Integrating University Values for Global Citizenship: An Analysis of the Meaning of the Seven Character Based Graduate Attributes at Universitas Sebelas Maret

Abstract

This study aims to analyze the implementation, understanding, and assessment of character values embedded in the Graduate Learning Outcomes (CPL) of Universitas Sebelas Maret (UNS), which include resilience, collaboration, innovation, inclusivity, pluralism, healthy living, and environmental awareness. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach that combines a quantitative survey of 100 students and in-depth interviews with lecturers and representatives from the Institute for Educational Development and Quality Assurance (LPPMP), the research reveals a significant disparity between the values most understood and those genuinely implemented and assessed in teaching practices. “Resilience” emerged as the most recognized character trait among students, whereas values such as “pluralism” and “healthy living” were found to be epistemically marginalized within classroom settings. The analysis also indicates the absence of systematic character assessment tools at the program level and a lack of institutional academic frameworks to pedagogically integrate these values. This phenomenon reflects a value bias in higher education, where character traits aligned with academic capitalism tend to be more prominently promoted than affective and social values. The study highlights the urgency of aligning institutional value declarations, pedagogical strategies, and character assessments, so that character education evolves beyond symbolic slogans into a transformative learning process that shapes students into reflective and ethical global citizens. These findings offer a conceptual contribution to critiques of declarative character learning and call for renewed value-based pedagogical strategies in the context of higher education.