Exceptions are not "thrown" but caused, raised at best... The way Exceptions are provided in Java are bad if you'd ask me. Anyway you should expect CS graduates with experience in Python, Ruby, C++, Java, ML, Haskell or similar languages to be able to handle exceptions. Anyway. The question remains why you even want a CS graduate to do Java? Also there are slight differences in the semantics of exceptions in aforementioned languages though i.e. C++ Exceptions are "thrown" without operator new but is syntactically quite similar.

So. Do you think throwing exceptions is a must have for entry-level Java development? I don't. It is not important during most simple projects (which you'd do in your curriculum), is most often ignored or rethrown, or looked up and understood in a few minutes. Aren't patterns more important? Or general ideas? Java is just another language which will become a burden (Luke COBOL). Just my thoughts...