This resource explains the purpose of ACU’s graduate capabilities and describes what they are and how they can be assessed.
Overview
InsightEach graduate has become aware of their own characteristics as a professional, a citizen and a scholar; they are ready to change and grow and prepared for lifelong learning; their experience at ACU has supported them to seek truth and meaning.
ImaginationEach graduate is encouraged to think creatively and critically to solve problems and see opportunities for innovation; they can discern and build a better future for each person and community.
EmpathyEach graduate has had experience of Indigenous Knowledges and can respect and work alongside Australia’s First Peoples; they are able to connect with people and cultures, locally and globally; they can integrate knowledge across disciplines.
ImpactEach graduate recognises their responsibility to work for social justice and a sustainable world, guided by ethical principles and a commitment to human dignity and the common good; they are ready to respond to and lead changes in their sphere of influence and contribute to their professions and to the community.
The icons have been designed by Riki Salam @ WeAre27Creative. More information on the ACU Graduate Attributes and the unique First Nations icon designs can be found on the ACU website.
The ACU Graduate Attributes are embedded across ACU curricula through two key components: A course-level graduate statement and 12 graduate capabilities. The graduate statement and the graduate capabilities work together to enable students to achieve the aspirational graduate attributes.
Student achievement of the graduate capabilities evidences their capacity to demonstrate the aspirations of the ACU graduate attributes and these aspirations are captured in a unique way through the course-level graduate statement. The graduate statement reflects what is distinctive about an ACU graduate in the context of their field of study and professional practice. For more information on the graduate statement please go to the Graduate Statement resource.
The graduate capabilities are the skills and capabilities that underpin the development of the graduate attributes. There are the twelve graduate capabilities. The graduate capabilities are embedded implicitly and explicitly within ACU’s graduate attributes.
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Description |
A graduate who has discipline knowledge is able to demonstrate discipline-based concepts, principles, and understandings appropriate to the field of study. |
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Activities that could be used to assess discipline knowledge include:
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Description |
A graduate who has the skill of applied knowledge is able to competently use their disciplinary knowledge in relevant fields of study and/or professional practice. |
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Activities that could be used to assess applied knowledge include:
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Description |
A graduate who has the skill of autonomous learning is able to learn and perform independently and as a reflective, effective, self-aware learner. |
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Activities that could be used to assess learning autonomy include:
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Description |
A graduate who has collaborative skills is able to collaborate respectfully and effectively with diverse peoples and groups in local and global contexts. |
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Activities that could be used to assess collaborative skills include:
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Description |
A graduate who has cultural capability is able to understand and learn from Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander knowledges, histories and experiences, and their impacts, and apply critical reflective practice to influence social change and work alongside Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities. |
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Assessments and learning should focus on improving the development of and growing cultural capability of students. Cultural capability can vary depending upon context and is therefore difficult to measure or assess. Cultural capability is not a competency for students to achieve or attain, rather it is ongoing learning journey which requires continuous learning as a student and a future professional. Activities that could be used to assess development and growth of the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples cultural capability include:
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Curriculum and teaching practices and processes that can support integrating the Graduate Attributes and the Australian Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Peoples cultural capability include:
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Description |
A graduate who has the skill of community mindedness is able to engage critically with social issues and work with community in ways that recognise the dignity of the human person and advance the common good. |
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Activities that could be used to assess discipline knowledge include:
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Description |
A graduate who has the skill of critical thinking is able to critically analyse and evaluate their own ideas and those of others and to synthesise information to formulate clear and well-reasoned, evidence-based positions. |
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Activities that could be used to assess critical thinking include:
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Description |
A graduate who has problem-solving skills is able to use critical thinking to address practical problems with appropriate evidence, and support decision making. |
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Activities that could be used to assess problem-solving skills include:
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Description |
A graduate who has the skill of information literacy is able to locate and assess the authority and relevance of information from a range of sources, including scholarly, research-based evidence and the media, and reference them appropriately. |
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Activities that could be used to assess information literacy include:
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A graduate who has the skill of digital literacy is able to use a range of information communication technologies effectively in personal, academic, and professional contexts. |
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Activities that could be used to assess digital literacy include:
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Description |
A graduate with written communication skills has the ability to present information and ideas effectively in a variety of written genres to diverse audiences. |
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Activities that could be used to assess written communication skills include:
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Description |
A graduate with oral communication skills has the ability to present information and ideas effectively in a variety of spoken genres to diverse audiences. |
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Activities that could be used to assess written communication skills include:
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The initial process for aligning the graduate capabilities with the unit learning outcomes will involve consideration of different factors depending on the School, discipline and course the unit is part of.
It is important to only tick the relevant graduate capabilities, in most cases only a few capabilities will align with each unit learning outcome. Achievement of the graduate capabilities should be spread across a course. It is not expected that one unit will cover all, or even most of the graduate capabilities.
Aligning the unit learning outcomes to the graduate capabilities should be considered part of an ongoing process, to be revisited and reimagined when units and courses are reviewed. The following points provide overall guidance for how the initial task of aligning the unit learning outcomes to the graduate capabilities could be approached.
It may be useful to initially consider what Graduate Attributes have been mapped to the unit learning outcome in the past. This consideration should then be related to the new graduate capabilities.
When aligning the graduate capabilities and unit learning outcomes, it is also useful to consider how the unit learning outcome, and therefore the graduate capability, is assessed. Consider the relationship between the assessment tasks aligned to the learning outcome and the graduate capability.
Consider the wording of the learning outcome and how it relates to the graduate capability. Consider the verb and the content of the learning outcome. Learning outcomes that “Define” or “Outline” do not generally reflect alignment with critical thinking or problem-solving.
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