Minnesotans have options for lifelong learning — for little or no cost

After working as a school librarian, it seemed natural for Marghe Tabar to continue her education once she retired.

The 73-year-old St. Paul resident recently took two classes through the University of Minnesota’s Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), one on art theft, and one on the process behind choosing Minnesota’s new state flag. She’s also attended lectures on novel analysis and the history of rock and roll.

“I naturally fell into OLLI because the classes sounded interesting, it didn’t take a lot of time and I enjoyed meeting people,” Tabar said. “As a librarian, that’s kind of in our nature — learning and information.”

She’s among the rising number of older students — and a growing part of the education system — focused on the joy and benefits of learning throughout life to stay sharp and relevant. Globally, the adult continuing education market is projected to reach as high as $80 billion by 2032, up from about $50 billion in 2023.

As the U.S. population continues to gray and people live longer, the crop of older adult students will probably grow, too. The Population Reference Bureau expects the number of U.S. residents age 65 and older to reach 82 million (or 23% of the total population) in 2050, up from 58 million (17%) in 2022.

“There’s a hunger for people to stay relevant to what’s going on in our world,” said Kate Schaefers,director of OLLI at the U Twin Cities campus and a licensed psychologist. “That’s important because our world is shifting so quickly that older adults want to stay current and understand the world around them. Higher education has to be a place where people of all ages can get their needs met.”

The benefits to older adults — and the larger community — go well beyond learning. Group courses create a sense of purpose and community for participants. Furthermore, research shows engaging your brain and making social connections can benefit mental and physical wellbeing, which can boost happiness, prevent loneliness and depression, and help ward off dementia.

Courses are designed to appeal to a wide variety of interests – from economics to the American Revolution to “Introduction to Modern Roller Derby.”

Programs across Minnesota offer for-credit courses toward a degree or non-credit lectures (without homework or exams). The structures and fee systems vary, but all are designed to be affordable and accessible for older adults, starting at age 40.

Many states, including Minnesota, let seniors take college classes for free or at a discounted rate. Under Minnesota’s Senior Citizens Education Program, which is state law, residents age 62-plus can enroll in for-credit classes at state-funded colleges and universities for $20 per credit or audit classes for free, when space is available.

And many senior and community centers across Minnesota offer non-credit classes — from pickleball and glassblowing to estate planning and how to start a business — for free or a small fee.

But one of the fastest growing segments of adult education is lifelong learning programs — often called “enrichment learning” — that cater to older adults or offer intergenerational options. Some programs are membership based with an all-inclusive fee; others charge per-class fees. Many offer other perks, such as book clubs, movie nights and travel.

Teachers in these non-credit lifelong learning classes may be current or retired university professors, graduate students and professionals or community experts on certain topics. Costs range from free Zoom classes up to $400 for one class.

Most lifelong learning programs in Minnesota offer a combination of in-person and online options. OLLI offers 60% of its classes in person vs. 90% at Winona State University’s Senior University.

This year for OLLI, Arizona Le Cordon Bleu chef Larry Canepa will teach a course on sauces from around the world, and Michigan author and filmmaker Ric Mixter will teach a class on the history of ships on the Great Lakes, Schaefers said.

The University of Minnesota Duluth’s University for Seniors, for people over 50, has three eight-week terms a year and recently began hosting summer hikes, said program director Wendy Larrivy. Its Journey Jargon & Lecture Series on Mondays included a recent presentation by Steven Sternberg, a UMD associate professor in chemical engineering, about his chocolate laboratory, including a tour and making chocolates.

The all-volunteer staff of Mankato Area Lifelong Learners at Minnesota State University Mankato offers 12 to 15 activities each quarter that usually meet off campus at community rooms and church halls, said Barbara Keating, president of organization and a professor emerita in sociology.

The independent program’s small size means it can make decisions quickly and introduce new activities quarter to quarter, Keating added. New this quarter are presentations by MSU Prof. Emeritus Paul Hustoles on the art and craft of acting, and a master gardener presentation on annual plants.

At 90, Anita Dittrich of Mankato takes classes each year at Mankato Area Lifelong Learners and attends educational presentations at her local senior center. She attributes her interest in learning to her late mother, who attended university and became a German teacher in her native Latvia in the 1930s. The two women took classes together until Dittrich’s mother was about 94.

“One reason I do it is to keep mentally active to ward off Alzheimer’s,” Dittrich said. “The social aspect is another reason, because you get out and meet other learners.”

More than half of U.S. adults report experiencing loneliness, which can affect mental and physical health, according to one recent survey. And the U.S. Surgeon General’s Office has issued an advisory on the “epidemic of loneliness and isolation,” likening the health impact of social disconnection to smoking up to 15 cigarettes a day.

Engineer Roger Berg retired nearly a decade ago and moved from the Twin Cities back to his hometown of Winona. He immediately gravitated to Senior University at his undergraduate alma mater, partly to meet people.

“When I got my master’s [at the University of St. Thomas], I was just focused on the next test,” said Berg, who takes four to five classes each semester. “Now I have more time and I’m not burdened with other things like family, kids, job commitments and deadlines and so forth.”

“There’s a sense of community in these classes,” said Jessica Kauphusman, director of Winona State’s Retiree Center, which operates Senior University. “People become friends, they talk about the class after class and get together outside of classes.”

Enrollment in WSU’s Senior University has more than quadrupled since it began in 2009, Kauphusman said. It offers five to six classes each semester, summer outdoors classes like hiking and kayaking, and one-day webinars taught by current or retired WSU professors and community experts.

Some lifelong learning programs aim to foster intergenerational learning. Toward that end, WSU’s Senior University has no age requirement, and St. Thomas’ Selim Center for Lifelong Learning and OLLI are flexible on their age requirements.

Brian Ohm and his 14-year-old son Henry recently took WSU Senior University’s History of the American Revolution course together because they both love history.

“Several class members shared personal connections to historical events and figures, and that is something that Henry really likes,” said Ohm, 48, who works in the university’s library. “For my part, I enjoyed being with people who are lifelong learners. It is important for myself and my son to see that learning never has to stop.”

Last year, Selim Center students for the first time participated in an annual undergraduate civil rights study tour to Alabama and Tennessee.

On the trip, “one older adult was a nurse and one of the undergrads was a nursing student and they bonded over health care in the South,” said Bob Shoemake, director of the Selim Center, which is one of the state’s oldest such programs. “That’s the kind of thing where you can build these bridges and learn from each other to make a difference in the world.”

The University of St. Thomas and the U’s Twin Cities and Duluth campuses are designated age-friendly universities, meaning they follow tenets encouraging the participation and acceptance of older students.

Some benefits extend beyond the classroom.

Tabar and a woman she used to carpool to OLLI classes with became friends. “We travel together, go to hockey games together and eat at each other’s house,” Tabar said.

After taking a music appreciation course, Berg bought a keyboard to practice at home. He also began acquiring the Great Courses DVDs to continue his education at home, and now has more than 100 – ranging from music and history to religion and science.

“I have a passion now for learning, and it’s become a bit of an obsession,” Berg said. “There would really be a gap in my life if it wasn’t for these things. Somehow I just feel more enriched when I’m learning these things.”