On college campuses, teenagers and young adults are the
perceived norm in undergraduate classes ““ students coming
from the dining halls or their dorm rooms to campus.
But students like Elizabeth Tracy, 52, and Mike Johnson, 50, are
something of an exception to the rule.
Tracy has already taught at the university level and is the
mother of a 15-year-old daughter who is starting to look at
colleges for herself.
Johnson studied at UCLA back in 1970 and is currently working
toward finishing up his degree in economics.
“I have a different goal (than my younger classmates
do),” Johnson said. “I already have a career. I’m
here to get the degree I didn’t get when I was a
kid.”
According to a survey conducted by the National Center for
Education Statistics in 2005, the number of older students
enrolling in university courses has been steadily increasing over
the past few years.
The New York Times reported on Nov. 11 that continuing education
is currently a $6 billion business, and that figure is up from $4
billion just two years ago.
French Professor Nicole Dufresne said older students such as
Tracy and Johnson are “positive additions to the
class.”
“Once in a while, you get a student in their 40s or 50s,
especially in French literature classes. They are there because
they are curious, interested and smart,” Dufresne said.
She added that these older students usually approach their
education with a different frame of mind than other students in the
class do.
“They have a quieter life,” she said. “There
are fewer distractions from what they do.”
Tracy said she came to UCLA largely because her husband, Doug
Black, is a professor of molecular biology on campus.
She started with the Summer Intensive Program and is currently
studying French through the Concurrent Enrollment Extension.
“I already have a fine arts degree, so I have the luxury
of only having to take one or two classes at once. When I do my
papers, I do the best I possibly can. I have the time,” Tracy
said.
Continuing students can further their education at UCLA by
selecting their courses and completing a one-page application to
the UCLA Extension office.
Dufresne said that from what she has seen, continuing students
incorporate into undergraduate classes rather easily.
“Older and younger students get along in class,” she
said.
Tracy agreed, saying her interaction with her younger classmates
has been positive.
“It’s been really great,” she said. “I
enjoy meeting younger people and being around them.”
Additionally, because Tracy has been a professor at UC Santa
Cruz, Trinity College and Wheaton College, she has been
predominately exposed to the teacher’s perspective. Now,
taking classes allows her to experience the classroom from the
other point of view.
“It’s interesting being a student again,”
Tracy said.
Dufresne said her older, “vibrant and active”
students enrich her classes because of their maturity.
“They are obviously very responsible,” she said.
“If you’re 60 and you still have something to learn,
something to say, I think that’s a good thing.”