As part of the university’s commitment to lifelong learning, Wichita State is continuing to expand its popular Lifelong Learning Program for senior citizens.

This initiative is part of WSU’s continuing effort to make college classes accessible to seniors throughout the community. Lifelong Learning classes differ from other classes in that they are held at retirement communities and senior centers around the area. Residents and members of the community 60 years of age or older can audit these classes without paying tuition.

WSU has scholarship money available to cover workshop fees for students enrolling prior to Feb. 14. After that date some workshop fees may apply. Although geared toward the senior citizen population, anyone less than 60 can enroll in the classes if they pay regular tuition and fees.

“More than 500 senior citizens participated in one or more of the 14 courses offered in 2018. Due to the success of the program and overwhelming interest in these classes, we have increased the number of course offerings and added new locations “said Kimberly Moore, director of WSU’s Office for Workforce, Professional and Community Education (WPCE). “We value our seniors and are excited to continue to provide them with high-quality, engaging and meaningful educational opportunities.”

Classes for spring 2019 include:

• Larksfield Place, Wichita
  - Presidential Leadership
  - Wichita Neighborhoods: The North End
• Downtown Senior Center, Wichita
  - A History of Noise: Music and Politics from Beethoven to Jimi Hendrix
• Kansas Masonic Home
  - The Flora and Fauna of Kansas
• Reflection Ridge Retirement Resort
  - Kansas’s Quest for Women’s Rights
• Catholic Care Center Shepherd’s Crossing
  - American Civil War
• The Regent
  - Crafting Your Memoir and Creative Nonfiction
• Via Christi Georgetown
  - Women and Computers Two Historical Episodes

Balance and Cardio Dance at the following locations:

• The Regent
• Northeast Senior Center
• Derby Senior Center
• Downtown Senior Center, Wichita
• Sedgwick Plaza
• Oxford Villa Senior Apartments

Visit www.wichita.edu/lifelonglearning to get complete details on each class. To register for a class, get the application from the previously mentioned website or by contacting the WSU WPCE office at 316-978-3731 or conference.office@wichita.edu. You can also pick up an application from one of the locations mentioned above.

Per the Kansas Board of Regents’ Policy, students 60 years of age or older can enroll as auditors in academic credit courses when space is available without paying tuition. The only cost to these students are any applicable workshop fees and lab/special course fees. In addition, senior citizens who have not previously been enrolled at WSU must pay a one-time application fee of $25.00. Students who are younger than 60 years of age can enroll in the course but will pay regular tuition and fees (see website for details). Senior citizens must present a Medicare card or valid driver’s license to validate age. 

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The mission of Wichita State University is to be an essential educational, cultural and economic driver for Kansas and the greater public good. Wichita State is a doctoral research university enrolling nearly 15,000 students and offering 59 undergraduate degree programs in more than 150 areas of study in seven undergraduate colleges. The Graduate School offers 45 master's and 12 doctoral degrees that offer study in more than 100 areas. Wichita State's Innovation Campus is an interconnected community of partnership buildings, laboratories and mixed-use areas where students, faculty, staff, entrepreneurs and businesses have access to the university's vast resources and technology. For more information, follow us on Twitter at www.twitter.com/wichitastate and Facebook at www.facebook.com/wichita.state.