Appendix 1 ~ Policy C/1.

3 Graduate capabilities

1.3.1 The graduate capabilities

1.3.2 Implementation
Modification History

QUT is committed to developing graduates who can contribute effectively as

citizens, leaders in the wider community, and competent professionals within their
chosen discipline. Employers of QUT graduates need to be confident that
graduates will demonstrate employment-related skills as well as disciplinary
expertise and be capable of dealing effectively with new situations. Graduates, in
turn, need to be confident in their understanding and articulation of their capability
development, and their preparedness for a challenging and dynamic future.

QUT expects that each graduate from an undergraduate degree will display
certain generic capabilities which are listed below. QUT recognises that students
entering postgraduate courses will very likely have reached a high level of
development in some of the capabilities, and that therefore postgraduate courses
may not exhibit a set of learning opportunities for the full range of capabilities
described here.

With that caveat, the following graduate capabilities are identified as important
values, attitudes, knowledge and skills that graduates should develop as part of
their learning experience at QUT.

Top

1.3.1 The graduate capabilities

Every QUT course aims to develop graduates who are able to demonstrate:

• knowledge and skills pertinent to a particular discipline or

professional area

encompassing:
o coherent theoretical and practical knowledge in at least one
discipline area at the level of entry to a profession
o technological skills appropriate to the discipline

• critical, creative and analytical thinking, and effective problem-

solving

including:
o the ability to critique current paradigms and contribute to
intellectual inquiry
o the capacity to exhibit creative as well as analytical ways of
thinking about questions in at least one discipline
o the ability to identify, define and solve problems in at least one
discipline area
 • effective communication in a variety of contexts and modes

including:
o effective written and oral communication with discipline specialists
and non-specialists and in cross-cultural contexts

• the capacity for life-long learning

including:
o searching and critically evaluating information from a variety of
sources using effective strategies and appropriate technologies

• the ability to work independently and collaboratively

including:
o managing time and prioritising activities to achieve goals
o demonstrating the capacity for self-assessment of learning needs
and achievements
o being a cooperative and productive team member or leader

• social and ethical responsibility and an understanding of indigenous

and international perspectives

encompassing:
o active contribution to intellectual, social and cultural activities
o understanding and appreciation of indigenous perspectives
o recognition and appreciation of gender, culture and customs in
personal and community relations
o valuing and promoting truth, accuracy, honesty, accountability and
the code of practice relevant to the discipline or professional area

• characteristics of self-reliance and leadership

including:
o the ability to take the initiative, to embrace innovation, and to
manage change productively

Top

1.3.2 Implementation

The University recognises that graduate capabilities are ideally articulated and
assessed within a discipline context. Appropriate curriculum design and teaching,
in the context of discipline knowledge, provide the foundation for the development
of graduate capabilities at QUT, and place the following responsibilities on
faculties.

Each faculty will:

• identify the graduate capabilities for each discipline which expand and
enhance the University list above
• develop a graduate capabilities development strategy for each course.
The strategy will include a statement of the qualities, skills and knowledge
the faculty agrees its students should develop within the individual course.
These qualities, skills and knowledge will incorporate the graduate
capabilities articulated within this statement.
• map graduate capabilities across each course and advise students
explicitly of the capabilities being addressed in each unit
• advise students where within the course the capabilities are assessed (eg
core or capstone or other units)
• incorporate graduate capabilities development within the substantive
content and learning of each course
• review the use of the Student Capability Profile (SCP) to document
activities in courses and units which develop generic capabilities, and
encourage students to use the SCP to systematically record and reflect
upon learning experiences and activities that illustrate their development
of generic skills at QUT
• attempt to identify for students the levels of capability development that
they have. A possible model to use is contained within the ATN Generic
Capabilities Project Report, at
http://www.clt.uts.edu.au/Frameworkforaction.htm (see section
headed Qualitative differences in the attainment of a generic capability )