Threshold Learning Outcomes for Science Graduates: a Progress Report on the Learning and Teaching Academic Standards Project

Abstract

The Learning and Teaching Academic Standards Project (LTAS) has been established by the Australian Learning and Teaching Council (ALTC) to engage discipline communities in the development of academic standards. As a demonstration project, the LTAS will lay the foundations for demonstrated achievement of learning outcomes by graduates, and will provide institutes with tools with which to develop standards-related processes. Discipline Scholars are leading this process, working with their discipline communities to define core learning outcomes for program/majors. These will be threshold standards, expressed as the minimum learning outcomes that a graduate of any given discipline must have achieved. As the Discipline Scholars in Science, we are working with the Australian Council of Deans of Science and a Reference Group of stakeholders drawn from the academic community, employer representatives and professional bodies. We also seek to engage more broadly with our discipline community via fora such as this UniServe Annual Conference. In our presentation, we will outline the scope of the LTAS and its relevance to current issues in the tertiary education sector. We will provide a report on our progress to date, and present draft Threshold Learning Outcomes for information and discussion.