Civic Ventures partnered with 40 community colleges to create pathways to encore careers in education, health care, social services and the environment for adults over 50. Some colleges trained students for specific encore roles, such as adjunct nursing instructors and elementary and secondary school teachers, and some created programs to help adults explore fields of interest and determine the next steps in their hunt for a meaningful encore career.
The list below is organized by practice, such as marketing, program design and supportive services. For each topic, examples from various encore colleges are given to help you when launching or enhancing your encore program. Additionally, the list provides a brief description of the colleges’ encore innovations. You can also view this list in alphabetical order, by state and by sector.
Although some of these programs are no longer accepting students, the experiences from these programs will continue to shape the development and enhancement of workforce programs to be more open and engaging for plus-50 adults seeking encore careers.
If you are interested in enrolling in one of the programs described below, contact the college to ensure that the program is still accepting students. If it isn’t, ask about other encore opportunities at the college.
Find a college by practice:
- Target Marketing and Outreach to Encore Audiences
- Program Design
- Encore Student Support Services
- Local Employer Involvement
- Community Partnerships
- External Communications and PR
- Leveraged Funding Partnerships
Target Marketing and Outreach to Encore Audiences
Encore marketing campaign
Anne Arundel Community College (Arnold, Md.) – Provides two free online webinars to older students interested in health care careers in the college’s “Allied Health Pathway for Encore Careers” initiative. The college completed a direct mail marketing campaign and web-based outreach to recruit and introduce prospective students to encore careers in the allied health field, including an article in the local Outlook by the Bay magazine.
Community College of Denver (Denver, Colo.) – Targets web and print marketing to older students interested in moving into health care and social services.
Rio Salado College (Tempe, Ariz.) – Conducts marketing and recruitment in partnership with AARP and other local organizations to increase the number of people over 50 enrolled in online teacher certification programs.
San Juan College (Farmington, N.M.) – Conducts marketing to educate older adults about available encore career pathways in education, health care and social services.
Virginia Community College System (Richmond, Va.) – Targets marketing and recruitment to attract more boomers with college degrees to its existing EducateVA Career Switchers program – a statewide fast-track teacher licensure program. See this program’s case study.
Tip Sheet: Learn more about conducting targeted marketing and recruitment to the encore population.
Encore Career Exploration and Transition
Baltimore City Community College (Baltimore, Md.) – Created an executive outplacement model to help African-American women over 50 develop the skills they need to transition to encore careers. See this college’s case study.
Broward Community College (Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.) – Conducted free seminars and career counseling every weekend for two months to help boomers explore local encore career and service opportunities. See this college’s case study.
Central Piedmont Community College (Charlotte, N.C.) – Provided career coaching and peer networking opportunities to help experienced managers and executives transition to the nonprofit sector. See this college’s case study.
Ohlone College (Newark, Calif.) – Convened the Expanding Green Opportunities with Encore Talent symposium that trained green entrepreneurs over 50 to become trainers themselves and mentors to at-risk populations, such as inner-city youths, displaced workers and ex-offenders looking to retrain for green jobs.
Washtenaw Community College (Ann Arbor, Mich.) – Held day-long encore career workshops for blue- and white-collar mid-career professionals who lost their jobs and needed retraining to find social-purpose work. See this college’s case study.
Technology, computer and math skills instruction
Greenville Technical College (Greenville, S.C.) – Offers a nurse re-entry program to prepare experienced nurses over 50 with lapsed licenses for careers in alternative health care settings. New learning modules to improve computer skills, help adopt effective strategies for online learning, develop workforce skills and master new medical technologies were created. See this college’s case study.
Northampton Community College (Bethlehem, Pa.) – Trains older adults to become home health aides, nurse’s aides and home care aides through a 100-hour training course designed to help students learn more about technology, ergonomic safety and customer service.
Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City – Trains Retiring business professionals to be developmental studies instructors for students underprepared for college. Courses are offered to help participants work with diverse students, improve their classroom management skills, and increase their knowledge educational uses of the web and social networking. See this college’s case study.
Polk State College (Winter Haven, Fla.) – Helps people over 50 with bachelor’s degrees become K-12 teachers. Encore innovations to this existing K-12 alternative teacher certification program include computer training workshops and special math training to prepare encore students for math section of State’s teacher certification exam. See this college’s case study.
Credit/noncredit/ credentialing
GateWay Community College (Phoenix, Ariz.) – Joined forces with local employers to develop courses that train boomers for careers as in-home caregivers This non-credit program is built for flexibility and access and is designed “to take the training to where the students are” – to libraries, One Stop Career Centers and community centers throughout the region. Due to the non-credit certificate option, the tuition structure and class schedules proved less expensive and more flexible for students. See this college’s case study.
Portland Community College (Portland, Ore.) – Takes a traditionally academic and for-credit approach in its gerontology program but provides workforce development by adopting a career pathway model with a focus on job readiness, job creation and job placement. Students can earn various certificates, which usually take less than one year to complete and can also use these credits toward an associate’s degree in gerontology. See this college’s case study.
Tip Sheet: Learn more about tailoring college programs for encore students.
Faculty development
Community College of Denver (Denver, Colo.) – Enhanced existing services to meet the needs of older students moving into health care and social services and provided training to faculty and staff that encourages a welcoming and nurturing culture for encore students.
Whatcom Community College (Bellingham, Wash.) – Offers yearlong, fast-track training programs for adults over 50 who want to work in health care. Provides training to faculty on how to meet the needs of older encore students.
Flexibility (scheduling, accessibility and location)
Community College of Allegheny County (Pittsburgh, Pa.) – Trains dislocated professionals as certified Medical Office Managers to work in physicians’ offices, medical clinics, medical practices and hospital health care facilities. After receiving feedback from encore students, staff changed the location from an urban to a suburban campus and the class schedule to two evenings per week for 12 ½ weeks from every day for two weeks.
Florida State College at Jacksonville – Adapted the college’s existing fast-track certification program to include customized support and job placement assistance suited to the needs of older adults who want to become home and community-based health care assistants. Incorporated more convenient times and locations and online access for encore program.
Northampton Community College (Bethlehem, Pa.) – Trains older adults to become home health aides, nurse’s aides and home care aides through a 100-hour training course. Encore students were offered flexible day, evening and weekend scheduling.
Accelerated/compressed/fast-track training
Collin College (Allen, Texas) – Fast-track certification to become certified high school math and science teachers. Focus on boomers laid off or retired from engineering and technology careers. See this college’s case study.
Florida State College at Jacksonville – Adapted the college’s existing fast-track certification program to include customized support and job placement assistance suited to the needs of older adults who want to become home and community-based health care assistants.
Middlesex Community College (Bedford, Mass.) – Trains people for adjunct teaching jobs in developmental English, math, and clinical nursing at Massachusetts community colleges in a semester-long certificate program. Weekend and accelerated training is offered to provide program flexibility.
Morgan Community College (Fort Morgan, Colo.) – Offers accelerated training programs for health care careers. See this college’s case study.
Virginia Community College System (Richmond, Va.) – Recruits the encore population with college degrees to its existing statewide fast-track teacher licensure program, EducateVA. See this program’s case study.
Hybrid delivery
Atlantic Cape Community Colleges (Mays Landing, N.J.) – Trains professionals with prior experience in health and management to teach adult basic education, health, and English as a Second Language (ESL). Hybrid (classroom and online) courses focus on instructional technology, adult learning theory, course development and classroom management.
Macomb Community College (Warren, Mich.) – Added an online learning component to its existing elder care specialist training program to give it a hybrid format. New online mentoring program uses alumni as mentors. See this college’s case study.
Virginia Community College System (Richmond, Va.) – Uses a hybrid model consisting of in-class and online coursework to train participants to be teachers in this fast-track teacher licensure program. See this program’s case study.
Online courses and certification
Anne Arundel Community College (Arnold, Md.) – Provides two free online webinars to older students interested in health care careers in the college’s “Allied Health Pathway for Encore Careers” initiative.
Greenville Technical College (Greenville, S.C.) – Offers a nurse re-entry program to prepare experienced nurses over 50 with lapsed licenses for careers in alternative health care settings. New learning modules to improve computer skills, help adopt effective strategies for online learning, develop workforce skills and master new medical technologies were created. See this college’s case study.
Macomb Community College (Warren, Mich.) – Added an online learning component to its existing elder care specialist training program to give it a hybrid format. New online mentoring program uses alumni as mentors. See this college’s case study.
Rio Salado College (Tempe, Ariz.) – Trains encore learners to become teachers through an online teacher certification program. The college provides tracks for those with undergraduate and master’s degrees in an online delivery format with a 24 x 7 help desk.
Encore Student Support Services
Assessment
GateWay Community College (Phoenix, Ariz.) – Trains boomers for careers as in home caregivers and other human services providers. Before the program accepts students, they are assessed to evaluate whether they are a good match for their career choice(s) and the program. The program uses the AARP WorkSearchand the John Holland Self-Directed Search assessment tools. See this college’s case study.
Portland Community College (Portland, Ore.) – Offers various certificates to encore students in the college’s gerontology program. Students can also use these credits toward an associate’s degree in gerontology. Students start with a career management process that includes self-assessment and reflection, creating a personal mission statement, a transition plan and a professional portfolio that highlights their experience, skills and passions. See this college’s case study.
Tip Sheet: Learn more about tailoring college programs for encore students.
Career advisor/navigator/transition coordinator
Anne Arundel Community College (Arnold, Md.) – Provides two free online webinars to older students interested in health care careers in the college’s “Allied Health Pathway for Encore Careers” initiative. A Transition Coordinator helps students who want to move into non-credit health programs at the college.
Cape Cod Community College (West Barnstable, Mass.) – Offers programs to help boomers earn certificates or degrees in early childhood education, health care and human services. The college provides academic advising and support services for encore students and features a Plus-50 Career Adviser, peer mentors and support groups to ensure student success.
Houston Community College (Houston, Texas) – Adapted the college’s existing community health worker program to help encore students complete an associate degree and identify career options in the health field. A part-time coordinator helped encore students enroll, navigate college systems, and identify internships and job leads.
John A. Logan College (Carterville, Ill.) – Offered four 15-hour career exploration modules for encore careers and created local public and private partnerships to help recruit, train, and place adults over 50 in health care, transit, social services and education jobs.
Morgan Community College (Fort Morgan, Colo.) – Offers accelerated training programs for health care careers. A student navigator recruit and orients encore students, and provide help with job search strategies and placement in health and social service organizations.
Prince George's Community College (Largo, Md.) – Adapted its existing 60-plus older learner program to train students over 50 for health and human service careers with comprehensive career and life coaching, job search skills and resume development. See this college’s case study.
San Juan College (Farmington, N.M.) – Educates older adults about available encore career pathways in education, health care and social services. Program support services include re-careering classes, support groups, training in test anxiety, study skills, time management, tutoring services, and a resource center.
Whatcom Community College (Bellingham, Wash.) – Offers yearlong, fast-track training programs for people over 50 who want to work in health care. A dedicated 50+ Advocate supports students as they navigate the college system.
Counseling (one-to-one)
Union County College (Cranford, N.J.) – Offers a Workforce Educator Academy to train adults over 50 to become adult literacy teachers. Provides workshops, internships and one-to-one counseling to place completers in adult education roles.
Hands-on experience/internships/field placements
Community College of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) – Trains older adults in an eight-week program to be disability support professionals who help adults with physical, developmental or age-related disabilities in a variety settings. Classroom instruction is augmented with hands-on learning and practice.
Rio Salado College (Tempe, Ariz.) – Enrolls people over 50 in this online teacher certification program. Classroom practica are offered through the state.
Job placement/finding services
Atlantic Cape Community Colleges (Mays Landing, N.J.) – Trains professionals with prior experience in health and management to teach adult basic education, health, and English as a Second Language (ESL). The college arranged interviews and introductions to local hiring managers at colleges, vocational training schools, and wellness centers for students.
Community College of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) – Trains older adults in an eight-week program to be disability support professionals who help adults with physical, developmental or age-related disabilities in a variety settings. This program was designed to meet new District requirements and was augmented with an employer job fair.
John A. Logan College (Carterville, Ill.) – Created local public and private partnerships to help recruit, train, and place adults over 50 in health care, transit, social services and education jobs. The college offered additional help to prepare students for interviews and provide job placement services.
Joliet Junior College (Joliet, Ill.) – Trains encore students to become nationally certified pharmacy technicians in four months. The college made partnerships with practicing pharmacists and local and national employers to ensure job placement for certified students.
Morgan Community College (Fort Morgan, Colo.) – Offers accelerated training programs for health care careers. A student navigator recruit and orients encore students, and provides help with job search strategies and placement in area health and social service organizations. See this college’s case study.
Parkland College (Champaign, Ill.) – Recruits experienced nurses and other licensed professionals to retrain as classroom assistants, an adult education role to provide additional assistance to new students in the health care field. The college’s Health Professions Department expected to hire several students who complete the program.
Prince George's Community College (Largo, Md.) – Adapted its existing 60-plus older learner program to train students over 50 for health and human service careers. An advisory board forges connections with local employers to make the case for encore talent. See this college’s case study.
Whatcom Community College (Bellingham, Wash.) – Offers yearlong, fast-track training programs for people over 50 who want to work in health care. Staff regularly convene a public-private alliance to create additional health care training programs based on work-force needs.
Mentoring
Community College of Denver (Denver, Colo.) – Enhanced existing services to meet the needs of older students moving into health care and social services and provided training to faculty and staff that encourages a welcoming and nurturing culture for encore students.
Macomb Community College (Warren, Mich.) – Added an online learning component to its existing elder care specialist training program to give it a hybrid format. New online mentoring program uses alumni as mentors. See this college’s case study.
Polk State College (Winter Haven, Fla.) – Helps people over 50 with bachelor’s degrees become K-12 teachers. Encore innovations to this existing K-12 alternative teacher certification program include offering individual mentoring. See this college’s case study.
Peer mentors
Cape Cod Community College (West Barnstable, Mass.) – Offers programs to help boomers earn certificates or degrees in early childhood education, health care and human services. The college provides academic advising and support services for encore students and features a Plus-50 Career Adviser, peer mentors and support groups to ensure student success.
Portland Community College (Portland, Ore.) – Created a peer mentoring program for students over 50 who are enrolled in the college’s gerontology certificate or degree program to improve student support and boost retention. Peer mentors help encore students learn about new technology, understand what the job market is like today, get through personal crisis and build self-confidence. See this college’s case study.
Other peer supports
Anne Arundel Community College (Arnold, Md.) – Provides two free online webinars to older students interested in health care careers in the college’s “Allied Health Pathway for Encore Careers” initiative. A Transition Coordinator helps students who want to move into non-credit health programs at the college.
Cape Cod Community College (West Barnstable, Mass.) – Offers programs to help boomers earn certificates or degrees in early childhood education, health care and human services. The college provides academic advising and support services for encore students and features a Plus-50 Career Adviser, peer mentors and support groups to ensure student success.
Florida State College at Jacksonville – Adapted the college’s existing fast-track certification program for older adults who want to become home and community-based health care assistants to include support services such as orientations and monthly group meetings.
Polk State College (Winter Haven, Fla.) – Helps people over 50 with bachelor’s degrees become K-12 teachers. Encore innovations to this existing K-12 alternative teacher certification program include offering individual mentoring, peer group support programs, and group and individual training on using a computer and math reviews. See this college’s case study.
San Juan College (Farmington, N.M.) – Educate older adults about available encore career pathways in education, health care and social services. Program support services include re-careering classes, a support group, training in test anxiety, study skills, time management, tutoring services and a resource center.
Community College of the District of Columbia (Washington, D.C.) – Trains older adults in an eight-week program to be disability support professionals who help adults with physical, developmental or age-related disabilities in a variety settings. This program was designed to meet new District requirements and was augmented with an employer job fair.
GateWay Community College (Phoenix, Ariz.) – Joined forces with local employers to develop courses that train boomers for careers as in-home caregivers An employer advisory committee identifies area job opportunities and informs all aspects of program from design and curriculum design to field placements. The program boasts high job placement rates with area health and human services organizations. See this college’s case study.
Grand Rapids Community College (Grand Rapids, Mich.) – Created a course to increase the employability of students for encore careers in health care that built on past success to expand local employer connections through a new employer training program.
Joliet Junior College (Joliet, Ill.) – Trains encore students to become nationally certified pharmacy technicians in four months. The college made partnerships with practicing pharmacists and local and national employers to ensure job placement for certified students.
Oklahoma State University-Oklahoma City – Trains Retiring business professionals to be developmental studies instructors for students underprepared for college. Staff conducted outreach to local community college developmental studies coordinators to help with participant placement.
Prince George's Community College (Largo, Md.) – Adapted its existing 60-plus older learner program to train students over 50 for health and human service careers. An advisory board forges connections with local employers to make the case for encore talent. See this college’s case study.
Portland Community College (Portland, Ore.) – Offers various certificates to encore students in the college’s gerontology program. Students can also use these credits toward an associate’s degree in gerontology. Partnerships with local employers were created to help create strong field internships and employment opportunities for encore completers. See this college’s case study.
Virginia Community College System (Richmond, Va.) – Recruits the encore population with college degrees to its existing statewide fast-track teacher licensure program, EducateVA. The program is involved with the state education department to identify critical shortages and with local school administrators to define program requirements and provide placements. See this program’s case study.
Washtenaw Community College (Ann Arbor, Mich.) – Held day-long encore career workshops for blue- and white-collar mid-career professionals who lost their jobs and needed retraining to find social-purpose work. The college partnered with the Michigan Small Business and Technology Development Center. See this college’s case study.
Whatcom Community College (Bellingham, Wash.) – Offers yearlong, fast-track training programs for people over 50 who want to work in health care. Staff regularly convene a public-private alliance to create additional health care training programs based on work-force needs.
GateWay Community College (Phoenix, Ariz.) – Joined forces with local employers to develop courses that train boomers for careers as in-home caregivers. The college partners with the local AARP Foundation to pay portions of student tuition, training and internship costs. The program boasts high job placement rates with area health and human services organizations. See this college’s case study.
Macomb Community College (Warren, Mich.) – Added an online learning component to its existing elder care specialist training program to give it a hybrid format. The college also provided free information forums and a webinar to promote health care and gerontology career training in partnership with AARP. See this college’s case study.
Portland Community College (Portland, Ore.) – Offers various certificates to encore students in the college’s gerontology program. Students can also use these credits toward an associate’s degree in gerontology. Partners with the local AARP chapter for outreach and partial project funding. See this college’s case study.
Rio Salado College (Tempe, Ariz.) – Conducts marketing and recruitment in partnership with the local AARP chapter and other local organizations to increase the number of people over 50 enrolled in online teacher certification programs.
External Communications and PR
Virginia Community College System (Richmond, Va.) – Recruits the encore population with college degrees to its existing statewide fast-track teacher licensure program, EducateVA. Submits press releases and human interest stories to news media, including local newspapers, television stations and radio programs, resulting in free marketing. See this program’s case study.
Leveraged Funding Partnerships
American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) Plus 50 Initiative
Cape Cod Community College (West Barnstable, Mass.) – Offers programs to help boomers earn certificates or degrees in early childhood education, health care and human services. These programs are complemented by existing programs funded by the Plus 50 Initiative grant that provide academic advising and support services for encore students.
Joliet Junior College (Joliet, Ill.) – Trains encore students to become nationally certified pharmacy technicians in four months. The college made partnerships with practicing pharmacists and local and national employers to ensure job placement for certified students. The program was built upon a foundation laid by the Plus 50 Initiative.
College Foundation
Portland Community College (Portland, Ore.) – Offers various certificates to encore students in the college’s gerontology program. Students can also use these credits toward an associate’s degree in gerontology. The program receives internal reserved funds from the colleges’ foundation by documenting that encore courses were full and encore completers were getting hired. See this college’s case study.
Community Partners
GateWay Community College (Phoenix, Ariz.) – Joined forces with local employers to develop courses that train boomers for careers as in-home caregivers. The college partners with the local AARP Foundation to pay portions of student tuition, training and internship costs. The program boasts high job placement rates with area health and human services organizations. See this college’s case study.
Macomb Community College (Warren, Mich.) – Added an online learning component to its existing elder care specialist training program to give it a hybrid format. The college also provided free information forums and a webinar to promote health care and gerontology career training in partnership with AARP. See this college’s case study.
Portland Community College (Portland, Ore.) – Offers various certificates to encore students in the college’s gerontology program. Students can also use these credits toward an associate’s degree in gerontology. Partners with the local AARP chapter for outreach and partial project funding. See this college’s case study.
Rio Salado College (Tempe, Ariz.) – Conducts marketing and recruitment in partnership with the local AARP chapter and other local organizations to increase the number of people over 50 enrolled in online teacher certification programs.
Tip Sheet: Learn more about leveraging partnerships for funding and sustaining and expanding your encore program.