Five Years On - Glossary
This covers both terms specific to
Anglia Polytechnic University
and general terms within U.K. Further and Higher Education.
- Access courses
- These are further education courses, broadly equivalent to
A-Levels but aimed at "non-traditional" students
such as mature, part-time students with no background in further or higher
education, and are designed to prepare students for entry to higher education.
- Anglia College Enterprises (ACE)
- A wholly-owned subsidiary of the University which
carries out commercial ventures.
- AFE
- Advanced Further Education.
Generally post-A-Level and
synonymous with higher education.
- AHEC
- Anglia Higher Education College was formed on 1st April 1989
by the merger of CCAT and EIHE
and subsequently became Anglia Polytechnic
and then Anglia Polytechnic University.
- (GCE) A-Level
- General Certificate of Education Advanced-Level.
Most commonly taken about age 18 after two years of study, either at a Further
Education college or at a school Sixth Form
(secondary school finishing at age 16 with GCSEs).
- Anglia Polytechnic
- The Secretary of State (then Kenneth Clarke)
upon advice from PCFC,
approved Polytechnic designation for
Anglia Higher Education College
on 23rd April 1991, formally commencing on May 1st 1991.
Anglia had just achieved CNAA Accreditation
and had already satisfied the numerical criteria.
- Anglia Polytechnic University
- The Privy Council awarded university status to the
Polytechnic on 17th June 1992, formally commencing on September 1st.
- Brentwood College of Education
- Merged with Chelmsford School of Science and Art
to form Chelmer Institute of Higher Education.
- Binary Policy
- A 1966 Government paper introduced the "Binary Policy" of establishing Polytechnics -
the so-called binary divide of higher education into the University and Polytechnics.
This divide was removed by the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.
- BTEC
- Business and Technical Education Council.
A national body which validates vocational courses, generally
Ordinary or Higher National Certificates or Diplomas and now
NVQs and GNVQs.
- CCAT
- Cambridgeshire College of Arts and Technology.
See "CCAT - A Brief History".
Now APU's Cambridge Campus.
See also:
- Chelmsford School of Science and Art
- The original institution on the Chelmsford Central Campus.
Subsequently
Mid Essex Technical College and School of Art,
Chelmer Institute of Higher Education
and Essex Institute of Higher Education.
- CIHE
- Chelmer Institute of Higher Education.
Formed by the merger
of Brentwood College of Education
and Mid Essex Technical College and School of Art.
- City Polytechnic
- City of London Polytechnic, subsequently London Guildhall University
and London Metropolitan University.
The proposed three-way merger is described in Mike Salmon's
and Ken Swinhoe's articles.
- CNAA
- Council for National Academic Awards.
The body which awarded higher education degrees
for those bodies without their own powers of awarding (those not Universities),
such as CCAT and EIHE,
and validated their HE courses.
Created as a result of the Robbins Report
to replace the National Council for Technological Awards.
The 1985 Lindop Committeee on Academic Validation in Public Sector
Higher Education suggested a reduced role for CNAA and the Government
agreed it should have a continuing role in validation of courses but
that there should be much greater delegation to colleges through
the development of acceditation procedures.
- CNAA Accreditation
- The CNAA visit to Anglia on 20th February 1991 led to
its Council meeting on 11th April recommending acceditation for Anglia,
removing the last obstacle to Polytechnic designation.
- CHE
- Colleges of Higher Education (as opposed to Polytechnics and Universities).
- Collier Road
- Still one of the entrances to
the Cambridge Campus but the main entrance moved to Broad Street, just off East Road, when the
Helmore Building opened in 1983.
- CRC
- Cambridge Regional College.
Formerly Cambridge College of Further Education.
In the 1990s moved from a large number of small campuses, mostly
in the East Road area, to a new green-field campus at the northern
edge of Cambridge at King's Hedges
but retaining its large Brunswick site near East Road.
- Danbury Park
- Now APU's Danbury Park Conference Centre.
In the 1970s and early 1980s it was part of the Anglian Regional
Management Centre of North East London Polytechnic, and CCAT linked
with it to run Management courses.
See also "The Birth of Danbury",
doubts about inclusion in APU's assets
(Essex LEA claiming it was not part of EIHE).
- DES
- Department of Education and Science.
Subsequently the Department for Education.
The Science part of the department (responsible for science policy
and the Research Councils) was transferred in May 1992 to the new
Office of Public Service and Science
as the Office of Science and Technology.
- DfE
- Department for Education
- the Government department responsible for Education.
In 1995 this was merged with the Employment Department to form the Department for Education and Employment,
headed by the Secretary of State for Education & Employment.
- Education Reform Act 1988
- This Act allowed the larger higher education colleges and Polytechnics
to become independent of Local Education Authorities, as Corporations.
It required the LEAs to hand over agreed assets to the new Institutions.
It also created the Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council
and the Univerities Funding Council.
- "Education - A Framework for Expansion"
- The 1972 White Paper envisaged a 50% expansion in FTEs,
particularly in the Polytechnic sector.
- EEC
- European Economic Community, subsequently the European Community and since
the Treaty on European Union known as the European Union.
- EIHE
- Essex Institute of Higher Education.
See "EIHE and Beyond".
Formerly Chelmer Institute of Higher Education.
- Further and Higher Education Act 1992
- Removed the binary divide in Higher Education
under the HEFCE and other funding councils.
Granted Further Education and Sixth Form Colleges independence from
Local Education Authorities, funded by the Further Education Funding Council.
- FEFC
- Further Education Funding Council.
Created by the Further and Higher Education Act 1992.
Allocates Department for Education funding to Further Education
institutions.
- Four Counties
- The counties of Cambridgeshire, Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk form the
East Anglian region.
- FTEs
- Full-Time Equivalents.
For students, calculated as the number of hours of study per year relative
to a full-time student (currently 20 hours x 30 weeks).
For staff, calculated as the hours worked per week relative to full-time staff
(currently 37 hours for support staff).
- GNVQs
- General National Vocational Qualifications are an
extension of NVQs
within the NVQ Framework.
They are equivalent to
four GCSEs (level 2 GNVQs),
two A-Levels (level 3 GNVQs),
and higher education degrees (level 4 GNVQs).
- GCSE
- General Certificate of Secondary Education.
At the end of (compulsory) secondary education at age 16, pupils
normally take a number of these in various subjects.
- Harry Browne
- CCAT Lecturer in History and Librarian, subsequently Head of the
Faculty of Arts and Languages. Author of the 1958 pamphlet "The First Hundred Years"
to celebrate the centenary of the founding of the Cambridge School of Art.
- Higher Education Corporations
- A special type of non-profit corporate body ("hec") created by the Education Reform Act 1988
for higher education bodies.
- HEFCE
- Higher Education Funding Council for England.
Created by the Further and Higher Education Act 1992 to replace
the PCFC and UFC for England.
Since 1st April 1993, it allocates Department for Education funding to Higher Education
institutions.
There are equivalent bodies for Scotland (SHEFC) and Wales (HEFCW)
and in Northern Ireland funding comes directly from the Department of Education of the
Northern Ireland Office (DENI).
- Homerton College
- Was an independent (HEFCE-funded) teacher training college in Cambridge,
with degrees awarded by Cambridge University, until 2001 when it became a College
within the University.
- Humberside, East Anglia and Dorset
- These three regions had no Polytechnic provision in 1989 and
had strong contender Colleges.
As of April 1990 Humberside College and Dorset Institute had
CNAA acceditation (unlike Anglia) but did not meet
the numerical criteria (which Anglia did).
All three were invited to apply for Polytechnic designation by PCFC
in May 1990. In June Humberside College
was accepted as meeting all the criteria and Dorset Institute was accepted
as having in-built growth ensuring compliance in September.
Anglia had to wait for CNAA accreditation.
The University of Humberside is now the University of Lincoln.
- Incorporation and merger
- At midnight on 31st March 1989 CCAT
and EIHE were incorporated separately
as Higher Education Corporations under the
PCFC. CCAT, having reached agreement with its
LEA over assets,
then sold them to EIHE and the two bodies merged to form
AHEC at 00:01 on 1st April 1989.
- Instalments
- Instalments of post-War building on the Cambridge Campus:
- 1956 First Instalment, the Mellish-Clark building
- 1958 Second Instalment, the David building, named after Baroness David of Romsey, Chairman of Governors 1974-1979
- 1960 Third Instalment, the Bryant building, opened by and named after the distinguished
historian Sir Arthur Bryant, College Principal from 1923 (age 23) to 1925
- 1967 Fourth Instalment, the Coslett building, named after Terry Coslett, Chairman of Governors 1979-1989
- 1970 Fifth Instalment, the Mumford building (Theatre, Library & Canteen)
- 1972 Sixth Instalment, the Rackham building, named after Councillor Mrs. Rackham, a Governor
- 1978 Seventh Instalment, Mumford extension (Library & classrooms)
- 1983 Eighth Instalment, Helmore building
- 1991/2 Swinhoe Hall of Residence (117 beds)
- 1992 Helmore extension (classrooms)
- 1993 Mumford extension (SU offices and Bar)
- 1996 Mumford extension (Library Phase 1)
- 1998/9 Peter Taylor Hall of Residence (254 beds)
- 2003-4 Helmore extension (project named 'Opus 1')
- LEA
- Local Education Authority:
Cambridgeshire County Council, Shire Hall, Cambridge
Essex County Council, Shire Hall, Chelmsford
- MSC
- Manpower Services Commission.
An agency of the Department of Employment, formed in 1974, which organised
(amongst other things) vocational training for the unemployed,
and following a 1984 White Paper "Training for Jobs" organised
vocational qualifications.
This function has now been taken over by the
National Council for Vocational Qualifications.
- Mid Essex Tech
- The Mid Essex Technical College and School of Art,
subsequently Chelmer Institute of Higher Education.
- NAB
- National Advisory Body for Public Sector Higher Education.
Advised on the allocation of Department of Education and Science funding
for AFE courses.
Created in 1981 in response to the Oakes Committee Report,
following a change of Government and a consultative paper.
Replaced by the PCFC.
- NVQs
- National Vocational Qualifications are qualifications for work,
defined within the NVQ Framework.
There is always a significant element of work experience involved.
They are awarded by bodies such as BTEC.
- NAFE
- Non-Advanced Further Education.
Generally GCE A-Level and equivalents.
- NCVQ
- National Council for Vocational Qualifications.
The July 1986 White Paper "Working Together in Education and Training"
established the NCVQ to oversee all vocational qualifications in
England and Wales, such as NVQs
and GNVQs via the NVQ Framework.
- National Vocational Qualification Framework
- This is defined by the NCVQ.
It aims to improve the quality of training and bases qualifications
on competence and standards.
- North East London Polytechnic
- Subsequently the Polytechnic of East London and now the
University of East London.
- OPSS
- Office of Public Service and Science.
The Government office responsible in the early 1990s for public service (the Civil Service), science and technology policy
and related matters such as the Citizen's Charter and Open Government initiatives.
It also contained:
- Office of Science and Technology
- Central Computing and Telecommunications Agency
(the Government Centre for Information Systems)
- Chessington Computer Centre (Civil Service payroll service)
- Her Majesty's Stationery Office
(the Government publishers)
- Civil Service College
- Recruitment & Assessment Services Agency
- Occupational Health Service
Source: "Computing", 25-Jun-1992
- OST
- Office of Science and Technology.
The Government office responsible for science and technology policy.
Part of the Office of Public Service and Science.
- Oakes Committee Report
- March 1978, on the Management of HE in the Maintained Sector.
This led to the formation of the National Advisory Body.
- "The Organisation of Technical Colleges"
- The 1956 White Paper which defined four categories for distribution of resources:
- Colleges of Advanced Technology
- Regional Colleges
- Area Colleges
- Local Colleges
- PCFC
- Polytechnics and Colleges Funding Council.
Created by the Education Reform Act 1988 to replace the NAB.
Now merged with UFC to form the HEFCE in England.
Allocated Department of Education and Science funding to Polytechnics
and Colleges.
- Polytechnic Designation
- The PCFC decided at its meeting of 27th Sept. 1989
on the following criteria for recommending Polytechnic designation to the
Secretary of State:
- Size: 4000 full-time HE students, 1500 part-time HE students (home and
EC)
- Level of work: two-thirds of the 4000 to be first degree and postgraduate
- Range of work: 300 full-time students in 5 of the 9 PCFC programme areas
- Regional considerations: in a marginal case, where an applicant
does not meet the quantitative criteria, the lack of a Polytechnic in the
region will be taken into account.
- The Privy Council
- The formal Executive (as opposed to Legislative or Judicial) body of the United Kingdom,
exercising the Royal Perogative in commission.
Its members have the title "Right Honourable".
In practice Government decisions are made by Ministers,
the Cabinet and its committees,
with perhaps formal endorsement by the Privy Council.
- Research Councils
- The Research Councils are the channel through which the
Department of Education and Science and now the Office of Science and Technology
channels public funding for research projects.
From 1st April 1994:
- Biotechnology & Biological Sciences
- Economic & Social Sciences
- Engineering & Physical Sciences
- Medical
- Natural Environment
- Particle Physics & Astronomy
- In 1995 control was transferred to the Department of Trade and Industry
and a Minister for Science.
- Rivermead Campus
- A new 8.7 hectare campus on the outskirts of Chelmsford, at the junction of Essex Regiment Way
and Rectory Lane.
- Robbins Committee
- The 1961 Robbins Committee report "Higher Education" set the scene for a
huge expansion of higher education in both University and LEA sectors.
One of its recommendations was that Colleges of Advanced Technology be given
University status, removing them from LEA control.
Another was the founding of the CNAA.
- John Ruskin 1819-1900
- An English critic and social theorist;
a founder in 1868 of what was to become CCAT.
He became the first Professor of Art in England when he was appointed
Slade Professor of Fine Art at Oxford University in 1870.
- Sandwich courses
- A mode of delivery intended for those in full-time employment in which
the student attends during term time on a full-time basis.
- Schools of Nursing
- The Schools of Nursing
in Essex hospitals were transferred from District Health Authorities to APU's
Faculty of Health and Social Work.
- School of Radiography
- The Addenbrookes Hospital (Cambridge) School of Radiography were transferred from
the Area Health Authority to APU's
Faculty of Built Environment, Science & Technology,
physically moving in Summer 1994.
- Sinclair Building, Cambridge Campus
- This started as a mineral water bottling factory in the 1880s
and in 1982 was converted by Sir Clive Sinclair to be his headquarters.
It became Anglia property on 1st April 1989 as part of incorporation.
- Slough
- Slough College of Higher Education, now part of
Thames Valley University.
- UCB
- Unit Cost Budgeting.
Introduced by Cambridgeshire LEA in 1987, it reckoned costs in
terms of NAFE costs in NAFE-only institutions and thus penalised
CCAT due to its "Seamless Robe".
- UFC
- Univerities Funding Council.
Created by the Education Reform Act 1988.
Successor to the University Grants Committee, now merged
with PCFC to form the HEFCE in England.
Allocated Department of Education and Science funding to Universities.
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