PILOT NATIONAL SURVEY
OF OLLI MEMBERSHIP
Jack Hansen
(OLLI at Furman University)
Mike Brady
(University of Southern Maine)
BACKGROUND
• Online survey of 14 questions
– Demographic variables
– Widely reported/speculated trends among
retirees
• Relocation
• Employment
• Technology and social network utilization
– Distance education experience
– Topic preferences for OLLI courses
METHODOLOGY
• Membership of eight OLLI programs of
different size, age, and part of the country
(University of Southern Maine, U. Conn.,
Furman, Kansas, Colorado State, UC Irvine,
San Francisco State, Boise State)
• Total of 2989 participants responding
• Analysis of composite results with emphasis
on segmenting responses by age
COMPOSITE AGE DISTRIBUTION
(PERCENT)
Under 50
50-54
55-59
60-64
65-69
FEMALE
70-74
MALE
75-79
80-84
85-89
90 and up
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
EDUCATION COMPLETED
(NUMBER OF PARTICIPANTS)
Graduate School
90 and up
85-89
Some Graduate School
80-84
75-79
College
70-74
Some College
65-69
60-64
Highschool
55-59
50-54
Some Highschool
Under 50
0
500
1000
1500
2000
PERCENT IPAD AND FACEBOOK USE
Under 50
50-54
55-59
60-64
65-69
Facebook
70-74
iPad
75-79
80-84
85-89
90 and up
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
DISTANCE EDUCATION EXPERIENCE
IN PERCENT AND AGE
Under 50
50-54
55-59
60-64
65-69
70-74
75-79
80-84
85-89
90 and up
0
10
20
30
40
50
PERCENTAGE OF OLLI PARTICIPANTS
WORKING OR LOOKING FOR WORK
Under 50
50-54
55-59
60-64
65-69
PART TIME
70-74
FULL TIME
75-79
LOOKING
80-84
85-89
90 and up
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
PERCENT RELOCATION IN ANTICIPATION OF
OR DURING RETIREMENT
Under 50
50-54
55-59
60-64
65-69
5 BEFORE TO 4
AFTER
70-74
75-79
5 OR MORE AFTER
80-84
85-89
90 and up
0
20
40
60
80
MOST POPULAR TOPIC AREAS
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
90 and up
RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
85-89
80-84
LITERATURE
75-79
70-74
CURRENT AFFAIRS
65-69
60-64
FINE ARTS
55-59
50-54
HISTORY
Under 50
0
500
1000
1500
2000
2500
TOPIC PREFERENCES (PERCENT)
Under 50
HISTORY
50-54
55-59
FINE ARTS
60-64
LITERATURE
65-69
70-74
CURRENT AFFAIRS
75-79
RELIGION AND
PHILOSOPHY
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
80-84
85-89
90 and up
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
POPULAR TOPIC PREFERENCES
IN PERCENT BY GENDER
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
RELIGION AND PHILOSOPHY
LITERATURE
MEN
CURRENT AFFAIRS
WOMEN
FINE ARTS
HISTORY
0
20
40
60
80
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
• Should these 14 questions be a core
aspect of future research to understand
trends in OLLI membership?
• If yes, how frequent should the survey
be, and how many programs should be
involved
• What other questions might be
important to ask?
BACKUP SLIDES
TOPIC PREFERENCES (PERCENT)
Under 50
FINE ARTS
50-54
55-59
LITERATURE
60-64
HISTORY
65-69
70-74
CURRENT AFFAIRS
75-79
HEALTH AND WELLNESS
80-84
85-89
RELIGION AND
PHILOSOPHY
90 and up
0
50
100
150
200
250
300