Council for National Academic Awards

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The Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) was the United Kingdom’s national body for awarding degrees from 1965 until it ended on 20 April 1993. It came about after the Robbins Committee recommended replacing the diploma-awarding National Council for Technological Awards with a council that could award degrees. This gave colleges more freedom to design their own courses while being overseen by CNAA.

In 1974, the National Council for Diplomas in Art and Design joined CNAA. CNAA’s motto, Lauream qui Meruit Ferat, means “let whoever earns the laurel bear it.”

What CNAA did
- It awarded diplomas, bachelor’s degrees, master’s degrees, and research doctorates. By its end, CNAA had awarded over 1.3 million degrees and other awards.
- It granted degrees at polytechnics, central institutions, and other non-university colleges of higher education until those institutions became universities.
- When CNAA was dissolved, the Open University was asked to continue awarding degrees in remaining non-university institutions and to keep CNAA records.
- CNAA oversaw the degree powers of polytechnics through its subject panels.
- Its aim was to maintain national comparability of degree levels with universities. This had pros (clear respect and compatibility across the system) and cons (some saw it as encouraging an “academicism” that slowed change).

Impact and innovations
- Polytechnics helped drive important changes, including women’s studies, media studies, sandwich degrees, advanced engineering degrees, and growth in management and business studies. They were also quicker to admit non-traditional students from technical colleges and apprenticeships.

Governance and ceremonies
- CNAA consisted of a chairman and 21–25 other members appointed by the Secretary of State for Education.
- For graduation ceremonies, CNAA had its own academic dress, with specific gowns, hoods, and caps for different degrees.