Addressing the Decline of Traditional Students

It is common knowledge that the population growth of many countries is nearing a stagnation point. For nations such as Japan and South Korea which have already passed this threshold there seems to be almost a non reversible decline in births. This does not bode well for many sectors of society, especially that of education. As the younger ages decline there is a continuing rise in those of advanced age. Some institutions of higher learning have discerned this and for many years have begun offering more community classes to retirees on a variety of subjects. Additionally, a few universities have begun actively recruiting seniors in hopes that their return to the university campus could spark an uptick in overall enrollment. Many senior citizens have expressed interest in becoming students once more; allowing retired individuals to pursue a delayed university degree or to add to their life experience by acquiring a new credential. It is not as simple as it sounds though with actually a minority of senior citizen students, or SCS, who are willing or interested in pursuing more education on a formal level such as university attendance. With the decline in the number of 18 year olds are there enough seniors willing to continue their education to supplement the short fall in undergraduates? Are universities able to develop a business strategy that finds the human resources necessary to include those individuals who are in their early 20’s along side of those who are in their 60’s, 70’s, or older? Globally, the overall trend with higher education institutions are in a continuing drop in traditionally aged (18-24) student enrollment. Those universities that wish to stay viable must develop a widening enrollment strategy that is welcoming to anyone of university age be they in their late teens or twilight years. This paper discusses the feasibility of seniors actively attending universities in significant numbers and what may be necessary to accomplish this.