Lifelong learning is a critical aspect of educating professions for participation in society. It provides the flexibility for ongoing professional development and an increased repertoire of professional practice. For this reason the University of South Australia is committed to the development of lifelong learning as a quality in all its graduates. This paper outlines an institution-wide strategy in which a portfolio grouping of a number of service Units have collaborated with the teaching Divisions to implement lifelong learning at the curriculum level. The strategy is located within the University’s approach to graduate qualities as outcomes for all students at the course level, its commitment to student centred learning and increased access through flexible forms of delivery. As such it is concerned with both curriculum intentions at the course development and delivery level, as well as student driven initiatives through the recording of achievement at the level of student experience.

The framework involves three layers, with each layer increasing in specificity and particularity. The most detailed layer outlines the characteristics of a lifelong learner and this is used as a means of identifying and organising a range of resources, examples of best practice and tools for both staff and students. This provides a key resource to be used by both staff and students in teaching and learning within subjects and courses.

The distinctive features of the strategy include: the institution-wide nature of the activity, as a focus for, and arising from, collaborative efforts among the Flexible Learning Centre, the Library, Information Technology Services and the Divisions; its curriculum-based approach; the wide scope of the resources gathered; and the focus on a staged development of outcomes through the achievement of graduate qualities.