Enrollment in ASU’s lifelong learning program for older adults doubled after the program started offering classes on the Downtown campus last fall.
ASU began offering lifelong learning classes for adults 50 and older in 2001. Three years later, the program received a grant from the Bernard Osher Foundation, formally establishing the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute. OLLI now offers classes in five locations with additional cultural partners including the Phoenix Art Museum and Phoenix Theatre.
Total enrollment for OLLI’s summer/fall 2012 program was 882 students, according to numbers provided by OLLI Director Richard Knopf. This nearly doubled to 1,620 students for the spring/summer 2013 program. Fall 2013 enrollment was at 1,917 students as of Oct. 10.
These enrollment increases are in part because of the new Downtown class offerings, Knopf said.
“The whole energy and the sense of being for the institute is being fed by the Downtown academic scene,” Knopf said. “The very success of Osher is because it is now in this academic home.”
Additionally, enrollment in OLLI’s Downtown classes has increased by more than 700 percent in the last year.
Downtown enrollment was 69 students for summer/fall 2012, 229 for spring/summer 2013, and 576 students so far for fall 2013, according to records.
To launch the first series of classes last fall, OLLI hosted an event called “A Taste of Osher.” The event hosted three speakers to discuss politics, religion and astronomy. The institute connected with different public groups that encouraged citizens to get involved and enroll in classes.
Another possible reason for the rising enrollment is increased demand for education and access to programs like OLLI.
“The community is yearning for access to ASU,” Knopf said. “They’re yearning to come back to school, but without all the tests and all the pressure.”
In addition to offering classes, OLLI has added a second layer that Knopf described as “building an engaged learning community.” Members were not satisfied with only taking classes, so the institute’s faculty worked to provide a sense of community for its students.
Three months ago, Nick Pstross became the Downtown Phoenix campus’ OLLI coordinator. He talks with students before and after every class and attempts to connect members with others whom he thinks would get along well together.
“It’s these connections that are very valuable; we want to create opportunities for engagement, for socializing and also opportunities for when a member decides to take a leadership role,” Pstross said.
Enthusiastic students are given the opportunity through Pstross to promote OLLI at different community events. Gloria Aguilar, who has taken classes through OLLI for five years, spread information about OLLI via word-of-mouth and handing out pamphlets.
“Much of what I learned in undergraduate school is no longer true or the case,” Aguilar said. “(OLLI) brings me up to date. There is so much variety of classes to choose, as well as places throughout the Valley you can attend.”
Pstross said the range of classes OLLI offers is so wide that there is at least one topic for every member’s interest.
Class variety is just one of the improvements OLLI is working on. In summer 2012, Downtown OLLI offered only three courses. In Spring 2013, the program worked its way up to two courses and five lectures, with one free social topic discussion.
For fall 2013, Downtown OLLI offered five courses, fifteen lectures and one free opera preview series. Pstross is currently planning the schedule for spring 2014, which he said is expected to be similar to that of fall 2013.
For students like Aguilar who take an active interest in continuing higher education and giving back to the community, Knopf and other faculty members are working to develop a third layer of OLLI. The third layer would group together specific courses to provide pathways for connections to nonprofits, government offices, faith communities and more. The civic engagement tier is still 2 to 3 years down the line, but its core is currently being designed.
“There are many benefits to Osher,” Aguilar said. “One is obviously learning from professors who care deeply about the subject matter; the other are friendships. I enjoy exchanging ideas and opinions. It’s thought-provoking and expands my mind.”
Contact the reporter at taylor.seely@asu.edu
