Age-Friendly University principles: discussion with older learners

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Age-Friendly University (AFU) principles outline a set of visions that higher education institutions should support to become inclusive to learners of all ages, especially older learners. A growing number of higher education institutions across the globe are currently engaged in various work of AFU development. One of the areas of study in AFUs that needs more research is older adults’ perceptions about how AFUs should be developed. This article shares a study of older adults’ thoughts about the visions reflected in the AFU principles. We conducted interviews with 17 members of the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State University in 2020. The thematic analysis of qualitative data was conducted to identify the common perspectives and thoughts study participants shared about AFU principles. The discussions of AFU principles with study participants produced three main themes. The first theme described the diversity of older learners’ needs and interests. The second theme suggested that older adults possess mixed feelings of both excitement and anxiety about intergenerational learning. The third theme posed multifaceted accessibility issues including informational accessibility, program accessibility, and physical accessibility. We argue that these themes suggest that to develop AFUs, higher education institutions must cultivate ways to accommodate diverse older learners, create robust intergenerational programming, and engage in the work necessary to combat ageism on and off campus.