You call this a classroom? The dozen or so people crammed into Debra Hopkins' living room talked about flowers over little glasses of raspberry vodka and cups of tomato-cucumber salad. Hopkins was the instructor, but sometimes one of the students would chime in with a lesson of their own.
Later, the students would wander through Hopkins' lush backyard, filled with leaves and flowers and berries of all shapes, while she prepared another treat in the kitchen.
It really is a class in backyard gardening, arranged through UND's continuing education program, which bills itself as being "specifically designed for individuals 50 and better."
The program is in its fourth year and has grown from initial enrollment of 76 to 520, a significant milestone because 500 is enough to qualify for a $1 million foundation grant that would ensure the program's long-term existence, Coordinator Connie Hodgson said.
The program is called OLLI@UND , or Osher Lifelong Learning Institute, named after the Bernard Osher Foundation, the group that's been bankrolling it since spring 2007.
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Tim Miller, a student and program adviser, said he's been taking continuing education classes at UND for about two decades and has seen many such programs come and go. But this one looks like it has legs, he said.
What makes continuing ed different from regular classroom work is its informality, Hodgson said. There's no homework and students aren't expected to sit quietly and absorb information. Most students have had a lifetime of experience and their knowledge adds to the classroom experience. One of Hopkins' students, for instance, said experience has shown her that mulching the garden can sometimes exacerbate slug problems.
Courses range from lifestyle classes such as gardening to academic courses such as the fall of the Roman Empire. While the lifestyle classes tend to fill up fast, area students are eclectic in their learning desires. A class on Buddhism had 17, pretty big for continuing ed, and Fall Of The Roman Empire had 23.
Instructors range from people who simply have experience, such as Hopkins, who's a master gardener, to UND professors.
Hopkins started as a student. Growing up too poor to afford college, she said she always hungered to learn. Now an insurance agent, work keeps her too busy to enroll, she said. In OLLI, she now has a chance to finally say "I'm going to UND," she joked.
Hodgson said OLLI is based at UND, but has reached out through the state's interactive video network to Bismarck State College and, with the $1 million grant, would reach out to other parts of the state. If enrollment grows to 1,000, she said, the program could qualify for another $1 million grant.
For more information, go to olli.und.edu or call (800) 342-8230.
Reach Tran at (701) 780-1248; (800) 477-6572, ext. 248; or send e-mail to ttran@gfherald.com .
