This study examined the perceptions of 38 current and former Indigenous students at Flinders University, Adelaide, South Australia, about the factors which influenced their ability to study at university. The study took place at the beginning of second semester 2000. While it was originally intended that students would be surveyed twice circumstances did not allowed this to occur.
Preliminary findings suggest that: Indigenous support services are perceived by students as enabling factors in their tertiary studies; younger students are more likely to discuss their tertiary progress with their peers rather than teaching or support staff, unlike older students; female and part-time students believe they would perform better if they had greater domestic support; the lower the Grade Point Average (GPA) the greater the perception of their likely-hood of dropping out and those students who consider dropping out of tertiary studies are more likely to do so.
