Baby Boomers Keep Learning With Continuing Education Classes - Laura McMullen, US News

Lifelong learning is not limited to the classroom. Brandon Garcia, director of public relations for continuing education at University of Utah, says the most popular courses in the university's continuing education program are fitness classes such as yoga and triathlon training. With noncredit, lifelong learning classes, there are no exams or grades. "You're actually just diving in," Garcia says of the freedoms of continuing education. "You're just there to soak it in." And often, people who take classes simply to learn rather than to fulfill a graduation requirement or please teachers seem to want to talk about it. Belcher and King Mengert, the OLLI program manager at Emory, along with Garcia in Utah, say that there never seems to be a lack of discussion in their lifelong learning classes. And like the camaraderie that often builds in more traditional discussion classes, Garcia says the intellectual discourse once or twice a week in continuing education courses can build a community feel.