Document published in 2011 by Lumina Foundation that describes what degree recipients in the United States should know and be able to do at the associate, bachelor’s, and master’s degrees—regardless of a student’s field of specialization. The DQP does not attempt to “standardize” U.S. degrees—it recognizes the role and responsibility of faculty to determine both the content appropriate to different areas of study and the best ways to teach that content. The DQP describes generic forms of student performance appropriate for each degree level through reference points that indicate the incremental, integrative and cumulative nature of learning. The DQP focuses in five areas:

• Specialized/Industry Knowledge addresses what students in any specialization, major field of study, or career pathway should demonstrate with respect to that specialization.
• Broad and Integrative Knowledge asks students to bring together learning from industry knowledge, experience, and/or different fields of study to discover and explore the implications of concepts and questions that bridge essential areas of learning/practice as well as integrate their knowledge to advance solutions in support of a humane, just, and democratic society.
• Intellectual Skills include: analytic inquiry, use of information resources, engaging diverse perspectives, ethical reasoning, quantitative fluency and communicative fluency.
• Applied and Collaborative Learning emphasizes what students can do with what they know. Students are asked to demonstrate their learning by addressing unscripted problems in scholarly inquiry, at work and in other settings outside the classroom, individually and in teams.
• Civic/Democratic and Global Learning recognizes higher education’s responsibilities both to democracy and the global community. Students engage in integration of their knowledge and skills by addressing and responding to civic, social, environmental, economic, equity, inclusion, and social justice challenges at local, national, and global levels.

The DQP was updated in 2014, and again in 2021, with the assistance of the National Institute for Learning Outcomes Assessment (NILOA).

See Topic on Qualifications Frameworks