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Lifelong Learning Institutes, or "LLIs", are called by many names, but
each is a unique organization reflecting the needs and goals of its sponsoring
campus and participants from the local community.
The first known LLI was called the Institute for Retired Professionals,
created in 1962 in New York City under the sponsorship of the New School
for Social Research. During subsequent years, the idea spread, primarily
by word of mouth with little media attention. In 1988, twenty-four LLIs
collaborated with Elderhostel, Inc. to form the Elderhostel Institute
Network, with a mission to strengthen and support the effectiveness of
their programs and spread the LLI concept to new communities.
Today, the Network links independent programs at institutions of higher
learning across North America. LLIs are working well at institutions large
and small, private and public, and in communities both urban and rural.
LLI sponsors include Auburn University, Duke University, Harvard University,
and many other state universities; liberal arts colleges such as Hope
College in Michigan and College of Notre Dame in Maryland; and community
colleges like Lincoln Land Community College in Illinois and Cape Cod
Community College in Massachusetts. 
LLIs are different from Elderhostel programs.
When most people talk about Elderhostel programs, they are thinking of
the well-known model which attracts older adults from afar to visit campus
for a week or so and take one-three mini-courses, usually taught by members
of the faculty. These Elderhostel programs are marketed nationally through
the Elderhostel catalog.
In contrast, an LLI offers to local adults the chance to be involved
in ongoing academic programs that are geared specifically to their interests.
The Elderhostel Institute Network (EIN) is a voluntary association of
LLIs, funded by Elderhostel, Inc., a non-profit organization dedicated
to providing educational opportunities for older adults.
EIN exists to provide information, promote communications and encourage
the development of new LLIs. EIN does not prescribe fees or approve curriculum;
those decisions are made by each LLI independently. And because LLIs are
for local participants, all advertising and registration are handled locally,
by each LLI. These are some ways in which sponsoring an LLI is quite different
from sponsoring a residential Elderhostel program.
Many institutions are successfully sponsoring both types of programs:
residential Elderhostel programs for the national audience and an Lifelong
Learning Institute for the local community.
What is a Lifelong Learning Institute?
Imagine a school without grades or tests, a place where the only prerequisites
are an active mind and a desire to learn in a congenial atmosphere. Fill
the classrooms with dedicated students of retirement age. They are a community
of learners who design their own college-level curriculum according to
their own needs and interests, people whose common bonds are intellectual
curiosity and the experience of their generation. They share opinions,
knowledge, and expertise with humor, creativity and mutual respect.
When classes are over, the lively discussions don't end. The talk spills
out to the hallways, the cafeteria, or the student lounge. Younger students
passing through are impressed by the vitality of this enthusiastic bunch.
Learning is obviously lots of fun.
Pursue learning through your local LLI.
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May 15, 2008
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