A Roadmap for the Evaluation of Attributes in University Graduates

This paper details the development of the Graduate Attributes Scale (GAS), a tool that has been devised to help evaluate the acquisition of a set of generic attributes that underpin the profile of university graduates. Commencing with a set of 37 variables that target desired attributes, the tool was administered to 3493 alumni after graduation. We applied four mathematical models to derive an optimal subset of items that captures sufficient diversity in response, without producing any substantial reduction in data quality. Determinant-based methods, and particularly the Two-stage method, produced the most useful subset of items for application and evaluation of attributes. Findings from this research provides a roadmap for universities to develop similar instruments that can evaluate and monitor desirable graduate attributes. Such a tool can assist both faculty and career educators in the development of sound teaching and learning practice aimed at shaping graduates prepared for the world of work. © 2017, New Zealand Association for Research in Education.