The Need for the Graduate Attribute Assessment Tool (GAAT)

Abstract

Universities have developed sets of Graduate Attributes (GAs) to be achieved by their graduates across all programs. GAs are often associated with development of ‘sustainability’ capabilities. However, there is little indication that sustainability GAs are assessed to determine the extent of achievement, application, relevance to professional practice or to provide feed-back into curriculum design. This paper reports on the development of the Graduate Attributes Assessment Tool (GAAT) to determine achievement of the sustainability GA. The research developed, in 2016, a tool to assess the level of graduate attainment, application and use of a sustainability GA in a graduate’s workplace. The GAAT is unique as it is founded in the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB). The tool was trailed on a sample of RMIT graduates and assessed to determine if it was an appropriate tool. The complex nature of the sustainability GA meant that a modified version of the TPB was required. This resulted in the development of questions that required participants to reflect on their behaviour in their workplace in relation to a specific scenario. Additional questions were included to enable feed-back on curriculum to allow for modification to assist sustainability GA achievement. The GAAT pilot indicated that it provided valid outcomes of the achievement of the sustainability GA and insight for curriculum review. Development of the GAAT and its piloting have provided the basis for a practical, flexible tool for assessing sustainability GAs, and has potential for further development into a tool for assessing the wide range of university GAs.