University	UTS
Discipline	Engineering
Title	"Using a Graduate Attributes Framework for Designing and Teaching a New Engineering Course"
Year Addressed	1st year (in context of 4 years)
Themes	Identifying Attributes; Curriculum; Learning Experiences; Assessment
Generic Attributes	Critical appreciation of the concept of sustainability Appreciation of the importance of advocacy in the community & professional contexts Formulation of reasoned arguments in writing and speaking

Issues Revealed:

-Courses in Engineering traditionally have focused only on the professional needs of the graduates and have neglected the academic and personal needs of students during and beyond their university experience.
-There is a need to shift from a content driven curriculum to a learner centred curriculum.
-There is real need for reflective practitioners, engineers whose practice was informed not only by established knowledge, but by critical reflection of the impact of their own and their professional colleagues' actions in relation to expectations and values of the culture and society in which they work.
-What engineers need just as much as an appropriate foundational technical knowledge, are an attitude and a confidence to succeed as life long learners.

Actions Taken:

-A set of Graduate Attributes were developed and identified that could be applied to all engineering courses.
-Engineering courses were restructured and subjects conceptualised into 4 key categories: Core subjects; Fields of practice subjects; Engineering practice subjects and elective subjects. All students would study the common Core subjects and then go on to develop in their specialist areas.

-A framework was conceptualised so that graduate attributes could be developed in a staged manner over the period of the course, leading to the final stage of demonstrating qualities identified as those of reflective engineering practitioners.
-Mechanisms for monitoring the attainment of graduate attributes were developed by using: Student portfolios, and informal interactions with students at Learning and Design Centres by staff.
-A curriculum review process was established so that each subject could be reviewed for its content, approaches, and assessments, against the course aims and the framework for graduate attribute development.
-The teaching and learning process for developing these attributes were examined in more detail for the new. -Core subject Engineering for Sustainability.

Lessons Learned/ Reflections:

-The course has only been fully introduced in 1999.
-The language of the attributes was a major difficulty for the staff; time and continued debate are needed to develop a shared understanding and ownership of the graduate attributes.
-Motivating staff to get involved in unfamiliar territory has been a challenge, but team teaching has helped to provide a sense of safety and peer support.
-The learning experiences in Engineering for Sustainability are challenging to students as well as staff; modelling of the assessment tasks by staff is a critical part of supporting students' learning.
-The team teaching arrangement of engineers working with English language and study skills experts have been beneficial not only to students, but to engineering staff as a staff development process.