OLDER ADULTS EARNING UNIVERSITY CREDITS: A DESCRIPTION

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Abstract
Of only 72 persons aged 62 and older who are enrolled for credit on campuses of the University of Wisconsin system, 48 responded to a questionnaire designed to assess demographic characteristics, attitudes toward lifelong education, and class format and group make‐up preferences. Respondents were more likely to be employed (60.4%), home owning (79.2%), and younger (M = 67.1, SD = 8.19; than both auditing and nonparticipant elders previously described (Hooper & March, 1978). Female credit earners reported preferring seminar format, while male credit earners preferred lecture format; these preferences are opposite to those expressed by auditing respondents in the earlier study. Only 16.3% of the credit earners had fewer than 12 years of education, and only 4.8% had no previous experience of the university through their own participation or that of members of their families. Implications of the findings for teachers of older students are discussed.

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