Meeting the needs of an older generation
By CARISA CHAPPELL, Published April 27, 2007

TAMPA, Fla. — Whether helping the elderly through training more skilled service providers or offering classes for older adults looking for new careers or hobbies, community colleges are stepping up to serve the growing number of aging adults in the U.S.

Preparing students for careers to work with the elderly should be a natural fit for community colleges as the U.S. population ages, but there are fewer than two dozen two-year institutions with gerontology programs, according to a gerontology instructor.

During a session at the American Association of Community Colleges annual convention last week that examined two-year colleges’ role in an aging society, health experts and college officials said that gerontology isn’t a glamorous field, but the career opportunities are endless.

“I tell students to tell me what you want to do and I’ll find you a way to work with older adults,” said Linda Wiener, aging expert and adjunct professor at Portland Community College in Oregon.

Through a survey, Weiner was able to identify only 35 community colleges that have or have had programs in gerontology and 17 of those discontinued their programs within the last five years. She added that many staff members who work in the current gerontology departments are nearing retirement, which could pose a threat to those programs.

Barbara Gillogly, the gerontology department chair at American River College in California, said that every seven seconds a baby boomer turns 60, and she is surprised that society doesn’t’ see that and recognize the importance of gerontology programs.

“Many of the programs are embedded in other departments,” Gillogly said. “Gerontology belongs in the community college system which has access to people looking for a career change.”

Her college offers both certificate and degree programs in gerontology.

Most people think of working with the elderly only in a health care or assisted living setting, but Gillogly said that gerontologists are needed to work  in a variety of places, including prisons, where there is a fast growing number of elderly inmates.

“We need to target training people to fill those needs,” Gillogly said.

She added that society doesn’t view those jobs as exciting or well-paying, so young students are not choosing careers that involve this type of work.

Along with discussions on training students to work with the seniors, a new study focusing on exemplary community college programs that serve older adult learners was highlighted in the session.

Wiener said that Prince Georges County Community College in Maryland has many retiring federal employees retiring at ages 50 to 55 who are signing up for classes and looking for another career. The program serves 5,000 older learners.

Central Florida Community College and Westchester Community College in New York also have a large older adult population. Both colleges have had programs for older adults for 20 years or more.

Kingsborough Community College in New York also has a flourishing program for older adults. Barbara Ginsberg, director of the My Turn program at the college, referred to a recent article in the New York Times that stated baby boomers will have more retirement time than those in other generations before them.

My Turn is a tuition-free education program opened for state residents over 60 who attend class at the college’s Manhattan Beach campus. With no previous educational requirements needed and more than 400 courses ranging from art and music to computers and health education, Ginsberg said that the program has been a huge success.

Enrolled seniors take advantage of the library, gym, pool, tennis courts and a private beach. Ginsberg said that the college’s newest venture is outreach to assisted living and nursing homes.

Some of the other programs highlighted in the study include Coastline Community College in California, which offers non-campus programs for older adults, the College of DuPage in Illinois, which continuously redesigns and creates new courses, and Sierra College in California, which has developed the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute for older adults seeking to explore or renew interest while socializing with other adults.

Sierra is one of just two community colleges nationally to receive a Bernard Osher Foundation grant to meet the educational needs of seniors. The five-year-old program offers more than 175 classes for more than 4,000 students annually.

Yavapai College in Arizona, also mentioned in the report, was also awarded an Osher grant.

View More Campus Issues Articles View More Enrollment Articles

View More Workforce Development Articles View More Workforce Training Articles