Mid Island Elder College celebrates its first full semester

Fisher said many of the students take the classes just for the joy of learning. Photo courtesy of Mid Island Elder College

When the VIU ElderCollege came to an end in 2023, community members came together to continue the program and not lose opportunities for lifelong learning.

Mid Island Elder College started shortly after Vancouver Island University announced it would be ending its partnership at the end of 2023 after 30 years of partnership. With the end of the VIU program, members of the college formed the society to continue offering education opportunities for mature adults.

Robin Fisher is the president and chair of the Mid Vancouver Island Elder College Society. He first came to the college as a retired historian still interested in teaching.

“It's a way to talk to people about subjects that I'm passionate about, and my own area is the history of British Columbia. It's also a social activity, which is really important for seniors,” he said.

He said he ended up joining the board because there was a huge demand in the community for a service like the elder college.

“People want to learn; people want to continue learning, and there's also a health and wellness aspect to all of that,” Fisher said. “That learning and social connection is really significant for seniors, health and wellness and well-being.”

Mid Island Elder College offers a range of courses for those 50 years old or older in easy-to-access environments without exams or grades. The courses range from academic, art, and lifestyle courses. In its first full semester, this fall the program is offering 60 courses on topics such as “Coal Mining History of Vancouver Island”, “Curious About Cannabis”, “Guided Meditation for Wellbeing and Joy”, and “How to Talk About Climate Change, Make a Difference and be Happy”.

Fisher, who is teaching a course this fall about exploring the history of James Cook and George Vancouver exploring the coast of what is now British Columbia, said many of the students take the classes just for the joy of learning. 

“I think that's a big part of it, and then, as I say, there's a big interest in these courses as also as a social activity,” he said. “Social activity and keeping the mind working are important for seniors who are in a generation where isolation, loneliness and depression are often real concerns, and we believe that elder college learning helps to alleviate those concerns.”

Today, the elder college is supported by 60 volunteer teachers and event coordinators. Classes are offered face-to-face in a classroom or online using Zoom. Classroom venues are in rented or donated spaces throughout the Nanaimo-Oceanside area.

Currently, the college has over 700 members and over 600 registrations for their fall courses.

Fisher said right now they are applying for grant funding to make the elder college program bigger, and expand the number of courses, and have more instructors and students.

“So we're applying to various granting agencies because we need some funding to do some market research and to do some work around better ways to communicate with more people so that we can grow,” Fisher said. “We want to get bigger and better.”

He said they are still working on getting the word out that the elder college program as many former students may have thought when the partnership with VIU ended, the program ended.

“I mean, people heard the VIU news and thought that it was all over. So we've had to work to get the message out that, in fact, it isn't that we're still functioning. We're still offering courses, and I would say that the work of getting that message out isn't complete yet,” he said. “Right now, I'm at a major seniors community event for the day, and people still come up and say, ‘Oh, I thought that it didn't exist once VIU withdrew.”

Courses are still being offered for the fall semester along with the fall Saturday Speaker Series featuring talks on the topic of “owning your health.” More information about the college and where to sign up for their mailing list to be notified about their spring 2025 course, can be found on their website.

Funding Note: This story was produced with funding support from the Local Journalism Initiative, administered by the Community Radio Fund of Canada.