All das brachliegende Potential! England will das jetzt \u00e4ndern!<\/p>\n
\nUniversities ’should offer courses for over-50s‘
\nBy Katherine Sellgren
\nBBC News education and family<\/p>\n
older couple
\nThe report says the baby-boomer generation will want access to courses<\/p>\n
Universities must offer suitable courses for people aged 50 and above, a Universities UK report says.<\/p>\n
The study says the ageing population in the UK „offers higher education institutions a serious challenge“.<\/p>\n
It says universities should set up centres in areas where there is a high density of retired people.<\/p>\n
They should offer a range of courses such as moving from full-time to self-employment, ageing healthily, human rights and environmental citizenship.<\/p>\n
Universities UK represents university leaders.<\/p>\n
Its report – Active Ageing and Universities: Engaging Older Learners – suggests universities help people prepare for the „probable two decades“ beyond their main working career.<\/p>\n
They could be a „key partner“ in „unlocking mental capital and promoting wellbeing in later life“, it says.<\/p>\n
And universities should apply their widening participation agendas – where those from backgrounds not accustomed to going to university are encouraged to apply – to all age groups, not just the young and working adults.<\/p>\n
The study also urges universities to include modules on „active ageing“ in training courses for health and social care professionals.<\/p>\n
Ageing population<\/p>\n
The proportion of the UK population aged 65 and over has increased steadily over the past 35 years from 13% of the population in 1971 to 16% in 2008.<\/p>\n
This is projected to reach around 20% by 2026, the report said.<\/p>\n
It noted that first-year part-time undergraduates and postgraduates aged 40 and above increased by 58% from 1998-99 to 2007-08 from 92,000 to 158,000.<\/p>\n
The report said the number of older learners going to university would „almost certainly increase, given broader demographic and social changes“.<\/p>\n
\nTo ignore the potential contribution older people can make to our society and economy is short-sighted
\nNicola Dandridge
\nUniversities UK<\/p>\n
The report found informal adult learning was flourishing, especially among the over-50s.<\/p>\n
„Building upon and supporting this growth of interest could be a crucial future activity for universities,“ it said.<\/p>\n
Chief executive of Universities UK Nicola Dandridge said the idea that people stopped making a useful contribution to society when they reached the age of 60 or 65 was outdated.<\/p>\n
„We are facing a situation where older people are living longer and healthier lives and have, as a consequence, a huge amount to contribute. Universities have a significant part to play in harnessing that contribution,“ she said.<\/p>\n
„Of course, proposals to support older people into universities must be considered in light of the current funding climate facing the sector.<\/p>\n
„On the other hand, to ignore the potential contribution older people can make to our society and economy is short-sighted, and universities have a central role to play in supporting and reinforcing their contribution.“<\/p>\n
The report comes after Universities Secretary Lord Mandelson said part-time and two-year courses should not be seen as inferior to standard degrees.<\/p>\n
Speaking at a conference in Nottingham to commemorate Lord Dearing, the architect of Labour’s policy on student tuition fees, Lord Mandelson said new routes into higher education must be expanded.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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