Council for National Academic Awards
Encyclopedia
The Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) was a degree awarding authority in the United Kingdom
from 1965 until 1992. The CNAA awarded academic degree
s at polytechnics
, Central Institution
s 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 asked the Open University
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 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 (e.g. retaining the common currency of the undergraduate degree for entry to postgraduate study); but negative, in the eyes of some (e.g. Pratt, 1997), in that 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, the academic study of communications and media, sandwich degrees, the rise of business studies, and not least, were much more responsive than older institutions in provision for the admission of non-standard students.
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
from 1965 until 1992. The CNAA awarded academic degree
Academic degree
An academic degree is a position and title within a college or university that is usually awarded in recognition of the recipient having either satisfactorily completed a prescribed course of study or having conducted a scholarly endeavour deemed worthy of his or her admission to the degree...
s at polytechnics
Polytechnic (United Kingdom)
A polytechnic was a type of tertiary education teaching institution in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland. After the passage of the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 they became universities which meant they could award their own degrees. The comparable institutions in Scotland were...
, Central Institution
Central Institution
A central institution was a type of higher education institute in 20th and 21st century Scotland responsible for providing degree-level education but emphasising teaching rather than research. Some had a range of courses similar to polytechnics elsewhere in the United Kingdom while others were...
s 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 asked the Open University
Open University
The Open University is a distance learning and research university founded by Royal Charter in the United Kingdom...
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 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 (e.g. retaining the common currency of the undergraduate degree for entry to postgraduate study); but negative, in the eyes of some (e.g. Pratt, 1997), in that 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, the academic study of communications and media, sandwich degrees, the rise of business studies, and not least, were much more responsive than older institutions in provision for the admission of non-standard students.