Graduate attributes

What is it?

Graduate attributes are the qualities, knowledge, skills, abilities and attitudes to be developed by students during their studies. Within this context, it is the intent of Swinburne that all its graduates:

• are capable in their chosen professional, vocational or study areas;
• are entrepreneurial in contributing to innovation and development within their business, workplace or community;
• operate effectively and ethically in work and community situations;
• are adaptable and manage change; and
• are aware of local and international environments in which they will be contributing (eg socio-cultural, economic, natural).

Why use it?

The development of graduate attributes in our students is seen to be:

• an important aspect of quality assurance for university teaching
• satisfying professional bodies' educational requirement for course accreditation
• Swinburne University policy - graduate attributes have to be addressed in the course documentation when seeking course accreditation
• good for employment - employers prefer employees to have skills that determine whether or not an individual will operate successfully on entering a profession

See also

The government report 'Achieving Quality'
http://www.dest.gov.au/nbeet/publications/pdf/92_37.pdf (pdf version requires Acrobat Reader)