Desired Characteristics of A VVU Graduate
The following learning objectives, described in terms of the desired

characteristics of educated graduates, are used, in part, to guide educators in their development of courses and programmes.

·         Spiritual Maturity

Students should have a growing relationship with the Lord, nurtured through Bible study, personal devotion, commitment to witnessing, and selfless service to humanity.

·         Love of Learning

Students should have a strong desire to learn for the sake of learning.  Their desire should be reinforced both by their formal studies and by their general University experience, and it should be durable enough to remain with them for life.

·         Depth of Understanding

They should have mastered material in at least one discipline in considerable depth, approaching the frontier of knowledge as closely as the nature and the circumstances of the disciplines allow.  They should understand the basic foundations of their information.

·         Independence of Thought

They should be able to think clearly and rigorously for themselves, not simply follow the direction of others.  Although responsible inquiry requires respect for established authority, it also requires an ability to constructively criticize and to create, in the event that established positions are defective.

·         Sense of Historical Development

They should be aware that even well-entrenched ideas are subject to change; indeed that much of human thought has undergone significant transformation over the centuries.  They should, therefore, understand the history of their own discipline and how, in broad terms, it relates to the history of other disciplines.

·         Breadth of Understanding

They should be able to take broad perspective on the materials that occupy the centre of their attention.  They should understand how the basic ideas and approaches in their own discipline relate to similar elements in other disciplines, especially in disciplines that differ strikingly from their own.  Science students should understand the main forms of inquiry characteristic of the arts, and arts students should have a similar understanding of science and technology.

·         Global Understanding

They should appreciate both the national and the international dimensions of their disciplines and be prepared to apply their knowledge in ways that promote national dignity and global harmony.  They should have an understanding of the natural and social environment that extends well beyond national borders.

·         Moral Maturity

They should be able to make sound moral judgments, identify moral questions, weigh competing considerations in complex situations, assess criticisms, and determine when an inquiry is sufficiently advanced to warrant drawing a conclusion.  They should have the strength of character to do what they judge right, regardless of social pressure or personal sacrifice.

·         Aesthetic Sensibility

They should have a critical appreciation of the fine and performing arts, in a way that enables them to appreciate human civilization.  They should also be able to extend their appreciation of the forms of human creativity to an appreciation of the value of the natural environment.

·         Literacy

They should be highly literate, possessing an ability to locate, and to read with full comprehension, the most demanding material, whether in a book, on a computer or any form of literature.  They should be able to develop a position orally and present it effectively in writing. Theiir writing skills should include not only the ability to write correctly, but also the ability to advance a reader’s understanding in a style that is as pleasant as it is rigorous.

·         Numeracy

They should understand the nature of mathematical forms of inquiry, at a level that will overcome any feeling of alienation from a technological society and that will enable them to appreciate its significance.