2024 Southern Regional Conference for Learning in Retirement
Lexington KY, July 22 – 24, 2024
by Donna Ramer and Wayne Cotter Submitted to Council August 2024
I. Background
This is the second consecutive Southern Regional Conference for Lifelong Learning that representatives from Quest attended. In 2023, Quest president Donna Ramer and Quest secretary Karen Levin attended to informally benchmark against other lifelong learning programs. This year, we — Donna and Wayne — attended to build upon learnings from last year’s conference as well as to present “Hybrids: Positives and Pitfalls in a Post-Pandemic World,” which we submitted and was accepted as a conference workshop (presentation slides can be viewed here, and see below for workshop highlights).
II. Introduction
“If you know one lifelong learning program, then you know one lifelong learning program.”
The above quote is quite well known among lifelong learning administrators and means there are almost as many models in the lifelong learning community as there are lifelong leaning organizations.
As we spoke to more and more conference attendees during the three-day conference, we soon recognized the accuracy of that quote. For example, some lifelong learning organizations meet only for six weeks during each of their spring and fall semesters; some offer very few hybrid presentations; and many rely on professional educators rather than member volunteers to coordinate and conduct their classes. We have detailed some of these differences below.
III. General Observations
Before we summarize one of the plenaries and a few of the individual workshops we attended, we offer these eighteen general observations.
No other organization seems to have the close, collaborative relationship with their host institution that Quest has with CWE/CCNY.
Most of the conference attendees were professional administrators of lifelong learning programs who are paid for their services.
Although most of the attendees represented some of the 124 Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) organizations, a number of attendees represented independent lifelong learning centers such as Quest. Note: At the time of this report, a list of attendees was not available but the report will be updated with the list when received.
Most OLLI organizations have a vested interest in keeping their annual dues low so they can enroll as many members as possible and thus receive maximum subsidies from the OLLI organization. However, unlike Quest, they do charge for individual courses.
Quest has a far higher percentage of its members participating in the organization (i.e., presenting, coordinating classes, serving on committees, etc.) than nearly any other lifelong learning organization represented at the conference. Our high participation rate is because (1) OLLI organizations rely on paid administrators far more than volunteers, and (2) OLLI reimbursements are based on the overall number of enrolled members. As such, OLLI organizations may attract a high percentage of “passive” members (i.e., members attending classes but not volunteering) than Quest.
Quest has a longer semester (fourteen weeks) with over thirty-five courses offered per semester, which is one of the most ambitious of all lifelong learning organizations. Many of the lifelong learning programs at the conference typically limit their courses to as few as three weeks or only six weeks.
Few lifelong learning organizations that offer hybrid classes utilize as many tech volunteers as Quest; most rely on outside expertise.
Quest’s Distinguished Speaker program is unique in its scope and caliber of presenters.
Many lifelong learning institutions rely on non-member professors, teachers and community professionals to coordinate and present some of their courses; within the same organization, some are paid while others volunteer. Note: We did find that one OLLI trains their outside presenters so their presentations are appropriate for their members and not students who would be tested on content.
We did not run across any lifelong learning organizations that are as flexible as Quest with respect to attending classes while offering the vast array of courses that Quest offers. Most require members to register in advance for courses and allow members to enroll in a maximum of five or six courses.
Many lifelong learning representatives feared that without the registration process, attendance at certain courses would far exceed the maximum classroom size. Conversely, several explained that their curriculum director (most often a paid position) has the authority to cancel a course if they deemed enrollment was ‘too low,’ which was subjective and not clearly defined by the institution.
The registration process can be cumbersome, costly and can lead to hard feelings when members are shut out of courses.
Most Ollis use a data management program to manage the program registration and course enrollment process.
Some organizations offer some Zoom-only courses, where all attendees – including the presenter – participate from home. The main reason organizations present Zoom-only courses is that the coordinator/presenter for those courses are from out of state.
Quest appears to have a far greater percentage of its members participating in the organization than other organizations.
Quest was one of the first lifelong learning organizations to return to in-person classes (fall 2021) after Covid-19 forced a lockdown. Several in our workshop explained that their universities did not allow them to return until they were open to their own students; Quest was given the option to return two full semesters before CWE/CCNY opened their doors to their students.
All lifelong learning organizations witnessed a decline in membership during and just after COVID, but most, like Quest, have rebounded.
We also heard that many programs formally evaluate presenters and range from a simple “would you recommend this class?” to “how do you rate the teacher’s presentation style and knowledge of the subject?”
IV. Quest Workshop: “Hybrids: Positives and Pitfalls in a Post-Pandemic World” Donna Ramer and Wayne Cotter, Quest Lifelong Learning Community
Our workshop, which was attended by staff and volunteers of twenty-one different lifelong learning programs, had a twofold purpose: (1) to introduce our all-volunteer governance, operations and curriculum model to workshop participants; and (2) to share how we moved from an all in-person format to all Zoom and then hybrid in just two short years. Questions from our very engaged audience ranged from the type of equipment we use to how our members actually create and present courses with no paid staff.
In this session, Donna reviewed Quest’s model and organizational structure while Wayne focused on the pros and cons of hybrid presentations. From our discussions with the audience, we learned that few organizations offer as many courses as Quest or feature as many hybrid courses.
Many attendees were surprised that Quest is an all-volunteer program with just one part-time paid staff yet features a wide variety of courses and top-flight speakers. We also learned that most lifelong organizations rely far more on paid professionals than volunteers. In addition, few lifelong learning organizations offer the flexibility that Quest offers when it comes to attending classes. Most organizations limit the number of courses a member can attend during a semester.
It should be noted that no participant at our workshop reported returning to in-person classes sooner than Quest did (fall 2021) following Covid.
V. Highlights: Plenaries & Workshops Attended
We found the keynote speakers to be compelling and thought-provoking but not focused on providing significant information about the lifelong learning experience. On the other hand, the workshops provided an excellent opportunity to share experiences and learn from representatives of other life-long learning organizations. Below is a summary of some of the sessions we attended.
A. Plenary
Of particular note was keynote speaker Linda J. Van Eldik, Ph.D., a microbiologist and neuroscientist who is the director of the Sanders-Brown Center on Aging and Alzheimer’s Disease Research Center. Dr. Eldik provided an overview of the Sanders-Brown program and their research in the neurobiology of the aging process, age-related brain diseases and super-agers (eighty percent genetic and twenty percent influenced by lifestyle, e.g., relating to others, diet, exercise. ). A super-ager is defined as someone age 80 or older who exhibits cognitive function comparable to an average middle-aged person and shows less brain volume loss than is typical for someone their age.
B. Workshops
Ways to Keep Your Members Engaged Beyond the Classroom Tarilyn McBride, Coordinator, OLLI at Louisiana State University (LSU)
LSU’s Tarilyn McBride said that the college’s OLLI program has four chapters in various cities and towns throughout Louisiana and any chapter member can attend any of the classes.
The semesters run for six consecutive weeks in the spring and another six consecutive weeks in the fall. They also hold a brief, four-week session in the summer. Classes meet for 1-2 hours per week and feature many non-academic courses, such as basket weaving, chair yoga and guitar playing. Special speakers are featured between semesters.
Ms. McBride had numerous suggestions regarding how to engage members beyond the classroom. These included a tour of the local PBS station, a visit by local FBI agents, and a talk by the local TV meteorologist. The organization also paid their local PBS station to film a commercial which they now own and is available on YouTube.
The organization typically offers about 30 courses per semester, with 3 of 4 being hybrids. They feature about ten Zoom-only classes, but those are usually classes for which the instructor is out of state. Instructors are typically paid based on how many students are in each course and the hours taught during the semester. At most, an instructor would be paid $600 per semester, per course.
The national OLLI organization provides subsidies to member organizations based on their membership levels. Because the LSU program has over 1,000 members, it receives $120,000 a year from the national organization, most of which is allocated for salaries of its administrators.
A Fun Approach to Curriculum Development & Volunteer Satisfaction Janna Trout, Volunteer Curriculum Chair for LIFE@Elon & Kathryn Bennett, Assistant Director, Professional & Continuing Studies, Elon University
While many lifelong learning programs provide “à la carte” short courses on a specific topic, LIFE@Elon takes a different approach. The organization offers 12 classes per semester. The same classes are offered on Tuesday mornings and afternoons as well as Wednesday mornings and afternoons. The classes are two hours long, including a 15-minute break. If a member signs up for, say, a Tuesday morning session, but needs to miss a session or two, they can attend one of the other sessions.
An annual $160 membership allows members to participate in all 24 classes offered throughout the year. Classes are taught by current and retired Elon faculty and staff members, other area educators, and experts chosen by Curriculum Committee volunteers. Presenters are paid a small fee for presenting the classes ($100). Members are asked to evaluate the sessions after each semester.
Janna Trout, who is a volunteer, noted that she asks a prospective committee member three questions (below). She believes these questions maximize the effectiveness of her volunteers, while ensuring the new Committee member does not become discouraged.
What can you do?
What do you like to do?
What don’t you want to do?
Marketing by the Numbers Lucy S. Woodhouse, Director, Lifelong Learning at Wofford College, Spartanburg, SC
Lucy Woodhouse is a paid director of Wofford College’s lifelong learning program. At this session, she discussed several low-cost tools to market Wofford College’s lifelong learning program, which is not affiliated with OLLI. She pointed out the difficulties her organization has in attracting minority members, mentioning that the organization reviews member zip code data to determine which Spartanburg neighborhoods are not attracting members. She also seeks suggestions from her current minority members about ways to enhance diversity.
Ms. Woodhouse uses the Wofford alumni mailing list to search for potential members and also reaches out to Wofford undergrads about the program, asking them to make their grandparents aware of the program.
With respect to its Web site, she makes extensive use of Google Analytics to analyze how marketing campaigns have impacted website use. She believes maintaining the organization’s Facebook page is also important and she often place ads targeting adults over 65 for as little as $70 an ad. She then uses Google Analytics to monitor the effectiveness of those ads.
VI. Recommendations
• Quest should strive to maintain its annual membership fee and flexible schedule, so members can continue to attend as many courses and classes as they choose.
• A few ideas we should consider:
paying a professional educator to coordinate and present a full course at Quest on a one-semester, trial basis;
presentations by local/state social service organization to help ensure our members are aware of area services, which many of the lifelong learning programs attending the conference have in place;
hiring a social media marketing advisor, specializing in non-profits, provided no members with those particular skills are willing to volunteer.
• Like Quest, most of these organizations are committed to offering some hybrid courses but are finding less interest in the hybrid experience as we move further from Covid. We all are committed to continuing the hybrid experience for the foreseeable future because of its value to members unable to attend in person.
• Conference participation: It is important for Quest to attend this annual conference to continue to exchange ideas with other lifelong learning programs and return with appropriate new ways to enhance membership recruitment and retention; curriculum development; and presenter support.
