Plus 50 Initiative aids seniors

As baby boomers near retirement age, the American Association of Community Colleges has made steps to ensure that citizens 50 and older know how to manage their golden years in uncertain economic times.

The Plus 50 Initiative works to create or expand campus programs across the nation that engage citizens 50 and older in learning, job training, or civic service. At STLCC-Meramec, these expansions have occurred throughout the continuing education department, where seniors are given guidance through classes and seminars.

"What we do in these classes is we really take their experiences and then put them together and try to help them develop a plan based on what their skills are, their values, their things," Mary Ann Peters, consultant for the Plus 50 Initiative at Meramec, said. "And then once they look at themselves, then, they're able to make some choices: 'Yes, I want to continue to go to school to get an education,' or 'I want to retire,' or whatever."

Although the initiative has been operating successfully for almost a year, the AACC responded to the economic crisis in late May by expanding the program to focus on job retraining for seniors.

"What people are wanting has really changed because of the economy. So now people are saying, 'OK, I'm not retiring, I need some skills, I need to get a job, because my 401k is down to stay,'" Heather Ellison, director of the Plus 50 Initiative at Meramec, said.

Mary Susan Vickers, director of the Plus 50 Initiative at the AACC, said that the 78 million baby boomers in the United States are a valuable asset and an important consideration when thinking about economic recovery.

"They want to give back," Vickers said. "Or, they want to be involved and committed, and it's a growing population in our country, and it will be a growing population on our college campuses."

While senior education has its benefits, Ellison said it also comes with unique challenges.

"Adult learners have been out in the world. They're usually working. They usually have other responsibilities; they don't like to screw around, and they don't want to waste time," Ellison said. "They want information; they want it to be extremely pertinent to them. If you're talking about something that has nothing to do with them, they're going to get really impatient and just say, 'I've got stuff to do, you're wasting my time.'"

When the Plus 50 Initiative came into place last year, Meramec was chosen as one of the 15 pilot schools for the program.

Ellison said that since then, the continuing education department has been pioneering their own approach toward the initiative's goals.

"We're figuring it out as we go along. We're making it up, and all the community colleges get to steal our hard work," Ellison said. "And, we figure it all out and how to go about it, and hopefully what will happen is our example can be reproduced by other community colleges around the country."

Introductory workshops for the Plus 50 Initiative will take place free of charge from 9:00 a.m. until noon on June 20 and June 27 in the library's confluence room.

All citizens 50 and older are welcome to attend.