Common Good Award

The GCU Skills Award

Glasgow Caledonian is the University for the Common Good. Our mission is to make a positive difference in the communities we serve, and this is at the heart of all we do.

The Common Good Award is a skills and personal development award run by the Careers Service, which aims to encourage and support our students to make a positive difference in the communities you will serve. It can also provide employers with valuable evidence of the skills, attributes and experience you have gained in addition to your academic studies.

It will recognise and reward the informal learning you have gained through co-curricular and extra-curricular activities. This could include activities such as volunteering, charity fundraising, local community activity, student representation, mentoring, ambassadorial work, involvement with student clubs and societies, being a carer, and more.

You potentially have up to five years to complete the award (four years at undergraduate and one at taught postgraduate), or you can use our RPL system if you joined GCU after first year - see our handbook below for more details.

To apply or learn more, simply email us at cgaward@gcu.ac.uk from your GCU email account with your name and student number, and then we will do the rest. We look forward to hearing from you!

Further information and resources

• Common Good Award Handbook 2023/2024
• Common Good videos

Example verification forms

• Active and global citizenship exemplar - student mentor
• Confidence exemplar - local foodbank volunteer
• Entrepreneurial mindset exemplar -  charity fundraising
• Responsible leadership exemplar - class representative

Further information on the Common Good Attributes is available online.