Introducing The Graduate Pledge
Early in 2009 HEFCE funded a proposal "The Graduate Pledge: a transformational, inter-institutional change proposal" (King’s College London, with the University of Warwick).
The proposal aims to explore graduate capabilities developed in the teaching and learning practices at two Russell Group universities with the intended outcome being a 'blueprint' for research-led teaching to inform policy in other HE institutions.
The 'pledge' identifies capabilities that it views as essential outcomes of learning and that are central in enabling our graduates to live successful personal and professional lives. It is intended that students will be enabled to develop these capabilities by experiencing the characteristics of:
- A research-led learning environment
- Interdisciplinary study
- A globally-oriented curriculum
- Community engagement, internationally as well as in the UK
- An environment that stimulates academic literacy
In the Warwick context this project aims to be a collaborative, action research programme in which a model for student engagement in institutional change is used simultaneously to deliver:
- Rich data on the characteristics of graduate attributes in the research-led teaching environment of a research-intensive institution
- Through auto-evaluation, deep insight into the possibilities for and benefits of student engagement in research-intensive universities.
Outputs will be:
- Results of an audit, at Warwick, of the current levels of student experience of "characteristics" of a research-rich learning environment
- A"blueprint" for research-led teaching to inform policy in other HE institutions
- Theoretical and practical frameworks for student engagement in institutional change.
