Colleges reach out to older students

Students at the Community College of Vermont, where 7 percent of the student body are students 50 and older. A CCV faculty member is headed this weekend to New York University to take part in a national education summit looking to bring attention to older students returning to school, often for second career training. Photo by Jordan Silverman/courtesy of CCV

Community College of Vermont will be among more than a dozen schools taking part in a summit this weekend on the importance of higher education and career retraining for older students.

CCV is sending a representative to the summit, said Barbara Vacarr, former president of Goddard College, and director of the Higher Education Initiative for EncoreU.org, based in San Francisco. Encore.org is hosting the summit at New York University on Friday and Saturday.

Encore.org is a national nonprofit that is “building a movement to tap the skills and experience of those in midlife and beyond to improve communities and the world.”

Katie Mobley, director of outreach and development, said, “CCV, like many community colleges, was created in large part to serve an adult student population, and our flexible schedule and online courses has made our coursework accessible to many working Vermonters.”

“The overall share (or percentage) of students who are 50 years old or older has held steady the past five years, remaining right around 7 percent of our student population,” Mobley said. “But as the state of Vermont continues to see a ‘graying’ of our population, it will be increasingly important that CCV develops programs that meet the needs of retraining Vermonters who may have retired and yet are seeking new ways in which to contribute to Vermont’s economy and workforce.”

Data from the 2014 national survey commissioned by Encore.org and Penn Schoen Berland showed that more than 25 million Americans 50 to 70 years old are eager to share their skills, passions and expertise in encore careers that address social purpose, typically in education, health care, human services and the environment, according to Encore.org. Another 21 million are ready to join them, nearly six in 10 within the next five years, according to the organization.

According to Encore.org, the organization “is spearheading efforts to engage millions of people in later life as a vital source of talent to benefit society.”

Goddard College President Barbara Vacarr will step down on Dec. 31, 2013. — Former Goddard College President Barbara Vacarr.

In a December article for the Chronicle of Higher Education, Vacarr wrote, “At a time when traditional ‘retirement’ increasingly marks the beginning of a new phase of work (whether by choice, necessity, or some combination of the two), millions will need help if they are to make a successful transition. Looking toward another two, three, or even four decades of healthy active life, many people are eager to gain new skills and the credentials that will help them move into a new work-life chapter. Like students of traditional college age, they also will need help navigating what is fast being recognized as one of life’s major transitions, akin to adolescence in its significance.”

EncoreU says it is seeking to meet with college and university leaders across the country to help forge college offerings that are friendly to those in that second half of adulthood.

“Many of the conversations have involved provosts and other senior administrators who are actively thinking about changing higher education landscape and the future of enrollments, innovation and academic programming,” Vacarr said.

CCV will join the following colleges and universities next week at NYU: Arizona State University, Baruch College, the Chicago School of Psychology, Columbia University, Cornell University, Everest College, Fielding Graduate School, New York University, Pace University, Portland State University, Stanford University, The New School for Social Research, Tulane University, the University of Maryland University Campus, University of Toronto, Institute for Life Course & Aging, Washington University, Wheelock College, University of Washington, UCLA, Wagner College, and Education Pioneers, an educational nonprofit group, and ReServe, also a nonprofit.

“Given the aging of the state’s population, this is an important initiative for Vermont’s higher education sector,” Vacarr said.

Visit EncoreU’s website to learn more about the initiative.