Originally published in 1990, A Higher Education was commissioned by the Council for National Academic Awards to commemorate its silver jubilee. The book covers the history of a period of rapid expansion in higher education outside the universities, mirrored in the growth and development of the CNAA. The Council was established with the role of awarding degree courses in polytechnics and colleges, and so its successes and strengths – as well as its problems and difficulties – reflect very closely the preoccupations and events of higher education since 1964. The book describes how the CNAA helped to broaden the range of degree courses beyond the traditional subjects, the way it maintained and enhanced standards in a swiftly changing academic world, and its part in widening access to higher education. The book draws on interviews as well as extensive records of the CNAA and some of its institutions.