Senior citizens and retirees who find themselves with excess time on their hands might consider investing their time in resources about free online college degree. While these courses might not provide credit toward degrees, studies suggest that they can have health benefits. Seniors who participate in free courses might find their memories and cognitive abilities improve, perhaps reducing the risks of depression.
With 78 million baby boomers born between 1946 and 1964 nearing retirement, Alzheimer’s particularly is very much on the minds of aging Americans, according to an Elderhostel study. Elderhostel, now known as Road Scholar, in 2007 surveyed the 55-plus population and found that active learners were also happier. Of those surveyed, nearly half attended classes at least once a month. They described themselves as having higher levels of optimism and life satisfaction than counterparts who weren’t as thirsty for learning, the survey shows.
Information about free online college courses might be available at retirement communities, assisted living facilities and senior centers, but they’re also offered by colleges, universities and technical schools. Some states offer seniors tuition waivers for attending courses at public colleges and universities. There, seniors might find themselves in the company of many baby boomers, a population segment that a New Horizons for Learning report suggests is crowding classrooms even while holding down jobs and keeping involved in their communities.
“Visitor” programs also allow seniors opportunities to attend courses for free. At a Hawaii university, some 300 seniors participate in free visitor program courses each semester. Other colleges and universities might offer similar programs, or courses for seniors that come with nominal fees.
Perhaps one of the easiest places for seniors to find free courses is on the Internet. A Harris Poll a few years ago found that 24 percent of online users fall into the baby boomer category, or are between the ages of 50 and 64, while 10 percent of the online population is comprised of senior citizens, according to an article on seniorjournal.com. As the baby boomer generation ages and seniors continue acquiring technology skills, those numbers might be
expected to rise.
An OpenCourseWare Consortium website serves as a gateway to links about college books for free offered by institutions throughout the world. Seniors and retirees who want to acquire or refine their computer skills might find free courses that can help them to accomplish this. A Massachusetts technology institute offers an array of free online courses. Seniors might also find that Ivy League institutions offer free courses online.
Many institutions provide free course instruction via audio and video. Many colleges and universities make lectures available on YouTube and iTunes U. Assignments, lessons and exams might also be downloaded from a course website in PDF format.
Seniors might also find free online courses on websites such as the Research Channel, Videolectures.net and Academic Earth, the AARP Bulletin article notes. An Open Culture website provides links to free foreign language courses offered by radio networks, cultural organizations and the Peace Corps. In instances where seniors want to explore contemporary issues or religion, they might consider a free course in Sustainable Living from a California university or a New Testament history and literature course for free from an Ivy League institution.
Virtually every course imaginable is offered by these free colleges, from those just for the joy of learning to those that can earn credit toward a degree. Everyone with a computer, even those just with access through a public library, can go to college free, taking classes they enjoy and those that
will help in every aspect of their career.
