In the first year of the UniSA-PAL course at Para West Adult Re-entry School, all academic and administrative aspects of the pilot within the school were managed by the appointed co-ordinator,160 with the on-going and active support and leadership of the Principal.161 The teachers162 were carefully selected from volunteers and the team met regularly throughout the year, and most especially in the early parts of the year. The Principal provided an additional four hours of tutorial time to the students, offering support and guidance across all the subjects being taught, an option taken up by most of the students to some degree and some to a very large extent.
The management of the pilot within the University was made more difficult in its first year by the absence of the relevant Head of School163 for the first few months, the acting Head of School164 having had no previous involvement with either the PAL pilot or the Diploma in University Studies program on which it was based. In addition the relevant Program Director165 had been in this role for a relatively short period and relinquished it at the end of 2002 due to other interests. Two of the central core of academics who had taught the Diploma over the years were also on study leave in 2002,166 although both contributed to the pilot in various ways albeit at a distance and less actively than they would otherwise have done. Further the position of Pro Vice Chancellor Equity was abolished at the end of 2001, which had been responsible for creating the then new access award in the mid 1990s167 and had supported the fledgling award in various ways, including additional equity funding, and continuity of involvement through the various changes in academic leadership of the award during the intervening years. While the previous incumbent spoke at the then Minister’s launch at the end of 2001 and at the campus visit by the 2002 PAL students, and visited the school throughout the pilot year, meeting with the students on two occasions, she no longer had any authority or institutional responsibility which could be brought to bear within the structures of the University.
These institutional challenges were overcome in the first instance by the goodwill and active contribution of the academics who taught the Diploma program in 2002,168 each of whom was paired with the teacher at Para West who was teaching the equivalent subject in the UniSA-PAL course, and by the dedication of the team at Para West, and in the second, by the return of and active management by the Head of School in the latter half of the year. The on-going communication between the academics and their teacher pairs169 was important to the successful introduction of the pilot, as the teachers familiarised themselves with the nature and requirements of the subjects, and the assessment standards expected of them, each so different from the senior secondary SACE studies for which they were usually responsible. The moderation exercises managed by the Program Director were also crucial to establishing and maintaining the parity of standards between the Diploma and the PAL course, this being fundamental to the agreement that successful completion of the latter would confer eligibility for entry to a range of the University’s programs in the following year. As the University’s internal evaluation of the first pilot year indicates, all these aspects of academic management were handled efficiently and effectively despite the challenges presented by the discontinuity of university staff at various stages referred to above.
In the second year, the arrangements in each of the schools, and between the schools and the University replicated those sketched above with some crucial and positive differences. A new Program Director170 was appointed from amongst the small pool of academics who have had continuous involvement with teaching the Diploma in University Studies throughout its history, and she was also made responsible for coordinating the UniSA-PAL project. The year started with a meeting held at the University at which the University’s coordinator and academics briefed the teachers from all four schools about the PAL course and how the pilot would be run for the following year, establishing from the beginning a team across the schools and between them and the University.
…our day at Magill [campus], at the beginning of the year, I think that was a very good start…people got to know each other and…they have used the links quite well
The Head of School maintained her active management of academic and administrative matters overall. And crucially, the coordinator and team of teachers at Para West were now experienced and confident in their knowledge of the PAL course and the University’s expectations of them. They provided ongoing support and advice to their colleagues in the other three schools about all aspects of the pilot. The importance of this aspect to the newer schools and their teachers is reflected in all of the 2003 staff interviews, including from within the University.
…the staff at Para West are just marvellous. They just seem to give and give and give of their expertise and time…[the coordinator] keeps things just rolling along [in the extended pilot]
This aspect of the second stage of the pilot, and the economies of scale the schools have sought to achieve through their collegial support of each other, is crucial to its further expansion in terms of scalability issues, and will be discussed further in section 6.7 below on future intentions.
The introduction of a combined student conference in the first half of the year was an important new feature in 2003 and one which is likely to be replicated in future years given its success. The PAL coordinator at Para West was responsible for this concept, and the Program Director for its management, with the Para West team providing considerable leadership in terms of their presentations and other input during the day. The students from the four adult re-entry schools experienced themselves as part of a much larger cohort of similar students with similar aspirations who were facing similar challenges. The campus visit during which all of the students were gathered together again, but this time on one of the University’s campuses, appeared to have been as significant for their confidence and motivation as it was for the Para West students in 2002.