Graduate Attributes at CQUniversity

What are Graduate Attributes?

Graduate Attributes, also known as generic skills or generic attributes, are skills that are highly valued by employers and managers.  In addition to having the required technical skills related to the discipline, employers want graduates to be excellent communicators, to be proficient problem solvers and to work well in a team. While these skills provide benefits for the employer, being able to demonstrate that they have developed these generic skills can provide advantages for new graduates. These skills provide a firm foundation for success in the workplace and can lead to ongoing career advancement. In short, the development of graduate attributes ensures that CQUniversity graduates are well prepared for the workplace.The ability to communicate, to work in a team and to solve problems can be introduced and developed at university and can be refined throughout life.  With the benefit of feedback, reflection and action planning, university can provide a safe environment for students to practise, test and refine these generic skills.

At CQUniversity, graduate attributes have been developed for access programs, undergraduate programs and postgraduate programs. The terms CQUniversity uses for each of the program levels are shown below.

More information for CQUniversity staff can be found on the Academic Board intranet.

The development of graduate attributes is the responsibility of the academic providers and award granting institutions. It is important to note that graduate attributes are not developed within individual courses within a program, but are embedded and progressively developed within a program. This ensures that students are provided with opportunities to develop the skills within the context of their particular discipline.

Why the focus on graduate attributes?

Graduate attributes are becoming increasing important to Australian universities due to increased scrutiny on graduate quality by both government and industry accrediting bodies. Graduate attributes have emerged as an important outcome due to a number of factors including these provided by the University of Tasmania:

• It is no longer sufficient for graduates to simply acquire disciplinary knowledge to guarantee them a job at the completion of their degree.
• Increasingly, employers expect their recruits to be able to function efficiently in an ever-changing work environment. In order to be able to do this, graduates must be able to solve problems, communicate effectively with clients and colleagues, work in teams, think critically, be creative and have sound information technology skills.
• These days, knowledge becomes very quickly dated. Graduates, in order to maintain their place in the employment market, must become flexible and adaptable to the changing conditions. They need to become lifelong learners, open to new ideas and new ways of learning and thinking.
• Graduates need to achieve and demonstrate to employers their acquisition of generic skills that can be applied in a number of contexts.

Assistance with Graduate Attributes

The Educational Development Team in the Office of Learning and Teaching can provide advice and assistance in planning, mapping or assisting your students to develop graduate attributes. Please contact the Educational Developers.