ABSTRACT
Between the Lord Robbins Report and the government's acceptance of its main provisions for the expansion of higher education, and the formal establishment of the Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA) less than a year later, the new organization was negotiated and structured with considerable speed. Establishing the CNAA was felt to be a 'great event'. After some fifteen years the Robbins Committee had resolved the problem of degrees in establishments other than universities. Although, as Derman Christopherson, for example, considered, university influence was not felt strongly in the CNAA, the role of the universities had been built in to the Council's work from the moment the Robbins Committee reported. Colleges had a part to play in higher education complementary to that of the universities and the opportunities were great. The CNAA was being driven into making judgments about colleges as well as courses, laying down conditions about environments and future overall directions, as well as about course syllabuses.
