IOG: Senior Tuition Program

The University of the District of Columbia has a program which offers free tuition for D.C. residents aged 65 and over; a policy instituted in 1978. The senior tuition program offers two free classes every semester. Senior D.C. residents matriculating in a degree program pay half of regular tuition. CAUSES research assistant Arielle Gerstein spoke with two long-time program participants about their experiences. 

Gerald Smith has a long past at UDC. He was a student at the Teachers College in the 1960s and worked for the Metro Transit System for 40 years. He’s been taking classes for 10 years and likes to take oil painting every fall. He’s also taken English, Spanish and math classes. He says about the program, “It’s a beautiful program, it’s truly great.”

Barbara Gardien is another long time student. She’s been attending classes for 14 years. She first found out about the program through the Washington Post. After retiring from her career as an art director and freelancer, she took a number of classes including French and computer classes.  Her favorites include painting, which she still takes regularly and sculpture.

Barbara says, “I’m very happy with these classes, the instructors are fabulous. I’ve studied in many different universities and I’ve never had a better faculty than I’ve had at UDC.”

To learn more about this program, visit the Institute of Gerontology online. For questions, contact Claudia John, program director, at claudia.john@udc.edu or call (202) 274-6697.