Seniors and students both have one thing in common: they need to get out of their environment a little more. That’s why the University of Northern Iowa is offering a “lifelong university” program to Iowans of all ages. 

The program consists of non-credit courses taught by retired and current UNI faculty and staff. The courses will be taught on campus on weekdays, with durations ranging from four to three weeks, as well as single-session workshops

According to UNI’s website, some of the courses include: A Study in Sherlock: An Elementary Introduction, Square One Bible Course, Digital Photographs, Archives and Memory Books, and Film Appreciation: A Brief Study of Stanley Kubrick. 

The Lifelong University courses are provided to help people, especially senior citizens, be involved with the community. David O’Shields, instructor of communication studies said, “The Lifelong University classes are designed for working adults and the retired who are interested in furthering their education.”    

According to Bettina Fabos, associate professor of communication studies and instructor of Digital Photographs, Archives and Memory Books, the Lifelong University program is developed as a UNI outreach project to connect with people—often seniors—outside of the University. 

“It’s something I am doing to generate interest in digital archiving, because I am in the process of, along with four other faculty, launching a huge digital archive, called Fortepan Iowa, featuring photographs from 1880-2000,” said Fabos.

“Fortepan Iowa will launch on March 25. It’s the first sister site of an existing archive, called Fortepan, based in Hungary, that has around 45,000 images.  Ours will imitate the style and design.”  

Fabos went on to say that they will launch with 3,000 images which will feature photos of the state taken by Iowans over the past century.

Fabos said that students will have the opportunity to learn about archives, the history of photographs and cameras in the 20th century, the importance of amateur photography, the process of scanning photographs at high resolution, and building memory books using Blurb.com.  

Although there are no certifications of completion, the class is a great experience for seniors because they are learning to use technology. “We taught a class last semester where we helped seniors learn digital skills, such as Google docs and how to maximize their iPhones.”

One of the significant benefits of UNI’s Lifelong University program is that traditional students and Lifelong University students get connected with each other. 

“It’s so great to have students, who are so stuck on campus interacting with other students, to get out of that ‘zone’ and hang out with seniors.  It’s very satisfying. And seniors also gain so much from hanging out with UNI students,”  Fabos said.