Three institutions made up the core of The West London Institute of Higher Education when it was created in 1976. These were Borough Road College, Maria Grey College and Chiswick Polytechnic. Both Borough Road College and Maria Grey College were constituent Colleges of University of London Institute of Education and concentrated on Education awards – the Bachelor of Education and Certificate in Education.
Brunel University London is delighted to offer Honorary Awards in Education to alumni who were previously awarded a Certificate in Education from one of our predecessor colleges, more information can be found here: Celebrating Honorary Awards in Education | Brunel University London.
Chiswick Polytechnic did not, by and large, make awards in its own name. It specialised in teaching awards with professional qualifications.
From 1976 until 1986, degree awards made through West London Institute of Higher Education were validated by the University of London Institute of Education. However, the Institute of Education (IOE) now forms part of University College London (UCL). Records are housed in the UCL IOE special collection archives. You can view the online catalogue here: UCL Archives.
Those who wish to access academic records for their Certificate in Education should refer to the information on UCL’s website: Individual Rights including Subject Access Requests (SARs) | Data Protection - UCL – University College London.
Those who need their Certificate in Education to be reprinted should contact the University of London (honoraryteachingdegrees@london.ac.uk). Please note, this is not essential for registration and verification for the Honorary Award in Education.
In 1987 the CNAA (Council for National Academic Awards) was set up. This body accounted for almost all awards made by Polytechnics etc. This body ran until 1992 when it was disbanded and many Polytechnics were awarded University status. Award information for this period is held by the OUVS (Open University Validation Service).
On 1 February 1995 the merger of Brunel University and the West London Institute of Higher Education began. From this point, students received a Brunel University certificates which indicated that they had completed a course of study through Brunel University College. The only exception to this was Education. At the point that Brunel University was created, the Education department from both the College and the University became one as part of the University and not the College. Full integration was completed in August 1997.
BTEC - Edexcel
Not to be confused with B.Tech, which is a specialist degree qualification, BTEC is an acronym for the Business and Technology Education Council. This UK-based organisation was formed in 1984 with the amalgamation of the Business Education Council (BEC) and the Technician Education Council (TEC). BTEC conferred vocational awards, below the level of university degrees, matched to the needs of business and industry. Public and private organisations were able to specify the content of relevant courses of study, some of them non-academic, as well as higher awards - BTEC Nationals, BTEC Higher Nationals, etc. BTEC approved the courses and conferred certificates or diplomas.
In 1996 the functions of BTEC were transferred to Edexcel, a private company that is the largest UK awarding body of academic and vocational qualifications.
These qualifications are now verified by Pearson whose website can be found here
Council for National Academic Awards (CNAA)
The CNAA was abolished by the 1992 UK Further and Higher Education Act and as a result, The Open University accepted responsibility for the care and maintenance of certain CNAA records and for providing appropriate access to them. Information regarding the service they provide and their contact details can be found here.
We would normally recommend for you make enquires with The Open University Validation Service (OUVS) with regards to the qualifications awarded by the CNAA and not Brunel University London.