Retirement reorientation: senior adult education

Senior Adult Educational Programs are being implemented widely as an avenue to social reorientation and greater fulfillment after retirement. Although this investigation of one program reveals limited impact on the SMSA, the findings do indicate successful retirement adjustment for program participants. The average enrollee is white, middle-class, Protestant and female, and living in close proximity to the Community College campus where the program is based. The data indicate that participation in the Senior Adult Education Program eases the transition from the primary occupational role into the retirement role. Intergenerational social distance appears to be minimal between older and younger college students, thus facilitating the sharing of a common campus.