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Original Query from Rhoda Spinner, The Round
Table, Stony Brook University, NY
Our LLI, The Round Table, is experiencing serious concerns regarding membership
growth. I would like to know how other groups have handled large increases
in membership, i.e. capping, etc. How do you handle the space limitations,
which accompany such a population increase? Thank you.
From
Sara Craven, Duke LLI, Durham, NC
At DLLI, the Duke LLI, we decided not to cap membership. We wanted to be
open to all and we need the infusion of new people and ideas. So we simply
found more places to meet, we became more creative in our scheduling, and
we offered more classes to accommodate the growing numbers. So far so good!
• Some teachers prefer to teach a small class and we
will honor their wishes.
• We have 3 classrooms in our building
that are dedicated to us. They can seat 20, 24, and 40 students.
So the size of the room may limit the number of people we can admit to the
class.
• We ask people to prioritize their choices. We set a
date in August and ask that registrations be in by that time.
Then we look at classlists. Those who have chosen a class as their 1st choice
get in before those who have chosen it as their 2nd and 3rd
choices, etc. That way we know that the people who get in really
want to be there!
From Dick Aime,
Lifetime Learners Institute, Norwalk Community College, CT
We are facing a possible problem so our Board set a cap of 850, to be reviewed
annually in the first part of each calendar year for possible adjustment.
Our problem is that the host sponsor - Norwalk Community College - has asked
us not to exceed that number, and we owe them so much that we are glad to
comply.
From Gene Bammel, SAGE Program,
University of Arizona
We at SAGE in Tucson have had similar problems. We did cap our membership
at 300, which has worked for the past couple years. We have had "wait-lists,"
something I think "unfair" to people at this particular age and stage in
their lives. Relatively few colleges and universities can allocate as much
space as their LLIs could make good use of. At this time of burgeoning undergrad
and grad enrollments, colleges tend to look for every conceivable guaranteed
classroom. Those LLIs have managed to come up with their own space, or their
own buildings, are fortunate in this regard. they do more to control their
own destinies. We are working on various forms of Endowment Fund, as we
would like to double our classroom space, and free ourselves from the very
high parking charges the U of Arizona is imposing. I think these are the
two almost universal problems of LLIs. We are the victims of our own success.
From Ann Burdett, MVLLI, SUNY Utica
NY
We, also, are " victims of our own success" and face the problems of classroom
space and parking here at SUNYIT. We, also, have not wanted to "cap" our
membership. We have chosen the following temporary solutions: 1. We do not
publicize. For the past 3 (of our 5 years) we have counted on word-of-mouth
for our publicity; 2. Two years ago we established a window of opportunity
to renew membership or become a new member between May 1 and July 31. This
is compatible with SUNYIT's and, therefore, our fiscal year. If people call
we have a waiting list and they will receive membership materials the next
May for the following year. At that time we accept all registrations. 3.
We also increased our membership fee this year from $100 to $125. This had
no impact on our membership #'s. In fact, we grew from 700 to 750. Our host
institution, SUNYIT, is able to deal with these numbers, but probably not
many more. 4. We have an endowment fund and we are also working on a Planned
Giving brochure and workshops for our people. We hope, one day, to have
space of our own on campus. Now that we have completed our first five years,
we are working on developing plans---long-range, and also for the next five
years. As with all LLIs, we must be ready to meet the needs of the baby-boomers
as they retire in the next few years. We would be interested in hearing
from other LLIs about your long-range planning.
Our class size is determined by the size of the classrooms available. Some
seat 24 and some 40. Computer lab is 18. We use the auditorium for some
classes. It holds 280, so participation in those classes is unlimited. We
call them "bonus" classes. Members can take 2 eight-week classes, (or 4
four-week classes) in each of our 3 sessions. (8 weeks in fall and spring,
and 4 weeks in February) And they may take as many bonus classes as they
want. This fall we have seven bonus classes. Our special interest groups
are included. Water Aerobics has a limited number even though it is a bonus.
I think we close it at 30. (attrition is high in this one) Duplicate Bridge
is held in the cafeteria on Friday afternoons from 2-5, and that is also
a bonus class. We have a variety of class formats. Those that are mostly
lecture, rather than discussion, I can put in the auditorium. Those that
are more geared for discussion, I put in smaller classrooms. There are a
couple that are completely discussion, Science Times and Quarterbacking
the News. I put these in a classroom that has movable chairs that can be
put in a circle. Our fall catalog will be mailed next week. At that time
it will also be put on our website: www.mvLLI.sunyit.edu. We are offering
around 45 classes to our 750 members. Stop by---and do sign our guest book
which has recently been added to the website. My data base is set up so
when I enter the registration of a member for a course, the data base tells
me how many spaces are left in that course.
From
Joe Scorpion, Academy for Lifelong Learning, Carnegie Mellon University,
PA
In 1998 our Academy for Lifelong Learning (A.L.L.) at Carnegie Mellon University
(Pittsburgh, PA) decided to "cap" our membership at 600, we continued this
"cap" through 1999. In 2000 we raised the "cap" to 700 and in 2001 to 750.
For 2002 our Executive Council voted to raise the "cap" to 825. At this
moment we have 824 active, paid members with 530 people on a waiting list.
For our fiscal year which begins on May 1st, we were able to admit only
131 new members. Our admission process goes like this: those who do not
renew their Annual Dues are dropped, and their spaces allotted to those
on our waiting list whom we are able to reach plus the increase in the "cap"
gave us 131 new admissions. However, every year our requests to be put on
the waiting list exceed the number we are able to admit. If we were to "open
the doors" we could well reach a membership of 1500 in the next 2 years.
This is not possible!! For our Fall Term which begins on September 9 we
are offering a total of 66 courses. Right now (August 6th) we have 540 members
registered for the Fall Term. This will probably exceed 550 by the starting
date. We have 3 classrooms at our disposal which we utilize to the fullest--each
has a capacity of 35. For larger classes the University finds us appropriate
space. In summary, we all seem to share the same problems--membership enrollment,
space/ classroom constraints, available instructors, new subjects and yes--parking.
So this is how we handle our situation, which we are constantly evaluating.
Hope this helps!!
From Sarah Benton,
Community Academy for Lifelong Learning, State College, PA
Our organization is facing the same situation. With membership well over
600 (in just 5 years), we are finding that continuing to grow will require
some major infrastructure changes (i.e. office space increases, more computers,
staff, etc.). To address these concerns we have just organized an ad hoc
"Futures" committee that is looking into this issue for us. We have only
met once so of course we have no answers yet. Good luck.
From
Jerry Printz, VIVA!, The University of Denver, CO
Have you considered a waiting list? Do any of you already have a waiting
list?
From Sara Skaggs, Center for
Learning in Retirement, Rock Valley College, IL
Our 9-year-old LLI has 2000+ or minus members, people who pay $15 a year
for dues & pay class fees for each class. Keep in mind, not all of these
people take classes; some of them come aboard because of a very popular
series of trips we run, which total 12 a year...mostly day trips. Also,
some join to be part of a popular exercise series, run each semester. Reasons
to join vary, but classes are the centerfold of all we do. We have not capped
membership & are fortunate to have dedicated space at this college; however,
as the college population grows (and it is) so too do demands on all available
space. For the moment, we're fairly secure at a dedicated site and don't
anticipate major bumps in road in the near future....or, perhaps never!
To be "prepared," the Long Range Planning Committee is looking at 5-years
down the road to project what our population could be then, how to handle
space constraints & make suggestions. Growth is a wonderful problem to have
and requires the blessing of college administrators to help solve problems
that impact resources. All of us are in a juggling act aren't we!? But isn't
it fun!
From Gene Bammel, SAGE, U.
of Arizona We at SAGE, U of Arizona
We have used a "wait-list" on and off for the last 5 years. The real problem
is, by the time you get to most of the people on your wait list, they have
found other things to do. A very difficult strategy, is to create a second
LLI, which may now be less difficult than in the recent past. In big cities
with several colleges and universities, it may be no problem at all, but
in smaller communities, decent places for meetings may be hard to come by.....
From Marion Lowenthal, Molloy Institute
for Lifelong Learning, NY
We had a waiting list and from this list founded another group which is
now larger than the original group. However, please know that our groups
can never exceed 100 because our space does not allow for a greater number
of people. Now we have a Tuesday and a Friday group. In answer to your question:
a waiting list works well.
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