Older students are hot new thing on California college campuses

College acceptance letters aren't going out to only new high school graduates. More than ever, it's their parents waiting for that letter.

The number of California college students between the ages of 50 and 64 rose 61 percent between 1986 and 2006. Among people ages 40 to 49, enrollment increased 32 percent. Overall enrollment climbed 33 percent during the same two decades.

Like the wave of college students that washed into schools on the GI Bill after World War II, baby boomers could create a ripple of their own.

Often, baby boomers return to school for economic necessity. Some are single parents; others are raising their grandchildren.

But they also enroll because they choose new careers after years on the job, possibly less physically taxing ones.

"There are a heck of a lot of these people and they're going to be out there for a while," said Jim Blackburn, director of enrollment management services with the California State University system.

Some schools, particularly public and community colleges, already offer flexible hours, urban campuses and targeted services to accommodate nontraditional students.

"I need to get over that age thing," said Elizabeth Hall, 48, a Granite Bay mother of two and a new college student.

Hall scrambles from behind her office desk when students wander in for help on the American River College campus.

She'll give directions to another office. She answers questions about parking passes. Her main job is to help returning students who haven't been in school for a while, students like her.

She first attended the two-year Sacramento college in the early 1980s, before she married, had children, then found herself divorced and in need of a career.

When she returned to school in the spring 2007 semester, she worried about her studying skills and how she would fit in.

"I was afraid I would be treated like an old lady," she said.

When other students sought her as a team member for a group project, she relaxed.

"They found me as an asset," she said. "I just feel like part of the team. I love it. I really love it."

The 23 campuses of the state university system were designed for a diverse student body, said Blackburn, where more than 10 percent of students are 35 or older.

"We have never specialized in the 18- to 21-year-old that goes Monday through Friday," he said. "We've been into the adult market before it was cool to be in the adult market."

Still, higher education is not as hospitable as it could be for the anticipated onslaught of baby boomers, Blackburn said.

For example, federal and state financial aid tends to favor traditional students, he said.

At California State University, Sacramento, the number of students between the ages of 50 and 64 grew by 76 percent from 1986 to 2006.

When the economy falters, returning adult enrollment seems to rise, said Ed Mills, associate vice president of student affairs at Sacramento State.

"The nice part is it really diversifies your classroom. It brings a nice breadth to the classroom than if it was all 18-year-olds," Mills said.

There's another reason for older students to pick Sacramento State: any student 60 or older can enroll for about the price of a latte. For $3 a semester, older California residents can take all the classes they want.

The Los Rios Community College District, with its four campuses in the Sacramento region, experienced a 204 percent increase in students ages 50 to 64 between 1986 and 2006. During the same time, total enrollment increased 85 percent.

Computers and other technology invaded the workplace during the same two decades, driving many workers back to school, said Susie Williams, a spokeswoman for the district.

"I do think it's a little less threatening coming to a community college," she said. "When you walk into class, you see a real mix of ages. That's real comforting."

The idea of higher learning later in life is fueling a rapidly growing retirement option: university retirement communities.

"This is one of the fastest growing segments of the senior industry," said Andrew Carle, director of assisted living and senior housing administration at George Mason University in Virginia.

The retirement home edging the golf course is not necessarily the baby boomers' favored option, Carle said. Intellectually stimulating and intergenerational experiences are what new retirees will seek, he said.

Communities near or adjacent to campuses offer living quarters and access to activities such as performing arts, athletic events and classes, generally for a move-in fee that is at least partially refundable, and a monthly fee.

Carle, who crisscrossed the country to study the several dozen schools with retirement villages, said there are at least another three or four dozen in planning stages.

Carle believes the communities that provide facilities for independent living all the way to skilled nursing will be the most popular with retirees.

It's a new idea with a promising future, he said.

"It started 10 years ago, but it's taking off and it's just going to double and double and double," he said.

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