This paper discusses the problem of graduate grading and proposes a descriptor based grading system more suited to CDIO compliant engineering programs. It compliments the cumulative grade point average (used in Portugal) by a set of three descriptors that individually describe proficiency in program Knowledge, Skills and Competence, aiming to improve professional/social recognition of graduates and to facilitate the profiling of those graduates by employers.
The proposed solution for the Informatics Engineering bachelor program is based on three distinct categories of curricular units, mapping one-to-one with Knowledge, Skills and Competence. The solution also addresses issues like "engineering is much more than knowing things", "engineering schools' diplomas essentially endorsed knowledge", and "employers disregard global grade average indicators". It can be seen as a natural consequence of CDIO adoption, understandable by stakeholders and simple to operate.
Applying the new descriptor based grading system to a significant sample of graduates allowed the identification of a few dominant "graduate stereotypes", each one with its own balance between Knowledge, Skills and Competence. In the near future we envisage this grading system to improve graduate profiling and hiring by employers...