Seniors classes at USask are for the love of learning

By Chris Putnam

The golden years keep going for a much-loved Saskatoon seniors learning program as it passes another milestone.

For four decades, Saskatoon Seniors Continued Learning Inc. (SSCL) has offered non-credit, university-level courses together with the University of Saskatchewan (USask). This year marks the 10-year anniversary of the program’s partnership with USask’s College of Arts and Science.

“People want to be out doing something where they’re not characterized as ‘old’—something that’s personally useful and recognizes their value as individuals. And that’s what this program does,” said Art Battiste (BA’66, Educ’66), program manager of SSCL.

SSCL offers up to 24 courses per year spread across nearly every academic discipline. In eight weekly two-hour lectures, students can choose to learn about anything from Jane Austen to geoscience to Greek mythology.

Courses are taught by qualified specialists in each field—usually sessional lecturers, faculty members and emeritus professors from various USask colleges and schools.

“These are essentially university courses. They’re not dumbed down; they’re shortened,” said Battiste.

After an annual membership fee of $5, SSCL courses cost just $60 to $80 each. (“It’s the best deal in the country,” Battiste points out). The non-credit courses don’t count toward any credential, but they are a priceless way for seniors—considered anyone age 50 and up—to build knowledge and socialize with peers.

“It also reinforces that they have the ability to learn: that their minds are important as well as their bodies. It gives them more to talk about with their friends—and the ability to win arguments with people who are younger,” Battiste said.

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Ann Marie Schramm, past president of SSCL, has been taking about six courses a year through the program since 2012. Schramm always wanted to return to university but never had time during her career working in research labs and raising her family. SSCL courses gave her the chance.

“There were these excellent speakers and a huge range of interesting topics. I thought, ‘This is an opportunity,’” she said.

What keeps Schramm coming back each year are the friends she’s made and the stimulating classroom environment.

“The instructors are good. They’re open to questions. But also, I’ve found my classmates are very interesting. One of the things I’ve discovered is that all these seniors have a lot of life experience and they ask interesting questions. And they will sometimes tell stories. And I just think the combination is amazing,” Schramm said.

Students of all backgrounds take the courses. Retired professionals and academics often enrol to learn about subjects they never had time to study during their careers. But about half of SSCL’s students are people who never attended university—and who, in many cases, didn’t finish high school.

“They’re probably the most interesting because they ask the one big question that throws a monkey wrench into the lecture, and that is, ‘Why?’” said Battiste.

SSCL courses have no assignments and no exams: a perk that appeals not only to students but also instructors. The ability to focus solely on teaching is freeing and makes for a positive tone in the classroom, said Dr. Clay Burlingham (BA’77, Arts’88, MA’91, PhD’99).

Burlingham, whose history courses are among the most popular SSCL classes, said he enjoys the opportunity to design his own courses and teach about important current issues. His classes have covered topics such as the rise of Vladimir Putin and—in a new class this fall—the global resurgence of right-wing politics.

More than anything, Burlingham appreciates the students.

“You have people here that read. They want to examine things, but just need some guideposts. There’s an enthusiasm with them that I think is infectious. They really do want to understand, so that’s a good thing to me,” he said.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, SSCL began offering online courses. The format proved so popular that all of the program’s courses are now online or hybrid, with students given the option to attend in person at the Saskatoon USask campus or remotely.

That flexibility has boosted enrolment in SSCL courses by about 50 per cent, with some classes topping 120 students. Seniors with limited mobility can now take the classes from home. Snowbirds can tune in from warmer winter climates.

The growth of the program is partly thanks to the “absolutely marvelous” partnership formed between SSCL and the College of Arts and Science 10 years ago, said Battiste.

Until 2014, seniors classes at USask were administered through the Centre for Continuing and Distance Education. That centre was dissolved by the university for cost reasons and the seniors learning program was at risk of being discontinued.

SSCL came to a new agreement that year with the College of Arts and Science under which the non-profit group would self-fund and manage the program while the college provided classroom space, tech support and marketing assistance. The program has thrived under the new arrangement.

“It’s been a matter of having a really positive relationship and having people in the management side of Arts and Science who care,” said Battiste.

Dr. Jennifer Lang (PhD), interim vice-dean academic in the College of Arts and Science, has been a past instructor in the SSCL program. She said she has witnessed firsthand the value that SSCL brings to the learners, the instructors and the community. 

“As a college that believes in lifelong learning across a breadth of disciplines, the partnership with SSCL is one that we aim to support and maintain. We are very proud to be associated with this wonderful initiative,” Lang said.

SSCL’s Fall Term classes are now open for registration. These include the annual President’s Lecture Series, another innovation introduced 10 years ago in which more than a dozen high-profile USask researchers speak on a theme chosen by the university president.

This year’s President’s Lecture Series is on the topic “Curing the World’s Diseases.” It begins Sept. 18.

Just like every term, perennial students like Schramm will be back in class for this fall’s courses.

“I think it’s fabulous to offer this kind of thing to seniors because they have the time, they have an interest in lifelong learning and it’s very reasonably priced,” Schramm said.

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