Western Michigan University launches Lifelong Learning Academy

For the relentlessly curious or those who simply want to keep their brain in gear, Western Michigan University has something to check out.

The university’s new Lifelong Learning Academy will offer its first classes March 14.

Classes will have no exams and are not for credit. Instead, the classes will be geared to those 50 and up who simply love to learn.

Courses will cover international and enrichment topics, plus areas such as the arts and humanities. Enrollees also can expect classes on current events, the environment, health, history, and science and technology.

Lectures, special events and presentations, and travel programs and classes also are planned.

The first four-week session will feature two-hour daytime classes, offered once a week, for two, three or four weeks, depending on the subject. Current and former university faculty and experts from the community will teach the classes.

Academy members will pay an annual fee, and modest tuition for the courses they take plus any additional fees required for class materials, texts and travel. The fee will be waived for the first spring session.

Membership is open to anyone who wants to learn, although courses are geared toward older adults.

Writer: Kathy Jennings
Source: Jeanne Baron, Western Michigan University