Dallas College program offers free courses for students 55 or older

A visit to Chichen Itza in Mexico ignited Jim Frame’s curiosity about the ancient world. Upon his return, he enrolled in an archaeology class at Dallas College’s Richland campus and was happily surprised that the tuition was free because he was 65.

That was in 2002, and Frame, now 85, has taken a course at Richland just about every semester since.

“I got hooked and I couldn’t quit,” he says. “It’s like a stimulus that has opened my mind and life to wanting to learn more. It opened up a whole world to me.”

Learning is not only enlightening, it’s also good for you. Medical research has found that higher education helps stave off dementia and Alzheimer’s disease. Plus, class is a great place to meet people and socialize.

Dallas College has long given senior Dallas County residents six free credits of education per semester.

In addition to its expansive regular courses, the college offers shorter Senior Adult Programs/Emeritus classes at its Richland and Brookhaven campuses.

Plans call for expanding these emeritus courses to the other five Dallas College campuses — Cedar Valley, Eastfield, El Centro, Mountain View and North Lake.

“I’m hopeful we can get some this year, but there are a lot of moving parts to something like that,” says Grant Sisk, senior manager of special academic programs at Dallas College.

Dallas College is undergoing a top-to-bottom reorganization as it morphs from seven individual community colleges into one college with seven campuses. The consolidation began in 2020.

“One of the goals with the reorganization was to try to have the same experience at any campus,” Sisk says.

Currently, there are 800-plus seniors studying at Dallas College via Zoom and in-person classes.

Staple senior emeritus offerings include iPhone use, yoga, ceramics, weight training, watercolor, Adobe Photoshop and family genealogy.

In addition, there are timely topics such as “Is Democracy in Danger?”

These classes, which have no tests or grades and range from three to five weeks, are free for people 65 and up and usually cost $79 for those under 65. Seniors can apply their six free credits each semester as they choose, such as taking two regular classes for three credits each or six of the emeritus classes, which count as one credit apiece, or a combination of those.

Sisk began managing the senior programs in July and has been meeting with students to learn their preferences.

“We want their quality of life to be improved,” Sisk says. “If we can create some opportunities for older people to meet with their peers and learn a new skill or how to avoid scammers, that is a service that Dallas College wants to provide. We are really committed to growing the program and trying to serve our seniors as best we can.”

Judy Garrett, 73, heard about the program from a friend and took courses about Franklin D. Roosevelt and the Trans-Siberian Railway.

“I met some wonderful people, and I’ve enjoyed these classes because it is stuff that I’m interested in,” Garrett says. “You are learning because you want to learn, and it’s nice to get reading lists to continue exploring the topic.”

Hedy Watkins landed in community college at age 62 when her information technology job was shipped overseas. Her former employer paid for her to go back to school, where she earned Microsoft Office Specialist certification at age 65.

“I just loved it,” she says. “The older you are, the better the experience is because you don’t worry about stuff like you did when you were younger.”

Now 67 and working at Dallas College as honors program services assistant, Watkins is considering signing up for an emeritus course on family history.

“The thing about it is you can take whatever you are interested in,” she says.

Retired journalist Chris Tucker, a former editor of D Magazine and previous contributor to The Dallas Morning News, has been teaching emeritus classes about topics of his choosing for 10 years. Currently, he leads a class on the American labor union movement.

“I always start by getting several questions from each student, and I answer all of them as we move through the course,” says Tucker, 72. “I learn a lot from my students. They are smart, educated people who are now retired but don’t want to sit around and watch TV all day. Most of them are huge readers.”

Dean Keith, 70, has taught a variety of technology courses at the college since 2010 and regularly leads iPhone lessons. He focuses on basic icons and lingo, like defining “cloud” storage, as well as helpful shortcuts like AirDrop and text replacement.

“With technology constantly changing, seniors can easily get left behind and become more isolated,” Keith says. “We have an opportunity to help them catch up. It’s a critical need.”

Teachers say seniors are typically ideal students who show up on time and pay attention.

“Because it’s a live class, someone can say, ‘Wait a minute. I don’t know what you’re talking about’ or ‘I don’t see what you’re seeing,’” Keith says. “I think that is the beauty of the emeritus class — we have that interaction and try not to leave anyone behind.”

How to sign up

To learn more about Dallas College classes for those 55 and older, visit dallascollege.edu and search for “senior adult programs.”