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Course Design Procedure - Graduate Capabilities

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Section 1 - Key Information

Policy Type and Approval Body Academic – Academic Board
Accountable Executive – Policy Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Academic)
Responsible Manager – Policy Director, Higher Education Standards Registration
Review Date 10 March 2026
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Section 2 - Purpose

(1) Graduate Capabilities (GCs) are interdisciplinary skills, knowledge and abilities that equip students to live and work in a rapidly changing and complex world. They are desirable and transferable attributes sought by employers.

(2) The GCs encapsulate for both students and the wider community the defining characteristics of a La Trobe graduate and describe a set of characteristics that are designed to be transferable beyond the disciplinary context in which they have been developed.

(3) The GCs provide a broad framework and are intended to be interpreted and defined more precisely in the context of each academic discipline or course.

(4) Through the GCs, students develop the essential prerequisite skills for Global Citizenship, Innovation and Entrepreneurship and Sustainability Thinking.

(5) The design of courses, learning activities and assessment tasks will ensure that graduates have achieved Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs) that address the La Trobe GCs, in addition to the requirements of the relevant academic discipline or profession, and any professional accreditation requirements.

(6) GCs are explicitly and progressively developed through constructive alignment of Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs), Subject Intended Learning Outcomes (SILOs) and associated assessments.

(7) Teaching, learning and assessment of the La Trobe GCs is assured through the course and subject approval, monitoring and review processes, and the monitoring of student learning experiences through student feedback mechanisms.

(8) This procedure defines the GCs and who is responsible for their development in courses and subjects.

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Section 3 - Scope

(9) Refer to the Course Design Policy.

(10) This procedure does not apply to higher degrees by research or their coursework components which are managed under the provisions of the Graduate Research Course Management Policy.

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Section 4 - Key Decisions

Key Decisions  Role
not applicable  
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Section 5 - Policy Statement

(11) This Procedure forms part of the Course Design Policy suite which governs its application.

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Section 6 - Procedures

Part A - Responsibilities for Embedding the Graduate Capabilities

(12) When developing a new course or reviewing an existing course, Course Coordinators should:

  1. Ensure the GCs are:
    1. embedded in CILOs and subject SILOs; and
    2. progressively developed throughout the course;
  2. Undertake course mapping that demonstrates alignment between course CILOs and subject SILOs; and
  3. Undertake ongoing monitoring and responsibility for student achievement of the GCs in their course.

(13) When developing a new subject or reviewing an existing subject, Subject Coordinators will:

  1. Confer with the Course Coordinator to identify the GCs to be developed within the Subject;
  2. Ensure each of the GCs identified is addressed in the SILOs, explicitly assessed and included in the marking criteria for the assessment task;
  3. Ensure that the GCs are constructively aligned with CILOs, SILOs and assessment activities;
  4. Inform students explicitly about GCs embedded in the Subject:
    1. at the commencement of the Subject;
    2. on the Subject site in the Learning Management System (LMS) and Subject Learning Guide; and
    3. in assessment tasks that assess the GCs.

Part B - The La Trobe Graduate Capabilities

(14) Communication

  1. Communicating and Influencing: The capacity to use personal presence, empathy, listening and questioning to engage others in conversation and persuasively express information through a variety of modes and media, including presentation and written communication.
  2. Cultural Intelligence and Global Perspective: The ability to appreciate different cultural perspectives and the global context of one’s discipline, so as to confidently engage, build relationships, and communicate with people from various backgrounds and cultures.
  3. Digital Capability: The ability to utilise contemporary digital technologies for the purposes of communicating, representing knowledge, completing and enhancing traditional tasks.

(15) Inquiry and Analysis

  1. Research and Evidence-Based Inquiry: The ability to identify, analyse, and interpret data and information in various forms to draw connections across fields of knowledge.
  2. Critical Thinking and Problem Solving: The ability to reason, question, analyse, integrate and synthesise learning and knowledge from a range of sources to generate solutions and support decision making.
  3. Creativity and Innovation: The ability to challenge norms and apply imagination and creativity to innovate and solve multifaceted problems.

(16) Personal and Professional

  1. Leadership and Teamwork: The ability to effectively lead, motivate others and work as part of a diverse team.
  2. Adaptability and Self-Management: The capacity to handle ambiguity and complexity; learn from mistakes; demonstrate emotional intelligence; seek feedback; and set and achieve goals for personal and professional development.
  3. Ethical and Social Responsibility: The ability to evaluate the ethical, social and/or environmental implications of making decisions in both professional and personal contexts.

(17) Discipline Knowledge and Skills

  1. The ability to articulate, apply, analyse and extend discipline-specific knowledge and skills in diverse contexts.
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Section 7 - Definitions

(18) For the purpose of this Procedure:

  1. Course Intended Learning Outcomes (CILOs): Brief statements defining the knowledge, skills and dispositions that a student should have attained and can reliably demonstrate at the end of a course of study.
  2. Subject: A unit of study within a course.
  3. Subject Intended Learning Outcomes (SILOs): Brief statements defining the knowledge, skills and dispositions that a student should have attained and can reliably demonstrate at by the end of a subject.
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Section 8 - Authority and Associated Information

(19) This Policy is made under the La Trobe University Act 2009.