We are seeing a growing number of signals that the government is interested in seeing in a concrete way what universities are providing to students in terms of skills and training.  This should not frighten us: after all, we want to be strategic in our choices.  We also enjoy the advantage of a demonstrably excellent undergraduate intake.

However, these signals from government should lead us to ask ourselves some fundamental questions so that we are clear in our own minds where our values lie.  In this session of the Brown Bag lunches, and in light of the Academic Plan, I propose that we grapple with the question of what we expect our students to know, at a minimum, when they graduate.

Much has been written about the importance of communications skills, both oral and written.  We now need to ask how to ensure that all students acquire these skills.  But what about other areas, like numeracy, understanding of scientific method, political and philosophical tools, exposure to other languages and cultures?  This is not to suggest a ‘one size fits all’ portrait of our graduates, but it is to suggest that we should consider the ‘scaffolding’ we provide upon which discipline-specific and interdisciplinary perspectives will sit.

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