Evaluating the student attainment of graduate attributes through direct method

Abstract

The attainment of Graduate Attributes, GA-1: Creative and Solution oriented, GA-2: Effective Communicator, and GA-3: Critical Thinker, by the graduates of Modern College of Business and Science, Oman, was evaluated using the Direct Method. Student grades in various courses that embed these GAs were accessed by mining data from the examination archives. The average scores of these GAs were compared with the benchmarked global test values of TTCT, IELTS, and CCTST respectively. The analysis revealed that, while the attainment of GA-1 is satisfactory, GA-2 and GA-3 need focus. Gender differences were noticed wherein female graduates’ attainment of GAs was found to be higher than male graduates. The attainment of GAs was not uniform across various departments in the college. Based on VUCA Theory, Social Penetration Theory, and Theory of Inquiry, this study attains significance in the light of HEIs attempting to provide job-ready students to the industry globally. This study establishes the practical implications of GA assessment in higher education and enables us to identify the GAs to focus on.