Continued engagement and lifelong learning are of consequence for the positive psychological, physical, and social well-being of individuals and the well-being of institutions. Moreover, programs for age-diverse learners can benefit institutions by helping to offset the consequences of the shrinking enrollment of younger learners. Preparing for greater age diversity is also important on broader societal levels, especially given that traditional-aged students are seldom exposed to aging in their curriculum and rarely interact with older individuals. Thus, more must be done to educate students about aging issues as they prepare to enter their adult personal and professional age-diverse worlds.
Ageist beliefs permeate society, with the neglect of age in academia and its historic age-segregated structure sustaining negative attitudes and unconscious age biases that impact individuals of all ages. There are many ways higher education can shape teaching and learning environments that disrupt ageist beliefs and biases in constructive ways and promote intergenerational solidarity.
The GSA Age Inclusivity in Higher Education (AIHE) Workgroup is an amalgamation of GSA members of the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) who are university faculty that offer education, training, and research in the field of aging. Together they have developed several resources including the Age Inclusivity Domains of Higher Education (AIDHE). This model offers an evidence-based foundation for age-inclusive campuses to create a vibrant, inclusive, and sustainable learning and work environment that benefits age-diverse students, faculty, and staff on your campus.
The AIHE Workgroup publishes a quarterly newsletter, Age Inclusivity in Higher Education, has developed a toolkit to provide resources to advance age inclusivity in institutions of higher education, and produced additional resources that support age-inclusive programs, practices, and partnerships in higher education. These resources, including the Age-Friendly Inventory and Campus Climate Survey (ICCS) which can be used to evaluate age-friendly practices and perceptions across campuses, and webinars on how to implement and analyze the data are available on GSA Enrich.
AIHE Resources