Lesson One Page 5 of 5 Graduateness

Learning outcomes:

1. Understand Graduateness and employability in the UNISA context.

2. Describe the distinctive graduate qualities, that a UNISA graduate is required to demonstrate
3. Identify the RARE qualities and the general attributes of graduates in the CEMS
4. Assess your ability to demonstrate competencies of a graduate

Graduateness refers to quality, skills, and attributes that define and distinguish a graduate from a non-graduate. It
encompasses the student’s overall readiness to enter the professional world and make meaningful contributions to society,
and local, national, and global communities.

In the context of UNISA, a UNISA graduate has the following distinctive graduate qualities :

1. Independent, resilient, responsible, and caring citizens that can handle multiple roles in their immediate and
future lives.
2. Critical understanding of their location on the African continent with its histories, challenges, and potential in
relation to globally diverse contexts
a. This simply means that a UNISA graduate must be continually aware and show a deep understanding of
the geographical and cultural context within the AFRICA continent
b. Furthermore, graduates should understand and be aware of the social, historic, and political aspects that
have shaped the African continent and should be aware of the diversity residing in AFRICA and the
challenges they faced as well as the potential for growth and development
c. Lastly, graduates should be able to relate this perspective to a global perspective and recognize Africa
as part of a global community and its challenges and potential are interconnected with other regions of
the world
3. Critically analyze and evaluate the credibility and usefulness of information and data from multiple resources
in a globalized world with its ever-increasing information and data flows and competing worldviews.
4. Apply discipline-specific knowledge competently, ethically, and creatively to solve real-life problems
5. Critically aware of their own learning and developmental needs and future potential

The outcomes of a university education are linked to 3 holistic attributes:

1. Scholars – graduates should be leaders in the production of new knowledge and understanding through inquiry,
critique, and synthesis. They should be able to apply their knowledge to solve consequential and complex problems
and they should be able to communicate their knowledge effectively and confidently.
2. Scholarship – student’s attitude/stance toward knowledge, the way they think, and the tools they use tools to work
effectively
3. Global citizenship – student’s attitude/stance towards the world and living in the world
a. Graduates should aspire to contribute to society in a full, meaningful, ethical, and responsible way
through their roles as members of local, national and global communities

Page 1 of 5
Lesson One Page 5 of 5 Graduateness
Lifelong learning – student’s attitude/stance towards themselves and living in the world

b. As lifelong learners, students should be committed to and capable of continuous learning in order to
broaden their understanding of the world and their place in it

Employability – related to your subjective career.

Employability – a sense of self-directedness or personal agency in retaining or securing a job or form of employment based
on a set of personal career-related attributes and dispositions generally promoted by employers and researchers as an
alternative to job securities in an uncertain employment context.

A graduate’s graduateness determines their employability.

The attributes that employers look for in a graduate are the RARE attributes:

R – Responsible

A – Accountable

R – Relevant

E – Ethical

These are the type of graduates that CEMS aims to produce to provide competent and professional graduates that can make
positive contributions to society, their professions, and their workplaces.

The RARE attributes are reflected through the generic skills and attributes that CEMS wants to develop. These generic skills
and attributes are transferable meta-skills and personal attributes that can transcend disciplinary specific outcomes.

The generic skills and attributes that CEMS and a UNISA qualification focus on developing are:

SKILLS EVIDENCE
o Use of language and technology
Interactive skills:
o Communication style

1. Effective and efficient use of language and technology o Understanding

2. Effective and efficient communication and interaction with o Conflict resolution
people from diverse backgrounds and cultures and authority
o Persuading
levels
o Gaining cooperation

o Expertise sharing

Page 2 of 5
Lesson One Page 5 of 5 Graduateness
Problem solving/decision making skills: o Critical reasoning
• Being creative and proactive in finding a solution to a o Considers complexity of a
complex and problematic situation larger cultural, business, and
economic reality
o Initiate changes

o Creative

o Proactive

o Novel ideas

Continuous learning orientation: o Cl d i i on own skills and

Reflection
• Cognitive openness to lifelong learning and to be knowledge
willing to proactively engage in acquiring new o Self-improvement
knowledge skills and abilities throughout life in o Monitor own performance
reaction to a technologically disruptive world.
o Successful completion of goals,
tasks and assignments

Enterprising skills: o Identify business opportunities

• Being adventurous and applying critical thinking, o Financial awareness
initiative, and being proactive when engaging in
o Consider the consequences of solutions
economic activities to create and operate an
enterprise of your own or to be a substantial o Impact on the larger culture of the business
contributor to an enterprise as an employee o Adept in dealing with organisational and
team politics
o Present knowledge, facts, ideas, and opinions
Presenting and applying information skills:
o Avoid jargon/complicated language
o The ability to communicate knowledge, facts,
o Apply information for making a positive
ideas, and opinions clearly and convincingly
difference
to provide solutions to problems.
o Consider a wide range of solutions

Page 3 of 5
Lesson One Page 5 of 5 Graduateness
o Set realistic goals
Goal-directed behavior
o Develop plans
o To apply initiative and be proactive in achieving
goals, accomplishing tasks, and meeting o Take action
deadlines. o Identify necessary resources
o Setting realistic goals, planning, and actions to o Access information
achieve your goals.

o Take the lead

Ethical and responsible behaviour:
o Motivate others
o Taking full responsibility and
accountability to uphold the ethical beliefs o Accept responsibility for own actions
and moral standards of your profession, o Considers plagiarism
community, and workplace

o Give accurate explanations for information

Analytical skills:
o Rational judgements
o Be able to use logic, reasoning, and analysis in
competently explaining information and data o Breaking information into components

o Be able to draw relevant and insightful conclusions o Sees relationships/patterns

from this data analysis o Draws insightful conclusions

Key Concepts
Critical reading The ability to reflect on what the text says and by
scrutinizing its structure and style of writing the language
as well as the content
Critical reading skill Exercising your judgment about you are reading and not
taking everything at face value
You examine and read critically looking for any
discrepancies, limitations, omissions, oversights and
arguments against what you are reading.
Develop different viewpoints and make your own judgements
providing substantial evidence in the process.
Reflect on
- What the text is saying
- What the text describes
- Interpretation of the text as a whole

Page 4 of 5
 Lesson One Page 5 of 5 Graduateness
Global Citizen Scholarship Lifelong Learning

Graduateness

Skills and Attributes

Ethical and
Analytical Thinking
responsible
Interactive Goal directed

Student
Problem solving Centered Presenting and
and Decision applying
making

Continuous learning Enterprising

Employability

R A R E

Responsible AccountablePage 5 of 5 Relevant Ethical