Who Knew

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Who Knew? is intended to inform and entertain by publishing answers to questions of campus interest posed by faculty and staff. E-mail questions to wisweek@news.wisc.edu or send to Wisconsin Week, 19 Bascom Hall. Josh Orton of University Communications will seek out answers.

I’ve heard there is a program that allows older students to take UW classes for free. Is there any truth to this?
The sprinkling of older faces (or backs of heads) that you notice may be students who enroll, pay tuition and seek a degree. But there is a specific program that allows older Wisconsin residents to audit classes at the university for free. It stems from action taken by the Wisconsin State Legislature in May 2000.

Coordinated by the Department of Continuing Studies, the program’s qualifications and restrictions are simple. Anyone 60 and older by the first day of class who qualifies as a Wisconsin resident is eligible. After students return their forms and get approval to enroll, they must receive permission from the professor of the class they wish to audit (usually on the first day of the semester to address space concerns).

The program excludes some classes that require active participation, such as some lab courses, and some physical education and theater/music performance classes.

Which classes are the most popular among auditing seniors? Pat Fessenden, assistant dean for adult and student services, says music, history and art history take the top three spots, with a tie for fourth between geology and physical education.

Fessenden reports that while the students’ interests are diverse, most are very eager to learn. Their average age is just younger than 70. This semester’s enrollment of 137 students is right in line with previous semesters; generally, 110-140 people have participated each semester since the program began.

While some students may attend lectures simply for the enjoyment of the learning process, others try to apply what they learn to their lives outside the UW. Roy Cadwell, former owner of Bob’s Copy Shop, says he integrates material from classes into his travels overseas with his wife. A history or art history course, for example, probably provides infinitely more context than a “Lonely Planet” guidebook.

And even if a lecture doesn’t compel him venture to Egypt or the frozen tundra of Russia, says Cadwell, “It’s certainly better than watching television.”