Fall is back to school time, with educational programs for older adults kicking off their fall semesters. Here is an overview of the OLE and OLLI programs’ offerings.

OLÉ! Anchorage

OLÉ, which stands for Opportunities for Lifelong Education, is raring to go after a summer off with classes both online and – on Fridays – in person. Whether you want to learn about invasive plants in Alaska, films from storytellers around the globe, seabirds and shorebirds, Antarctica or electric vehicles, OLÉ has classes! Online classes through Zoom take place Tuesdays and Wednesdays.

At press time, UAA plans to be open for OLÉ classes on Fridays. There are classes on theater, botany, strategies for tackling homelessness and the History of the Dena’ina People, plus many more.

The complete course catalogue is available on the OLÉ website at https://oleanchorage.org and course selection (the first step in registration) begins Sept. 2. The fall term begins Sept. 27. Membership is required to register, but you may join online with the $200 annual fee.

OLLI in Fairbanks

“A health club for your mind,” as their website endearingly states, Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at the University of Fairbanks will be offering a mix of distance-delivered (via Zoom) and in-person classes for Fall 2021.

Classes are offered to adults age 50 and older and topics cover films and photography, healthy living, science and mathematics, computer applications and much more.

Fall registration opened Aug. 11 with the upcoming semester commencing on Sept. 13. and running until Nov. 19. Classes will be offered Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. with a few evening classes offered from 5:30 to 6:45 p.m.

Members can pay $35 per year plus $15 tuition per course and Unlimited Members can pay $185 for the year with no per-course tuition. Visit https://uaf.edu/olli/courses/registration.php to register for a membership.

Vaccination for COVID-19 will be required for in-person participants.

University of Alaska for seniors

The University of Alaska waives regular tuition for Alaska residents who have reached age 65 and older, in addition to meeting other criteria. Eligibility is extended to permanent residents of Alaska, those receiving full (unreduced) Social Security retirement benefits and if space is available for the desired class. Seniors using tuition waivers must also wait until the first day of semester course instruction to register – registering prior to the first day of instruction will result in having to pay full tuition. Seniors are still responsible for lab and material fees, the Campus Consolidated Fee and Network Charge.

To view the full policy, links to class catalogues and the tuition waiver form for UAA, visit https://catalog.uaa.alaska.edu/academicpoliciesprocesses/tuitionfees/ and scroll down to the bottom of the page to “Senior Citizen Tuition Waiver.”

To view the same information for UAF visit https://www.uaf.edu/bursar/for-students/tuition-waivers.php or for UAS visit https://uas.alaska.edu/student-accounts/waivers.html.