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Programme Approval and Revalidation

The Graduate Attributes

Exploring the university’s Graduate Attributes and guiding principles of mapping them to your modules.

The Graduate Attributes are a set of transferable skills and capabilities that Cardiff University has developed in partnership with students, academics and employers. These attributes are intended to be a golden thread running through every student’s time at Cardiff and can be developed through their studies and via extra-curricular opportunities in their School, and across the wider university. By developing the attributes, students will maximise their chances of securing graduate-level employment as social, economic and environmentally aware global citizens.

This video provides a short introduction to the Graduate Attributes:

The Cardiff University Graduate Attributes are:

Access the GA icon images as .png files if you would like to add them to any information, promotional or marketing material e.g. module handbook.

C1 Contribute positively and effectively when working in a team, having an impact from the outset.

C2 Demonstrate enthusiasm and the ability to motivate themselves, and positively influence others in meeting agreed responsibilities.

C3 Be respectful of the roles of others and acknowledge the limits of their own skills/experience.

EC1 Listen to and take account of the views of others.

EC2 Communicate complex ideas effectively to diverse audiences.

EC3 Contribute to discussions, negotiate and present with impact.

EC4 Deliver, accept and act on constructive feedback.

EC5 Take a professional approach to communication, including their own online or social media profiles, and be alert to how words and actions may be interpreted by others.

ESEA1 Consider own personal and professional ethical, social and environmental responsibilities.

ESEA2 Demonstrate personal and professional integrity, reliability and competence.

ESEA3 Understand organisations, their stakeholders and their impact on the community.

ESEA4 Actively take responsibility for promoting human rights, celebrating diversity and widening inclusion.

ESEA5 Be mindful of the Climate Emergency and the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

ESEA6 Act as global citizens, engaging with and valuing cultural difference through practical experience of other countries.

ICT1 Identify, define and analyse complex issues and ideas, exercising critical judgement in evaluating sources of information.

ICT2 Demonstrate intellectual curiosity and engage in the pursuit of new knowledge and understanding.

ICT3 Investigate problems and offer effective solutions, reflecting on and learning from successes and failures.

IECA1 Generate original ideas and apply creative, imaginative and innovative thinking in response to identified needs and problems.

IECA2 Take the initiative to act on own ideas and the ideas of others, balancing risk and returns and making things happen.

IECA3 Be confident in pursuing entrepreneurship as a viable and rewarding career path.

IECA4 Understand organisations, their stakeholders and their impact on the economy.

RR1 Actively reflect on own studies, achievements and self-identity.
RR2 Demonstrate resilience, adaptability and creativity in dealing with challenges, and be open to change.
RR3 Identify and articulate own skills, knowledge and understanding confidently and in a variety of contexts.
RR4 Engage with new ideas, opportunities and technologies, building knowledge and experience to make informed decisions about own future.
RR5 Set aspirational goals for continuing personal and professional development, planning effectively with a commitment to lifelong learning.

If they are to be impactful, graduate attributes need to be visible to students and the significance of them understood. Graduate recruiters state that students often have a wealth of achievements and experiences, but they are not able to translate these into the skills and attributes that employers are looking for, and therefore they are not able to articulate them in their CV, LinkedIn profile, applications or at interview.

The last two years have shown that attempting to predict the future is a risky business. What we can say with some certainty is that undertaking a university degree undoubtably helps graduates develop essential skills that will equip them for success in the future. The challenge often lies in students’ recognition and articulation of their skills, which is where extracting and surfacing the employability value of degrees, authentic assessments that mirror the working world and opportunities for interaction with employers (either extracurricular work experience or embedded in the curriculum), can help.
What do Graduates Do? AGCAS, 2023.

Many of the attributes will already be embedded in academic programmes, so they need to be surfaced and acknowledged.

As part of your Employability and Graduate Attributes Review, you will need to complete a Graduate Attributes Mapping activity, as it will form part of your overall submission to the Programme Approval and Revalidation Sub-Committee. We recommend that you complete this activity after having undertaken a holistic review of employability on your programme and created your Programme and Module Learning Outcomes, which the Education Development Service can support you with. The Graduate Attributes Mapping exercise can act as a useful self-audit once the majority of programme design has been completed.

The recommended approach is to map the attributes against the key knowledge and skills acquired on completion of the modules. Where gaps are identified, there may be options to embed additional, relevant activities into the programme, or to signpost the extra-curricular activities that students can undertake to develop the attributes.

Before starting the mapping activity, it is important to be aware of several principles when considering how to map your outcomes and modules against the graduate attributes:

Six Principles of Graduate Attribute Mapping

The attributes are intended to be a ‘golden thread’ running through a student’s time at Cardiff, and have been devised, with input from employers, to maximise each student’s chances of securing graduate-level employment by enabling them to become social, economic and environmentally aware global citizens.

The attributes are not part of the ‘Cardiff contract’ with students, as the University is not guaranteeing that students will develop all of the attributes as part of a programme of study. The commitment is that, through a range of curricular and extracurricular activities, students will have the opportunity to develop the attributes during their time at Cardiff.

There is no requirement that an attribute has to be assessed, although the fact that it is assessed is likely to provide good evidence that the attribute is embedded in a programme of study.

There is no requirement for a programme to include exposure to all of the attributes, as it is permissible for some attributes to be developed through additional extracurricular activities. What is required is that a programme should provide sufficient exposure to the attributes to genuinely reflect the institutional commitment to enabling students to become social, economic and environmentally aware global citizens.

Therefore, a programme that includes very little exposure to the attributes, so placing the onus on students to develop the attributes themselves via extra-curricular activities, is unlikely to meet the institutional commitment. However, it is perfectly acceptable for a programme to have less emphasis on some attributes than others, provided relevant extra-curricular opportunities exist and are articulated to students.

The areas of focus for each attribute are only suggested ways in which the attribute can be developed, and other options may be equally valid.

Given their shorter duration, postgraduate taught (PGT) programmes may have less scope to support the development of the full range of attributes, and in particular, vocational programmes are likely to be required to prioritise relevant professional practice skills.

Before submitting your completed template to the Programme Approval and Revalidation Sub-Committee, we recommend that you share it with your College Business Partner for review. They can advise on the likelihood of it being approved by the Sub-Committee and/or support with further enhancements, if required.