In response to enquiries and interest from prospective students, three of the schools indicated their plans to offer one of the subjects172 to an additional cohort of students during the second semester of 2003. Although it proved relatively unsuccessful, this innovation can be expected to be the first of a series of flexible adaptations of the UniSA-PAL course by the schools to suit the learning needs and interests of their prospective students, with the result that a range of different pathways may be opened up not originally envisaged. The introduction of a year 13 cohort of UniSA-PAL students at a Freemont-Elizabeth High School in 2004 is a significant departure from the original pilot intentions, focussed as they were on adults re-entering education in specialist adult re-entry settings. The outcomes of this innovation, and its potential applicability will be monitored and investigated.173
As mentioned above, the Director of the University’s Northern Area Partnerships Program174 is engaged in discussions with relevant Indigenous communities about the best location for a 2005 cohort of Indigenous students in UniSA-PAL, and a range of settings is being explored in this context. Meanwhile discussions are occurring internally within the University to achieve entry to a much wider range of programs, including in the health sciences, technology, and engineering fields, for students who successfully complete the PAL course. Supplementary programs will be explored to give PAL students the prerequisites essential in some of these fields of study. In 2004 PAL students wishing to undertake award level study within the University’s Division of Health Sciences could select a new Human Health option. Finally some initial interest has been shown in the PAL model by at least one other state, and further developments are expected.