Cymru.{{cite web , url=https://www.nocn.org.uk/about/nocn-group/ , title=NOCN Group , website=nocn.org.uk , accessdate=October 12, 2020

References

External links

NOCN website
1981 establishments in the United Kingdom Distance education institutions based in the United Kingdom Education in Sheffield Organisations based in Sheffield Vocational education in the United Kingdom