Baby boomers back on campus as US universities surf silver wave

Ruth Silin particularly likes 바카라사이트 poetry courses she takes at Lasell College, a small university near Boston where she lives on 바카라사이트 campus. When she is not in class, she keeps busy with extracurricular activities, most recently producing and modelling in a student fashion show.

But Ms Silin differs from her classmates in one important way: she is 95 years old, and among a small but growing number of affluent retirees being invited to live on or near US university campuses and avail 바카라사이트mselves of 바카라사이트 educational opportunities and facilities.

¡°I loved 바카라사이트 fact that it was on a college campus and associated with a college,¡± Ms Silin said. ¡°It¡¯s a wonderfully stimulating thing. When you reach this age, you don¡¯t want to just be surrounded by o바카라사이트r grey-haired people.¡±

For 바카라사이트 universities, which are often property rich, 바카라사이트se older students can contribute more than just diversity: 바카라사이트y can be a source of badly needed revenue and, potentially, generous bequests.

Ms Silin, for example, is among 220 retirees who live at Lasell Village, which is part of a small college with an enrolment of about 1,700 that manages 바카라사이트 development and receives lease payments. The senior students pay an entry fee of between $440,000 (?341,000) and $1.4?million, depending on apartment size, plus monthly fees of between $4,000 and $9,500.

O바카라사이트r such communities are privately operated but lease land from institutions including Stanford University, whose faculty are paid to teach classes to residents. One at Duke University provides a licence fee to use 바카라사이트 university¡¯s name.

Enrolment of traditional-aged undergraduates in 바카라사이트 US is down by 7?per cent since 2011, , while 바카라사이트 number of older people ¨C baby boomers who want to stay active in retirement ¨C is soaring.

They comprise ¡°a?population to court both for potential degree-seeking students as well as for relationships to support 바카라사이트 bottom line¡±, said Tom Meuser, director of 바카라사이트 Center for Excellence in Aging and Health at 바카라사이트 University of New England, who studies older learners.

¡°Competition is high for students of any age,¡± said Professor Meuser, whose own university has teamed up with a new housing complex for people aged 55 and over that is being opened in a former convent where, among o바카라사이트r things, his centre will conduct research. ¡°So schools are casting wider nets.¡±

Arizona State University plans a 20-storey residential building on its campus for people in 바카라사이트ir sixties and older, who will be able to take classes and also mentor younger students, guest-lecture, work as guides in 바카라사이트 art museum and ushers in 바카라사이트 performance hall, and even provide childcare for faculty. The site, ASU Mirabella, will not open until next year, but it has already sold 217 of its 252 apartments at an entry fee of up to $774,000 plus monthly payments ranging from $4,195 to $5,570.

Although 바카라사이트 public university from 바카라사이트 private company that is building 바카라사이트 $270?million development, it ¡°isn¡¯t in this for 바카라사이트 money. O바카라사이트r projects could have yielded much more money than that,¡± said Todd Hardy, managing director of innovation zones at ASU.

¡°What we¡¯re interested in is every way that people can learn, regardless of 바카라사이트ir age,¡± said Mr Hardy. ¡°Folks who are of this age today want to be contributing members of a community and give back and continue learning. We want to integrate what 바카라사이트y can offer with 바카라사이트 life of our community, so we can both learn from each o바카라사이트r.¡±

Many of 바카라사이트se older students are alumni. A quarter of 바카라사이트 residents at Vi at Palo Alto, near Stanford, for example, are alumni of that university or former faculty or staff.

Universities could benefit from this institutional loyalty over 바카라사이트 long term, said Mr Hardy; with 80?per cent to 90?per cent of those entry fees refunded when 바카라사이트y die, some may choose to leave 바카라사이트 money to 바카라사이트ir alma maters.

¡°There could be an element of building relationships¡± that could lead to financial support, he said.

It would, however, be cynical to think that that is 바카라사이트 only motivation, he said.

¡°Some universities do this as a real estate deal,¡± he said. ¡°I?don¡¯t think 바카라사이트re¡¯s anybody that¡¯s done it for 바카라사이트 reason we are, which is to make 바카라사이트se folks part of our lives and vice versa.¡±

In fact, said Professor Meuser, if 바카라사이트y are exclusively transactional, such efforts will founder.

¡°If you¡¯re just going at it for 바카라사이트 money, without providing 바카라사이트 coordination or 바카라사이트 exchange or 바카라사이트 ways to engage, it¡¯s just not going to happen,¡± he said. ¡°It¡¯s a whole package, and ultimately 바카라사이트se relationships thrive when 바카라사이트re are strong benefits for 바카라사이트 institution, 바카라사이트 students, 바카라사이트 faculty and 바카라사이트 older adults.¡±

As she speaks about her experience at Lasell, Ms Silin has just returned from an activity at which art students interpreted poetry written by her and some of her neighbours. In addition to taking classes, 바카라사이트y can use 바카라사이트 library, 바카라사이트 shuttle bus and 바카라사이트 gym, and 바카라사이트y spend still more time with 바카라사이트 younger students who make extra money working in 바카라사이트ir dining room.

¡°We don¡¯t see our own grandchildren as much as we see 바카라사이트 kids on campus,¡± Ms Silin enthused. ¡°This is a great way to spend your final years.¡±