How age-friendly universities are helping older adults pursue higher learning

Gerry Eggert is a student at the University of the Fraser Valley (UFV) in B.C., taking classes in philosophy, psychology, creative writing and more. He’s a typical student, except for one detail: Eggert is 84 years old.

After seven years in the navy and a long business career, Eggert says he tried retirement “two or three times,” but it never stuck. When his youngest granddaughter approached high school graduation, he got the idea to enroll with her in university – he had never finished his own studies as a younger man – so they might graduate together.

Eggert’s granddaughter went straight to work instead. “Now she’s making so much money that I’m having a hard time getting her to even enroll,” he says.

He signed up anyway, starting at UFV in 2022 – the same year it became part of the Age-Friendly University (AFU) Global Network.

Founded in Dublin in 2012, the AFU’s aim is to make universities more inclusive of older adults through opportunities for learning, curriculum development, health and wellness activities and more. It uses 10 principles to make higher education more inclusive for older adults, complementing the World Health Organization’s Age-Friendly Cities framework.

The 10 principles cover things like intergenerational exchange, access to online education and opportunities for older adults to participate in campus life more broadly, from research programs to health and wellness activities.

Becoming an AFU does not require accreditation against a list of requirements. Instead, it’s about leaders’ commitment to “making their universities more age-friendly in the ways that make sense and are feasible for each institution,” says Dr. Michelle Porter, director of the University of Manitoba’s Centre on Aging. UM was the first Canadian university to become an AFU member in 2016.

In the 14 years since launching, the AFU has grown into a network of over 140 institutions around the world, challenging assumptions about who higher education is for.

“Ageism that exists outside of universities also exists within universities,” says Dr. Porter, with older adults facing obstacles like unfamiliar technology and inaccessible campuses, which can cause internalized ageism. “They feel like they’re too old, and that might affect the experiences that they have as students.”

‘The university is here for everyone’

On his first day on campus, Eggert was nervous about attending class. “I was worried about being stared at, and that I would embarrass myself and the professor in the classroom by being a burden.”

But by the end of the semester, Eggert’s nerves had faded. Students wanted to get to know him and professors drew on his experience. In sociology, he contributed firsthand perspectives on historical events; in business, an American professor asked him to explain to the class how unionization works in Canada. “My confidence went up, and now I’m a bit of a character – it’s hard to keep my ego in check,” he quips.

Today, Eggert co-chairs UFV’s age-friendly university steering committee alongside Dr. Shelley Canning, a nursing professor and director of its Centre for Education and Research on Aging.

“The university is here for everyone, not just young people,” says Dr. Canning. UFV recently held its annual “mini-conference” celebrating International Day of Older Persons, inviting 100 older adults from the local community for an on-campus event. “The halls are full of people with gray hair who are laughing and engaged.”

To assess UFV’s age-friendliness, a group of senior undergraduate students compared the university’s programming and student demographics against the 10 principles. A kinesiology student also toured UFV’s two main campuses with older adults, assessing features such as hallway width, signage, wayfinding, curbs, bathrooms and parking.

“It’s an uphill battle to convince people that aging is important,” says Dr. Canning. “There’s a lot of systemic ageism everywhere.” She adds that much of this is “gentle ageism,” where people may assume that older adults are uninterested in being a part of campus life.

Eggert was never worried about keeping up with the subject matter of his studies, but he did worry about technology, especially in group-learning environments. “It takes longer for us to learn because of the technology gap,” he says. However, he adds, at smaller universities like UFV – which had around 12,000 students in 2024, as opposed to the 30,000 to 100,000 students at Canada’s larger universities – professors are better able to adapt to an individual student’s needs.

Sparking opportunities in a country that is aging

Younger students also benefit from intergenerational classrooms. Dr. Canning says kinesiology students often picture careers working with young and middle-aged adults; however, because of UFV’s free “trishaw” program, which pairs student cyclists with older passengers for rides along a nearby nature trail, several have shifted their focus toward working with older adults.

“They get into these great conversations where the passengers ask the students about their plans, really encouraging them,” she says.

Reed Plowright-Wills, 33, is a fourth-year UFV kinesiology student who helps run UFV Trishaw Rides. He says he had little experience with older populations until the program because he lost his grandparents when he was younger. “It’s opened my eyes to working with more than young athletes,” Plowright-Wills says. “I can’t overstate just how valuable that’s been.”

Young graduates are entering the Canadian work force during a time when the population is rapidly aging. According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, over the next 20 years, the country’s senior population is expected to grow by 68 per cent.

“Having an opportunity to understand age – [it’s] incumbent on universities to [provide] that,” says Dr. Canning.

At “84 and three-quarters,” Eggert has no plans to slow down. In addition to his activities on campus, he sits on several boards, including a City of Chilliwack advisory board representing seniors.

“You don’t have to fear old age, you don’t have to lock yourself in an old age home,” he says. “You’ve got to keep fighting, keep stimulated.”