The Academic Planning Committee

- Summary of the Current Situation (Item 5)

16 March 2001

5. GRADUATE ATTRIBUTES

At its meeting on 17 May 2000 Council resolved to adopt seven generic attributes of graduates. These are:

• Analysis and Problem Solving
  
• Communication
  
• Global Perspectives
  
• Indepth Professional Knowledge
  
• Interdisciplinarity
  
• Social Interaction
  
• Social Justice

Council resolved (res 42/00(c)) to adopt a preferred approach for mapping courses to the generic attributes which requires that information be recorded as a list of all Part I and Part II required units against a particular attribute. Including for each unit: the
objectives; content/learning activities; and assessment relevant to the attribute.

Divisions were asked (res 42/00(d)) to complete the mapping for all courses by the end of 2001. By May 2001 (res 42/00(e)) each Division should have developed a plan on how it will address the issues of multiple pathways and appropriate standards to be
applied, and report this to Council.

There has been concern that Divisions may not be able to meet the May deadline for reporting on their plan to deliver the graduate attributes. The timing was intended to bring the importance of the graduate attributes to bear upon the present (2002)
planning round.

However, Divisions are at present committed to conversion of streams to minors, and on the new template for Handbook entries as part of Phase II planning, and therefore there may be insufficient time for Divisions to complete the task.

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The President of Council has approved a recommendation from the Chair of APC to: (a) move the deadline for Divisional reports to Academic Council on plans to implement graduate attributes to December 2001; and that (b) the requirement for Divisions to address the issues of multiple pathways and appropriate standards be made coincident with the 31 December 2001 deadline for the mapping process itself. Council will be asked to endorse this action at its next meeting.

In this way the outcome of the mapping process can feed into the 2003 planning round. An additional benefit will be that the results of this year's entry tests under the Graduate Skills Assessment programme will also be available.

The Chair will report further and seek Committee's advice on how best to assist the Divisions to meet the 31 December 2001 deadline and then to further Murdoch's commitment to the teaching of graduate attributes. For information attached is the
report of the Working Party on Generic Attributes of Graduates considered by Council at its meeting on 17 May 2000.

Taken from:

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