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Attributes
of a UNE Graduate
The
University of New England's goal is to ensure that its graduates will
be able to demonstrate the command of a significant body of knowledge
of sufficient depth, to demonstrate an understanding of one or many
disciplines or professional areas; to apply that knowledge in a range
of circumstances and to recognize the social and historical context
of that knowledge within those disciplines or professional areas.
However, when you graduate you will move into a world of constant change
with strong competition for employment. This world will require you
to adapt personally and professionally, to grow, to change and to contribute
to the development of a better future for yourself, your profession
and your community. These may even be the reasons some of you decided
to study externally. The University of New England takes seriously its
commitment to prepare you for this world of change.
In the context of the learning experiences at UNE, graduates will be
expected to have developed a range of attributes that will enable you
to meet the challenges that come your way. The Attributes of a UNE Graduate
is a statement of what UNE considers important for its students. These
are:
- Communication
skills
- Global Perspective
- Information
Literacy
- Lifelong
Learning
- Problem
Solving
- Social Responsibility
- Teamwork.
Different disciplines
will emphasize different skills and may introduce additional attributes
but they all fit under the seven broad headings above.
Why
are they important to me?
Reports
of what employers require of graduates emphasize the need for well-developed
generic skills as well as discipline specific content. Employers look
to a university degree as the basic requirement but then distinguish the
most employable graduates by their generic skills—such as communication,
teamwork and problem solving.
The graduate attributes provide you with a useful framework for describing
the knowledge, skills, abilities and personal qualities that you develop
through your course and from your other life experiences. This framework
can be used to produce a portfolio that will be invaluable when you apply
for jobs. In it you can set out your academic achievements in terms of
knowledge, and also the other qualities that you, as a graduate of the
University of New England, bring to a workplace. These qualities will
also be important in other parts of your life, eg as a citizen and family
member.
How
will I acquire these attributes?
In
the context of the learning experiences within your course you will be
exposed to opportunities to learn certain skills (eg team work and problem
based learning) and to practise these skills in relevant situations. You
may be provided with criteria to judge how you are going or be more formally
assessed on your abilities. This is the sort of information that you will
want to record in your portfolio as you go along (see below). This will
assist you to make your own assessment of your abilities, and perhaps
to take some extra action of your own to help you acquire the attributes
that are important to you. For example, the New England Award recognizes
the skills and attributes developed in extra-curricula activities. In
addition UNE provides resources for independent study on the web page
of the Academic Skills Office at http://www.une.edu.au/tlc/aso/
How
do I record this information?
An
electronic portfolio template is being developed to allow you to record
a range of information, including graduate attributes, for later use when
you apply for a job. For example you may have participated in the New
England Award or worked part-time while at UNE. This information can be
recorded along with the more official assessment tasks of your formal
study. For more information about the unE-portfolio and the New England
Award follow the link from the ASO web site.
What
exactly do the graduate attributes mean?
Each
course is likely to have its own particular criteria or standard of achievement
for attributes and the various components. The examples below are not
exhaustive. Not all will appear in all units, but over your entire course
you will be exposed to all attributes.
Knowledge
of a discipline
Mastering a body of discipline-specific knowledge is the keystone of your
university degree. Supplementing this comprehensive knowledge base with
a broad range of attributes will help you to function effectively as a
professional in your career.
Communication
Skills
Graduates will be able to communicate effectively. This could mean:
- Demonstrate
oral, written, numerical and graphic communication
- Use the
medium and form of communication appropriate for a given situation
- Present
well reasoned arguments.
Global
Perspective
Graduates will be able to demonstrate a global perspective and intercultural
competence in their professional lives. This could mean:
- Demonstrate
an awareness of the global context of their discipline and professional
area
- Function
in a multicultural or global context.
Information
Literacy
Graduates will have developed competencies in information literacy. This
could mean:
- Find, acquire,
evaluate, manage and use information in a range of media
- Acquire,
organize and present information, particularly through technology-based
activity.
Lifelong
Learning
Graduates will be prepared for lifelong learning in pursuit of personal
and professional development.
This could mean:
- Understand
the limitations of, and have the capacity to evaluate their current
knowledge
- Identify,
evaluate and implement personal learning strategies
- Use a wide
range of academic skills (research, analysis, synthesis etc.)
- Practice
intellectual curiosity, creativity and critical thinking
- Learn both
independently and co-operatively
- Learn new
skills and apply learning to new and unexpected situations
- Recognize
opportunities.
Problem Solving
Graduates will be effective problem-solvers, capable of applying logical, critical and creative thinking to a range of problems.
This could mean:
- Identify critical issues in the discipline or professional area
- Conceptualise problems and formulate a range of solutions
- Collect, collate and analyse relevant information to assist problem-solving.
Social
responsibility
Graduates will be encouraged to ethical action and social responsibility.
This could mean:
- Acknowledge
the social and ethical implications of their actions
- Appreciate
the impact of social change
- Recognize
social justice issues relevant to their discipline and professional
area
- Demonstrate
responsibility to the community
- Appreciate
the importance of sustainable development.
Teamwork
Graduates will be able to work collaboratively to achieve common goals.
This could mean:
- Work
collaboratively and network effectively to solve problems
- Take responsibility
and carry out agreed tasks
- Take initiative
and lead others
- Operate in
a range of supportive roles within teams
- Negotiate,
assert their own values and respect the values and contributions of
others
- Evaluate
team performance.
Assessment
Assssment of your attainment of graduate attributes will usually be part
of formal assessment tasks, depending upon the particular objectives of
the unit. For example, where successful teamwork forms one of a unit's
objectives, part of the overall grade for the unit might be derived from
an assessment of the way you have contributed to team outcomes. The marking
criteria for assessment tasks will indicate what is being assessed.
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