Responsibility for the implementation of the Graduate Attributes Policy is at the course level. Here the attributes are prioritised and defined in conjunction with discipline specific attributes and professional practice requirements. Curriculum mapping of a course is used to interpret the generic attributes and to produce a plan for incremental and increasing standards of achievement across the units which make up a course. Mapping ensures congruence between learning outcomes, learning activities and assessment which encourage the development of all learning outcomes including graduate attributes, and enables students to demonstrate their standard of acquisition. Beyond the initial implementation stage ongoing monitoring and responsibility is as outlined in the Academic Quality Management Policy. Curriculum mapping is the key task in implementing the Graduate Attributes Policy and is seen as best practice by the Australian University Quality Agency (AUQA).

2. Curriculum mapping rationale

A curriculum map is a tool to ensure that:

The course has clear and understandable course learning outcomes that are learnable, measurable and assessable and reflect the graduate attributes as appropriate to the discipline. Descriptors should be specifically defined and prioritised at the course level.
Every unit in the course contributes to the students’ achievement of those course learning outcomes. There is no overlap or needless repetition, and there are no gaps in the course.
Every unit in the course contributes to the development of appropriate higher order thinking skills as part of a coherent pathway.
Every unit has a syllabus, clear and concise learning outcomes, a tuition pattern (for example, workshops and tutorials) devised to assist students to achieve the outcomes; and assessment tasks which directly measure the students’ achievement of the learning outcomes.

Curriculum mapping is based on the concept of the aligned curriculum: clear learning outcomes supported by carefully chosen learning experiences, tested by directly linked assessment tasks. (Curriculum 2010, Curtin University, http://c2010.curtin.edu.au)

Where personal attributes and values cannot be certified (Clanchy and Ballard 1995), course objectives and teaching activities will demonstrate that students have been exposed to a broad range of perspectives, codes of conduct for the relevant profession, or role modelling.

2.1 Why is curriculum mapping emphasised so heavily?

Linking the essential aspects of curriculum design and documenting standards of attainment through assessment criteria allows students and the University to demonstrate precisely the standard of its graduates’ learning and skills to external stakeholders.
DDOGS requires Australian universities to articulate learning outcomes for their HDR students.
The implementation of the Australian Graduation Statement nationally will require universities to define specific learning outcomes, including graduate attributes, achieved in each course of study for inclusion on the statement (The Hon Julie Bishop, 2006a).
National course quality measures and the Learning and Teaching Performance Fund (LTPF) draws on seven performance indicators for the LTPF in 2008, mostly drawn from the Australian Graduate Survey. These were:
- The number of Australian graduates in full-time employment;
- The number of Australian graduates in part-time or full-time study;
- Australian graduates’ level of satisfaction with generic skills;
- Australian graduates’ level of satisfaction with good teaching;
- Australian graduates’ overall satisfaction index;
- Progress rates - the proportion of subject load passed by students;
- Retention rates - the proportion of students who completed or were retained in the subsequent year (http://c2010.curtin.edu.au).

3. Definitions

The following definitions (http://c2010.curtin.edu.au) form part of the Guidelines.

Course or single major mapping: A course might be a three or four year course with core units, then options and electives. The curriculum map provides an overview of which learning outcomes are guaranteed within the core units, selected optional units (or majors options) and any capstone unit. Electives will not normally be mapped.

Professional competencies or accreditation requirements: The professional competencies should be mapped to UNE’s attributes (not the other way around). Because UNE’s graduate attributes are deliberately generic, most professional competencies will map easily. Extra professional competencies can be added to the eight UNE attributes.

Nested courses: Certificates, Diplomas and Masters should be mapped together to ensure that each award can stand alone in terms of comprehensive and coherent graduate attributes coverage. Graduates of different levels of awards will achieve similar learning outcomes but at clearly differentiated levels reflecting increasingly challenging levels of achievement.

HDR awards: the Australian Directors and Deans Of Graduate Studies’ (DDOGS) Framework for Best Practice in Doctoral Education (2005) and the associated Joint Statement of the UK Research Councils' Training Requirements for Research Students, is recommended as guidelines for defining graduate attributes and competency levels under the broad UNE list of attributes. Links to these documents are provided for information:

However, UNE’s Higher Degrees Research Committee has developed a global set of doctoral attributes for UNE students. These are listed in Postgraduate Essentials, a set of learning modules for postgraduate students provided by Research Services. A basic skills audit is included. A skills audit with very useful self-reflection guidance for students for the full joint statement list of attributes is available at http://www.vitae.ac.uk/1603/Skills%20audit.html.

4. Workload

The workload of the curriculum mapping process is recognised and some support is available for the early implementation phase. The workload can be partly managed by beginning the process with a report of a course’s current recorded information drawn from the Course Unit Repository (CAUR) (version one) to be reviewed and amended as necessary after approval processes (version two). Section 8 provides a step-by-step curriculum mapping process guide for initial mapping. Thereafter curriculum mapping will be part of Annual Course Monitoring and Course Reviews.

4.1 Support

To assist whole-of-course-teams the following support will be provided for curriculum mapping during the period 2008-2009:

T&LC staff development and/or facilitation. This service is available beyond the implementation period.
facilitator support for updating course descriptions where substantial change is required and for preparing the maps (maximum 18 hours per course).

Comprehensive resources and templates are available for particular steps in the curriculum mapping process as a further form of support.

5. Reporting

Graduate attribute aims in awards (excluding HDR awards) will be reported via the statements included in course and unit data held in the Course and Unit Repository (CAUR). Assessment and graduate attribute information not currently displayed in official UNE course information will be updated in CAUR once each team completes the process and the subsequent course and unit amendments have been approved through the existing workflow mechanisms. Once the data is available in the CAUR course descriptions will be available to monitor and provide evidence of the implementation process within and beyond the University. Thereafter annual curriculum monitoring or full course reviews will be the avenue for future changes.

6. Five year implementation schedule

The prioritized schedule for 2008-2013 is:

	Arts Undergraduate	Science Undergraduate	FOTP Undergraduate	Postgraduate
End of 2008	BURP (external accreditation) Psychology (external accreditation)	Computer Science (external accreditation)	Bachelors of Business, Commerce, Counselling, Education (P) (external accreditation), Nursing
End 2009	BA, external accreditation courses in Arts, Arts diplomas and advanced diplomas	Bachelors of Environmental Science, Natural Resources, Engineering Technology	Bachelors of Economics, Financial Admin, Training and Devt, Administrative Leadership, Professional Nursing	Graduate certificates, diplomas and masters (nested course work courses) GIS cert/dip/masters
End 2010	Bachelor of Archaeology, Communication Studies, Indigenous studies, Social Science,		Bachelors of Special Edn, Teaching (Early Childhood), Social Work, Audiology, Health, Aging and Community Services, Professional Studies	All HDR awards (4) Dip of Ag Grad cert/dip in Science, Grad cert/dip/ Masters in Urban and Regional Planning, Psychology, Arts
End 2011	Bachelors of Theatre Studies, International studies, Languages, Language and International Business	Bachelors of Agribusiness, Ag & Resource Economics, Agric, Livestock Science, Science, Rural Science,		All grad certs, diplomas and Masters course work-FOTP + Natural Resources, Environmental Management, Marine Science
End 2012	Psychology	Bachelors of Geoscience, Biomedical Science	Bachelor of Laws	Master of Applied Linguistics, Grad cert/dip Rural Science, Master of Ag, Diploma in The Sciences
End of 2013	Bachelors of Music, Psychological Science, Criminology	Bachelors of Engineering Technology, Advanced Science, Marine Science and Management		Graduate Cert/dip in Computer Science, Information Technology, Master of Computer Studies, Master of Music, Master of Applied Theatre Studies, Graduate Diploma in Humanities

Notes:

Combined and double degrees and degrees with honours are to be considered with the respective Bachelor degree.
The contribution of service units should be included in course maps.
Variations to the schedule can be made providing all course mapping is completed by 2013
HDR awards use a list of global doctoral attributes contained in ‘Postgraduate Essentials’ learning modules administered by Research services.

6.1 Beyond the implementation phase

Annual course monitoring and course reviews will identify changes to learning outcomes, teaching approaches, and assessment needs on a regular basis. Please refer to Academic Quality Management Policy and Guidelines for full details.

7. Student self reflection and personal development planning

Students should be active partners in the teaching and learning process to achieve graduate attributes and other learning outcomes. Students can demonstrate their achievement of graduate attributes through:

formal assessment results
guided self-reflection of learning experiences and action planning
presentation of evidence via a personal ePortfolio.

The main purpose of self reflection is to assist learning. Students contribute to, or take responsibility for their own learning through the reflection process and move towards the self-directed and independent learning necessary for lifelong learning. Students can use their recordings of experiences and achievements to build a CV demonstrating that they have the work skills desired by prospective employers.

A simple generic self-reflection guide has been devised for inclusion in units. Unit coordinators may use the generic guide or customise the checklist to match the graduate outcomes and employability skills included in their unit. An electronic template via a standard link in online units allows students to save their responses for future reference. The Careers Matrix used by Careers and Counselling can be used by students in their final year to summarise and collate their yearly recordings and reflections. The self-reflection guide will eventually be replaced by a UNE ePortfolio.
Student self-reflection guide

8. Summary of steps in course team curriculum mapping process to embed graduate attributes

Step 1. Refine graduate attributes for course level implementation

as a group discuss and translate UNE graduate attributes into a course or major context
define levels of attainment for each graduate attribute across a study pathway

Step 2. Map graduate attributes at course/major level

map graduate attributes at unit level
identify those that are taught/assessed implicitly
identify those that are taught/assessed explicitly
combine unit information into a course summary or map

Step 3. Analyze the course map from step 2 for incremental development pathway

identify appropriate units to address gaps or to eliminate overlap
determine additional teaching and assessment strategies
determine changes to assessment criteria
on consensus create an updated course map

Step 4. Implement any changes using course and unit approval mechanisms

Step 5. Document explicitly within units (e.g. learning outcomes and assessment criteria), in course descriptions and marketing publications.

Step 6. Add student self-reflection guide to unit information

A more detailed version is available including templates to guide the process.
Facilitation and administrative support is available from T&LC.

9. Resources and Templates

Detailed step by step guide for curriculum mapping
Mapping the existing course (template 1a) based on AUQA best practice (doc)
Mapping Units to the Course (template 1b) (doc)
Aligning Unit Learning Outcomes (ULO) to Course Learning Outcomes (CLO) (template 1c) (doc)
The aligned curriculum.pdf: practical help in writing learning outcomes and linking to teaching activities and assessment; writing marking criteria for standards of achievement; Bloom’s Taxonomy of Thinking Levels.
Aligning outcomes, teaching and assessment pp 17-20 Graduate Attribute Resource Guide
Teaching activities pp 25-28 Graduate Attribute Resource Guide
Assessment criteria Ch 1 Graduate Attribute Resource Guide. Criteria are included in several of the examples used throughout this chapter as well as in chapters on specific attributes and the appendices.
Student self-reflection guide
Policies:

9.1 Examples of completed course maps

To help in the understanding of the mapping process examples are included to demonstrate how particular courses have mapped the graduate attributes.

10. References

Bloom, B. S. 1956, Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals. Book 1: Cognitive domain, Longman, London.

Chapman, L. 2004, Graduate Attributes Resource Guide: Integrating Graduate Attributes into Undergraduate Curricula, University of New England, Armidale NSW Australia.

Clanchy, J. & Ballard, B. 1995, 'Generic Skills in the Context of Higher Education', Higher Education, Research and Development, vol. 14, no. 2, pp. 155-166.

Curriculum 2010, Curtin University, http://c2010.curtin.edu.au Accessed 25.6.07

Council of Australian Deans and Directors of Graduate Studies: ‘Framework for Best Practice in Doctoral Education in Australia’, 2005. http://www.ddogs.edu.au/files?folder_id=2123770849 Accessed 21.4.09

Joint Statement of the UK Research Councils’ Training Requirements for Research Students (2003?) http://www.vitae.ac.uk/cms/files/RCUK-Joint-Skills-Statement-2001.pdf
Accessed 21.4.09.

The Hon Julie Bishop. 2006a, 7 September, 2006, Australian students to get international qualifications ‘passport’. http://www.dest.gov.au/Ministers/Media/Bishop/2006/09/B001070906.asp

Global UNE Links:

Graduate Attributes at UNE

Sub sections:

Guidelines for implementation of the Graduate Attributes Policy and Quality Management processes

1. Introduction