Vancouver Island University will offer online courses through its ElderCollege program to students across the globe.
ElderCollege courses were originally created for people aged 50 years and older on the central Island, but were offered online due to the pandemic, which planted the seeds for offering classes worldwide, noted a VIU press release.
With the online courses, staff began fielding questions from students inquiring whether their relatives and friends could sit in and now people from other parts of Vancouver Island and B.C. have enrolled, the press release said.
“We’re not advertising. It’s all word of mouth,” said Regan McKeever, VIU ElderCollege program coordinator, in the release. “We’ve even had one person from China and a couple people from the United Kingdom take courses.”
A Zoom user guide has been created for people to learn the basics, and “student Zoom cafés” are held, at which people can learn more about how to use the program. The program also offers one-on-one training sessions if people need more help.
Any mobile device should be sufficient to enrol in ElderCollege courses, McKeever said.
Fall registration begins Aug. 18 at 8:30 a.m. and people can learn more at the ElderCollege website, http://adm.viu.ca/eldercollege.
READ ALSO: VIU working to decolonize B.C. classrooms