It’s amazing how fast our extended summer vacations have vanished into the past and it’s now just a matter of days before Campbell River Elder College will be holding its fall-session information get-together.
Except that like everything Campbell River Elder College (CREC) will be doing this fall, it won’t be together, not in the sense of people coming together in the same room. The CREC elders’ education organizations advisory and administrative board decided back in March that everything would be done at a distance by computer, usually via Zoom.
That includes the public information sessions about the courses, which will be conducted through Zoom next Friday, Sept. 11 at 11:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m.
To take part in those, members and would-be members are asked to email eldercollegecr@nic.bc.cato to receive your invitation to the Zoom room.
Opportunities will of course be to be extended to ask questions of course instructors and facilitators, and course registration will begin the following Monday, Sept. 14, starting at 9 a.m., with the membership fee staying at just $10 for the year – to commence back on Sept 1 and run to Aug. 31 next year.
In addition, the fee for each course or class has been reduced noticeably – mostly to $20 per course. This will enable CREC to maintain its financial commitment to North Island College for its support and assistance but also allow for continuation of awarding bursaries to NIC Health and Human Services students.
Last but certainly not least, CREC feels that going entirely computer-based via Zoom will undoubtedly affect some more mature students who don’t have computers of their own, but they are going to be able to offer a more diverse, interesting and lively group of classes and courses, with the additional ability to possibly add new, repeat and extended courses as this fall session progresses.
Already on the schedule are: London Through The Ages, Current Affairs Discussion Group, Escape from Colditz Castle, Geology for Couch Potatoes, Strata (ownership) – the Basics, Advance Care Planning, Healthy Aging, Writing Your Own Story, iPhone Basics, Travelogues, and Plaques and Tangles.