An Institutional Approach to Developing Students' 'Transferable' Skills

Abstract

The role of higher education in developing students' wider attributes and skills alongside their subject knowledge and academic skills is being heavily promoted by government and industry seeking to improve graduate 'employability'. The extent to which this issue is on the agenda of higher education institutions will depend upon their individual missions. This paper outlines how the University of Luton has responded to this challenge on a university-wide basis and with a curriculum that embraces a varied range of subject disciplines. Given the diversity of the sector, caution needs to be applied when extrapolating the experience of one institution to that of another. However, given the wide-ranging nature of the changes some aspects are likely to be of interest to those involved in such developments whether at the course, department or whole institutional level.