1. The Implementation and Embedding of Graduate Attributes: the Staffordshire University Experience
AURIL Conference Edge Hill University 10th December 2014
Dr Steve Wyn Williams
Dean of Academic Policy and Development
Professor Mike Clements NTF
Emeritus Professor of Enterprise Education
Rosy Crehan
Executive Deputy Vice Chancellor

2. Structure of Presentation
Graduate Attributes: the context
Implementation of the Staffordshire Graduate Attributes (SGA) across all levels from
The Staffordshire Graduate Employability Programme (SGEP) –the innovative pilot programme that forms a key part of the delivery of the Staffordshire Graduate

3. Graduate Attributes: the context
Everything we do at Staffordshire University is carried out with the student at the heart of our decisions.
In 2011, The University declared, a promise as part of its University Plan, a pledge, to all its future students, that it would deliver on the Staffordshire Graduate Attributes as part of the curriculum, to produce graduates who can be successful as global citizens who are employable, enterprising and entrepreneurial. Our students will leave possessing more than academic knowledge. They'll have an understanding of the real world and how they can have an impact on it.
The pledge was communicated within the University and through a national advertising campaign using cinema, TV, radio and press coverage in 2012 and again in 2013.

4. What are Graduate Attributes?
Graduate attributes are commonly understood as an articulation of
“…the qualities, skills and understandings a university community agrees its students should develop during their time with the institution. These attributes include but go beyond the disciplinary expertise or technical knowledge that has traditionally formed the core of most university courses. They are qualities that also prepare graduates as agents of social good in an unknown future.” (Bowden 2000)

5. What’s New?
A University training…is the education which gives man a clear conscious view of his own opinions and judgments, a truth in developing them, an eloquence in expressing them, and a force in urging them…It teaches him to go straight to the point, disentangle a skein of thought… It prepares him to fill any post with credit and to master any subject with facility.
It shows him how to accommodate himself to others. He is at home in any society;…he can ask a question pertinently;…he knows when to be serious and when to trifle, and he has a sure tact which enables him to trifle with gracefulness and to be serious with effect…
John Henry Newman(1853) Idea of a University

6. Graduate Attributes: some current trends
An increased interest in the development and embedding of Graduate Attributes (GAs) within Universities
GAs are deemed to be important insofar as they should make clear to a range of stakeholders what are the core learning outcomes of a university education

7. Graduate Attributes: some current trends
Universities have always endeavoured to develop desirable qualities in their graduates. BUT in recent years there has been an increased focus on articulating graduate attributes explicitly rather than implicitly
For many universities, however, GAs have been viewed as a set of additional learning outcomes rather than learning outcomes inherent in core university learning and teaching experiences.
“Such responses, while making such outcomes more explicit, typically focus on a limited range of decontextualised skills and are consequently perceived by students and educators as having little to do with the type of learning normally associated with higher education” (Hughes and Barrie (2010))

8. Graduate Attributes: some current trends
Increasingly recognised that there is a need to demonstrate the achievement of these important GAs through assessment.
If GAs are not assessed they will not be taken seriously by students or teachers, in addition:
Employers value GAs and often seek information on these achievements from applicants
Governments expect evidence of GA achievement because of links made with the knowledge economy, innovation and national well-being
Assessment of GAs supports students and teachers in their monitoring and development

9. Key GAs in Australian Universities
Wordle of the 50 most common words in 38 Australian universities' graduate attribute statements as at May 2011 (Oliver, B. (2011))

10. Key GAs in Australian Universities
Clear differentiation between universities, but some very common outcomes:
1. Written and oral communication
2. Critical and analytical (and sometimes creative and reflective) thinking
3. Problem-solving (including generating ideas and innovative solutions)
4. Information literacy, often associated with technology
5. Learning and working independently
6. Learning and working collaboratively
7. Ethical and inclusive engagement with communities, cultures and nations.

11. Graduate attributes in Scottish HE
As part of the programme of Scottish Enhancement Themes from 2008 to 2011 – the 19 HE institutions –considered the topic Graduates for the 21st Century (G21C) and considered two overarching questions:
What should be the attributes of a graduate from Scottish higher education in the twenty-first century?
How can the achievement of these attributes best be supported?

12. Graduate attributes in Scottish HE
completed-enhancement-themes/graduates-for-the-21st-century

13. Implementation of the Staffordshire Graduate Attributes
Everything we do at Staffordshire University is carried out with the student at the heart of our decisions.
In 2011, The University declared, a promise as part of its University Plan, a pledge, to all its future students, that it would deliver on the Staffordshire Graduate Attributes as part of the curriculum, to produce graduates who can be successful as global citizens who are employable, enterprising and entrepreneurial. Our students will leave possessing more than academic knowledge. They'll have an understanding of the real world and how they can have an impact on it.
The pledge was communicated within the University and through a national advertising campaign using cinema, TV, radio and press coverage in 2012 and again in 2013.

14. Staffordshire University
Regional UK University (Post 92)
23,500 UK students
22,000 Home, 1,500 International (75 countries)
20,864 Studying in Partner Institutions
4,283 in 25 UK FE/Private Providers
16,581 in 22 institutions in 16 countries overseas
47% from disadvantaged backgrounds
34% mature students, 98% state schools

15. Key Driver: the SGAs would lead to enhanced employability
According to Mantz Yorke graduate attributes are:
“a set of achievements – skills, understandings and personal attributes – that makes  graduates more likely to gain employment and be successful in their chosen occupations, which benefits themselves, the workforce, the community and the economy.”
Yorke, M. (2006), “Learning and Employability: Employability in higher education – what it is, what is it not”, HEA Academy (

16. The Staffordshire Graduate
The Staffordshire Graduate represents a set of
qualities that the University passionately believes
is necessary for success in the 21st century. The
Staffordshire Graduate is a reflective and critical
learner with a global perspective, prepared to
contribute in the world of work.

17. Developing Global Citizenship
Knowledge and Understanding
Developing Global Citizenship
Reflective and Critical Enquiry for Lifelong Learning
Global Citizenship
Reflective and Critical Learner
Communication and Teamwork
Lifelong Learning
Professionalism
Extra-Curricular support for 3Es and recording of achievement
Employability, Enterprise and Entrepreneurship (the 3Es)

18. The Staffordshire Graduate will:
Discipline Expertise: 
Have an understanding of the forefront of knowledge in their chosen field
Professionalism:
Be prepared to be work-ready and employable and understand the importance of being enterprising and entrepreneurial
Global Citizenship:
Have an understanding of global issues and of their place in a globalised economy
Communication and Teamwork:
Be an effective communicator and presenter and able to interact appropriately with a range of colleagues
Have developed the skills of independence of thought and (when appropriate) social interaction through teamwork
Reflective and Critical Learner:
Have the ability to carry out inquiry-based learning and critical analysis
Be a problem solver and creator of opportunities
Lifelong Learning:
Be technologically, digitally and information literate
Be able to apply Staffordshire Graduate attributes to a range of life experiences to facilitate life-long learning and life-long success.

22. Implementing the Staffordshire Graduate
Academic Board decided in October 2011 that all undergraduate programmes:
should be structured normally on the basis of modules of 30 credits with normally no more than two 15 credit modules per level
should demonstrate in detail at each level how the Staffordshire Graduate Attributes would be addressed through the curriculum.

23. Implementing the Staffordshire Graduate
A University Standing Panel (USP) considered proposals made by Programme teams. The Programme Specification, approved by the Faculty, included a detailed mapping of where in the curriculum the SGAs are located and assessed
Most staff teams felt they had already facilitated to some extent the SGAs in their programmes, many felt this had previously often been only implicit; they welcomed the opportunity to consider in some depth precisely where the SGAs sat in their programmes of study and, in particular, how they were assessed.

24. The Staffordshire Graduate Employability Programme
Everything we do at Staffordshire University is carried out with the student at the heart of our decisions.
In 2011, The University declared, a promise as part of its University Plan, a pledge, to all its future students, that it would deliver on the Staffordshire Graduate Attributes as part of the curriculum, to produce graduates who can be successful as global citizens who are employable, enterprising and entrepreneurial. Our students will leave possessing more than academic knowledge. They'll have an understanding of the real world and how they can have an impact on it.
The pledge was communicated within the University and through a national advertising campaign using cinema, TV, radio and press coverage in 2012 and again in 2013.

25. The Staffordshire Graduate Employability Programme
Would extend our knowledge and experiences of delivering the SG Attributes
Would aim to capture the ‘whole student experience’ both Inside and Outside the Classroom
Would introduce compulsory work-related experience
Everything we do at Staffordshire University is carried out with the student at the heart of our decisions.
In 2011, The University declared, a promise as part of its University Plan, a pledge, to all its future students, that it would deliver on the Staffordshire Graduate Attributes as part of the curriculum, to produce graduates who can be successful as global citizens who are employable, enterprising and entrepreneurial. Our students will leave possessing more than academic knowledge. They'll have an understanding of the real world and how they can have an impact on it.
The pledge was communicated within the University and through a national advertising campaign using cinema, TV, radio and press coverage in 2012 and again in 2013.

26. The Staffordshire Graduate Employability Programme
Introduced a Pilot Two Year (Levels 4 and 5) Programme embedded into existing Awards
At Level 4, Delivering as part of a core module, contextualised Soft (Transferable) Skills
At Level 5, introducing a work-related element of 25 hours (minimum) into the Core
Everything we do at Staffordshire University is carried out with the student at the heart of our decisions.
In 2011, The University declared, a promise as part of its University Plan, a pledge, to all its future students, that it would deliver on the Staffordshire Graduate Attributes as part of the curriculum, to produce graduates who can be successful as global citizens who are employable, enterprising and entrepreneurial. Our students will leave possessing more than academic knowledge. They'll have an understanding of the real world and how they can have an impact on it.
The pledge was communicated within the University and through a national advertising campaign using cinema, TV, radio and press coverage in 2012 and again in 2013.

27. The Staffordshire Graduate Employability Programme
Identified 1 undergraduate Award in each Faculty (6)
Everything we do at Staffordshire University is carried out with the student at the heart of our decisions.
In 2011, The University declared, a promise as part of its University Plan, a pledge, to all its future students, that it would deliver on the Staffordshire Graduate Attributes as part of the curriculum, to produce graduates who can be successful as global citizens who are employable, enterprising and entrepreneurial. Our students will leave possessing more than academic knowledge. They'll have an understanding of the real world and how they can have an impact on it.
The pledge was communicated within the University and through a national advertising campaign using cinema, TV, radio and press coverage in 2012 and again in 2013.

28. “A degree may not be enough…”
Evidence of the benefits of work-related experiences
Emphasising the importance of soft, transferable skills to employability opportunities
Engagement and Consultation with our Careers Services, Recruitment Agencies and Employers
Everything we do at Staffordshire University is carried out with the student at the heart of our decisions.
In 2011, The University declared, a promise as part of its University Plan, a pledge, to all its future students, that it would deliver on the Staffordshire Graduate Attributes as part of the curriculum, to produce graduates who can be successful as global citizens who are employable, enterprising and entrepreneurial. Our students will leave possessing more than academic knowledge. They'll have an understanding of the real world and how they can have an impact on it.
The pledge was communicated within the University and through a national advertising campaign using cinema, TV, radio and press coverage in 2012 and again in 2013.

29. Embedding in the curriculum
To make it core
Each Award to maintain its academic integrity through staff ‘ownership’
Making it ‘relevant’ through contextualising the Graduate Attributes
And this contextualisation is embedded and developed throughout the Award
Everything we do at Staffordshire University is carried out with the student at the heart of our decisions.
In 2011, The University declared, a promise as part of its University Plan, a pledge, to all its future students, that it would deliver on the Staffordshire Graduate Attributes as part of the curriculum, to produce graduates who can be successful as global citizens who are employable, enterprising and entrepreneurial. Our students will leave possessing more than academic knowledge. They'll have an understanding of the real world and how they can have an impact on it.
The pledge was communicated within the University and through a national advertising campaign using cinema, TV, radio and press coverage in 2012 and again in 2013.

30. Attainment and Experiences – ‘evidence’
Integral to the SGEP was the introduction of an e-portfolio to facilitate:
Recording of Learning Experiences
Reflecting on those Learning Experiences
Building a work-ready Living CV from Level 4

31. Influencing Culture Change
Influencing University Culture Change

32. Launch University 2012 over 700 students and 70 staff @ Level 4 (2012)
over 1500 Levels 4 and 5 (2013/14)

33. Lessons Learnt University Culture
Support from the Executive for change
Brought soft skills and employability more main stream in terms of representation on senior management committees
Closer cooperation between Services and Academic departments
Closer collaboration between Faculties on joint learning projects
Changed the dynamic of staff perceptions of the delivery of Soft Skills (Barrie)
Not my problem
Important but not my role to deliver them – careers?
Making them relevant to my discipline

34. Research
Engagement of staff in research/ from conference papers to registered research programmes
Links with the HEA and overseas HE institutions
Curriculum Development
Dissemination of experiences has led to uptake in other Award programmes
Widened the debate on the use of PDPs and Reflective Learning

35.  Technology
Increased uptake in electronic usage and developments
Living CVs and use of Social Media
Staff
New staff skills
 Dissemination of Good Practice/Experiences on a regular basis has provided new opportunities for both students and Faculty to work together on collaborative curriculum developments

36. Staffordshire Graduate
Work Ready, World Ready
Thank You for Listening
Any Questions?