by Arige Shrouf
Spring 2016 Intern
As a child, I pictured college as
something that came right after high school, lasted about four years and then
ended. I never imagined older students attending college, so I was surprised to
encounter a middle-aged student in one of my classes freshman year. With each
passing semester, I met greater numbers of older students, and when I worked in
the writing center on campus, I quickly realized that I could be tutoring an 18-year-old
student at one moment and a 70-year-old student at another. Eventually, I came
to accept and expect this wide range of ages at my university, but many schools
are not as clearly age-friendly for students who want an authentic college
experience.
Colleges and universities are based
on educational systems where most education ends when students are in their 20s,
but there are increasingly more instances of people attending
college later in life. Some of these students are early retirees who want a
fresh start in a new career, and others are extending their education or
getting one for the first time.
Not all of these students want to earn
degrees; some just want to learn new skills or earn a certification. Others
want to improve their chances of advancing in their careers. Whatever their
reasons for getting an education later in life, many of these older students want
to attend classes on campus rather than online. Because so many of them are
already deeply ensconced in their lives, their options are limited by a lack of
time or money to put toward
a degree.
Encore.org’s EncoreU, an
organization focused on “the talents of students in midlife and beyond,” recently
took strides to address these limited options. The organization held a Higher
Education Summit in New York that included representatives from 22 colleges and
universities. A main topic of conversation at the summit was finding a way to
improve the college experience and education for older students.
The US Census Bureau reported
298 students over the age of 55 enrolled in college in 2014, and US Department
of Education projects
an increase in enrollment of similarly aged students for years to come. By
offering older students incentives, such as counting life and work experience
as credits toward a degree and making colleges more accessible to students of
all ages, colleges can secure a new, more diverse student body.
Did You Know?
Lifelong learning is a term often used to refer to the act
of keeping your mind sharp by constantly challenging your brain. Doing so can
improve brain function, and studies show that keeping your brain active can
even reduce your risk of Alzheimer’s by lowering your levels of beta-amyloid, a protein linked to the disease.
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