The quantitative and qualitative student data collected is analysed below to provide comparative information about several student cohorts: the Para West students who undertook the first year of the UniSA-PAL pilot in 2002; the four cohorts of adult re-entry students, including a second group at Para West, who are in 2003 undertook the same course in four different adult re-entry schools in four different suburban and socio-economic locations; averaged data on successive groups of Diploma in University Studies students, and in particular the 2002 and 2003 cohorts; and national data on students in federally funded bridging programs, 1998-1999.
The quantitative data is presented in two sections. The data analysis in 5.1 gives comparative information about the age, marital status, number of dependants, and the equity characteristics of the student cohorts referred to above, in particular the extent to which they are disadvantaged with respect to their socio-economic status. In section 5.2 the data compares the educational outcomes for the same student cohorts in terms of their retention and success in, variously, UniSA-PAL, the Diploma in University Studies, and nationally funded bridging programs, as well as their subsequent progression rates into university level study from these courses.
The qualitative data in section 5.3 relates largely to the UniSA-PAL cohorts in 2002 and 2003. It explores their motivation for enrolling in the course, their expectations and experience of it, their study and other support needs in undertaking the course, the barriers they encountered, and how they defined success for themselves in terms of outcomes from their year of study at one of the adult re-entry schools. Many of these dimensions are compared with the usual adult students undertaking SACE level studies at adult re-entry schools.