Accounting graduates and the capabilities that count: Perceptions of graduates, employers and Accounting academics in four Australian universities

Abstract

The higher education sector in Australia is moving rapidly towards greater accountability in regard to graduate employability outcomes. Currently, data on new graduates' selfreported generic skills and employment status provide the evidence base for universities to make judgements about the effectiveness of curricula in preparing students for employment. This paper discusses alternative sources of evidence, namely the Graduate Employability Indicators (GEI) -a suite of three online surveys designed to supplement current indicators. They are designed to gather and report graduate, employer and course (teaching) team perceptions of the achievement and importance of graduate capabilities within specific degree programs. In 2009 and 2010, the surveys were administered to stakeholder groups associated with Accounting degrees in four Australian universities. In total, 316 graduates, 99 employers and 51 members of the course teaching teams responded to the surveys. This report presents the aggregated results from the trial. These suggest that the fourteen capabilities at the heart of the GEI are considered important, and that both quantitative and qualitative items facilitate the reporting of essential information. Both Accounting employers and teaching staff consider that important capabilities need to be better demonstrated by new graduates. The graduates themselves identified ways in which their courses can be improved to enhance their early professional success. An importance-performance analysis suggests prioritising particular capabilities for immediate attention in particular, work related knowledge and skills, writing clearly and effectively, thinking critically and analytically, solving complex, real-world problems and developing general industry awareness. This paper suggests that an enhanced industry focus might be effected through authentic assessment tasks, and clear identification of the capabilities developed through the curriculum.

Contributing to a graduate-centred understanding of work readiness: An exploratory study of Australian undergraduate students' perceptions of their employability

“…We acknowledge that internship programs and other forms of practical experiences in the workplace are in place to assist students' preparation for employment (Jackson, Sibson, & Riebe, 2013). We are not assessing instruction methods or curricula design (Oliver, Whelan, Hunt, & Hammer, 2011). Our objective is to map end-users' understandings of work readiness linked to competence in graduate capabilities on exit from university.…”

Authentic Assessment Design in Accounting Courses: A Literature Review

“…Increasing simulated work-integrated learning experiences for accounting students and incorporating these experiences into authentic assessment tasks will improve graduates' awareness as to how their degree program helped them develop capabilities and attributes that are relevant for the workplace (Oliver et al, 2011), thus, making sure accounting educators produce accounting graduates who are confident, work-ready, and equipped with the critical skills for success in the professional world.…”

“…A report by the American council on Education indicated that some students in the USA believed that they did not acquire skills that were useful in the workplace and that they lacked communication and teamwork skills (Wellington, Thomas, Powell, & Clarke, 2002). Most studies in Australia have come up with different graduate attributes and according to Oliver, Whelan, Hunt, & Hammer (2011), there is usually a combination of generic and employability skills and some features of civic engagement.…”

Using standards rubrics to assure graduate capabilities within the context of undergraduate liberal arts programmes

“…Many articles addressing graduate attributes begin with a discussion of how and why graduate attributes emerged in Australian universities (Barrie, 2006(Barrie, , 2012Green, 2009;Oliver et al, 2011;Wood et al, 2011;Donleavy, 2012;de la Harp & David, 2012). Almost all of these begin with a recognition that graduate attributes in the Australian context arose primarily out of a need to orient university education towards graduate employability and therefore to some measure of accountability to business and government.…”