Image
Every Age at UMass: How Our Campus Embraces Lifelong Learning
Higher education isn’t a phase—it’s a lifelong journey. As an officially designated member of the Age-Friendly University Global Network, UMass Amherst is committed to a mission that values learners of all ages, backgrounds, and life stories.
A member of the Age-Friendly University (AFU) Global Network, UMass Amherst is helping redefine what it means to be a learning community—one that values people of all ages, backgrounds, and life stages. The AFU designation, developed by Dublin City University and endorsed by the United Nations, recognizes institutions that intentionally create inclusive opportunities for learning, research, and engagement across generations.
“UMass has always supported lifelong learning,” says Wilmore Webley, senior vice provost for equity and inclusion. “We look at learning across ages—an inclusive look at learners across the aging landscape. That’s why University Without Walls (UWW) has always been such an important component of our mission.”
As UMass Amherst expands its commitment to flexible and accessible education, its online programs have also gained national recognition. The university recently moved up two spots to No. 17 in the nation for Best Online Bachelor’s Programs in U.S. News & World Report rankings—and is now ranked No. 1 in New England. The growth of high-quality online pathways reflects the university’s broader commitment to learners at every stage of life. Within this ecosystem, UWW Interdisciplinary Studies (UWW-IS), now in its 55th year, plays a key role in supporting the university’s status as an Age-Friendly University.
I have found UMass and UWW in particular to be welcoming and deeply understanding. I was accepted to two other colleges in the area, but UMass became my first choice because of its empathy toward nontraditional students.
What It Means to Be Age-Friendly
The AFU Global Network defines a framework of 10 guiding principles that higher education institutions follow to become more inclusive of older learners in education, research, community, and access. We've adopted these principles on the UMass Amherst campus and are actively working to embed them across programs and campus life:
To encourage the participation of older adults in all the core activities of the university, including educational and research programs.
Older adults are welcomed into UMass credit-bearing courses, research collaborations, and community engagement initiatives—and are even awarded academic credit for life or career experience. Older learners bring expertise and lived experience that enrich all of our classrooms.
To promote personal and career development in the second half of life and to support those who wish to pursue second careers.
Students frequently cite responsiveness and flexibility as essential supports. As UWW-IS student Amy Ciccone explains, “As an older, full-time working adult, your time is always in demand and very limited. The UWW teachers and advisors understand this and are very responsive.”
To recognize the range of educational needs of older adults (from those who were early school leavers through to those who wish to pursue master’s or Ph.D. qualifications).
Whether someone is just starting again or aiming for graduate-level study, UMass provides options built with adult learners in mind, offering online and part-time modalities, personalized career support, and advising for nontraditional students.
To promote intergenerational learning in order to facilitate the reciprocal sharing of expertise between learners of all ages.
Students often describe how cross-generational collaboration enhances the learning environment. “In my first semester, a classmate created a Discord server for students to connect, have study sessions, and bond. It was fun and useful. Being able to exchange ideas across generations, especially as my work is with young adults, was inspiring and valuable,” says Tatyanna Wilkinson.
To widen access to online educational opportunities for older adults to ensure a diversity of routes to participation.
As more adults seek education later in life, UMass offers robust online, hybrid, and evening courses, so higher education can fit alongside work, caregiving, or other commitments. Programs such as UWW-IS exemplify this approach by creating flexible, high-quality online or hybrid pathways designed specifically for adult and nontraditional learners.
To ensure that the university’s research agenda is informed by the needs of an aging society and to promote public discourse on how higher education can better respond to the varied interests and needs of older adults.
From community health projects to aging-related research grants, UMass faculty and students examine the full lifecycle of learning, wellness, and societal change—anchoring older adult voices in the research agenda.
To increase students' understanding of the longevity dividend and the increasing complexity and richness that aging brings to our society.
UMass integrates ideas about aging into its curriculum, cocurricular work, and campus culture—preparing all students to engage thoughtfully and confidently with an aging world.
To enhance access for older adults to the university’s range of health and wellness programs and its arts and cultural activities.
Our campus welcomes older learners and community members into fitness, cultural, and social programs—strengthening well-being, connection, and social participation.
To engage actively with the university’s own retired community.
UMass invites emeriti faculty, retired staff, and community partners into mentoring, teaching, research, and service roles—treating their experience as an asset, not a loss.
To ensure regular dialogue with organizations representing the interests of the aging population.
Through partnerships with community organizations, aging services, and civic institutions, UMass builds programs, outreach, and research that respond to lived experience, not just theory. The UWW-IS partnership with the Tech Foundry enables staff and community members of the Springfield workforce development nonprofit to complete their undergraduate degrees through the university’s flexible, customizable online program.
AFU in Action
An AFU designation isn't just a label—it’s lived through relationships, classrooms, and commitment. “Older learners enhance the classroom in ways we often underestimate: Their stories, their work experience, their questions broaden what we think of as a university conversation,” says Lisa Modenos, a senior lecturer in UWW-IS and UMass Amherst's AFU ambassador.
Bridging Generations Through Learning
Image
Webley says that age diversity strengthens the classroom experience for everyone. “Older learners bring practical experiences to discussions that younger learners find fascinating because they have this credibility from lived experience,” he explains. “That intergenerational exchange adds significantly to the learning process.”
Being able to exchange ideas across generations, especially as my work is with young adults, was inspiring and valuable.
In fall 2023, approximately 80 percent of UWW-IS students were over the age of 25, compared with about 5 percent of the general undergraduate population—a sign of steady engagement from adult learners. Many UMass students transfer here after completing two years of community college. As Massachusetts has expanded tuition-free access to community college for residents over 25, Webley anticipates that number will grow. “We have to make sure we’re ready, from transfer advising to childcare access, to support this next wave of students,” he says.
Challenging Ageism, Expanding Opportunity
Webley also notes that age-friendly practices are a way to counteract pervasive ageism. “We live in a society where ageist beliefs permeate,” he says. “Competence should be at the forefront, not age.”
He emphasizes that UMass Amherst is “at an intersection where age inclusivity in higher education has risen in priority” and that the campus is beginning to map an age-friendly inventory of resources to identify where support can be expanded—from flexible advising to inclusive research opportunities.
I came back to finish my degree after 15 years in industry—and the flexibility and respect I found here changed everything.
For more than five decades, UWW-IS has helped adult and nontraditional students pursue their degrees on their own terms. As Julie Skogsbergh, chair of University Without Walls Interdisciplinary Studies, explains, “UWW Interdisciplinary Studies is proud to be both a national and campus leader for 55 years through our teaching and advising excellence. Our department works collaboratively to support the adult and nontraditional students we are honored to serve as they pursue their bachelor’s degree online at UMass Amherst.”
Looking Ahead
For many students balancing multiple responsibilities, returning to school represents both challenge and transformation—a reality that reflects the broader future of the UMass Amherst student population. After nearly 20 years away from the classroom, UWW-IS student Jackie Cappuccio returned with a clear purpose, seeing higher education as an opportunity to challenge herself and pursue a long-held goal. “Completing a bachelor’s degree has always been a goal of mine,” she says. “Life led me in a different direction, one that taught me the lessons necessary to be where I am today.”
As students like Cappuccio illustrate, adult learners are not an emerging audience but a growing and integral part of the university. While UMass continues to develop new pathways for adult learners, Webley says the foundation is already strong. “We have expertise through UWW, where nontraditional-age students have always been,” he says. “Now it’s time to expand that into the broader undergraduate community.”
Demographic shifts, increased lifespan, and evolving workforce patterns all point to one truth: Learning is a lifelong endeavor. UMass Amherst sees education as an asset that doesn't expire—one that pays out whether someone is embarking on a second career, returning after decades away, learning purely for the joy of it, or engaging in research or service later in life. UMass Amherst's AFU designation is not just a badge of honor. It’s a promise to remove age-based barriers, invite diverse perspectives, and build a campus where every generation has a place.