UW Auditing for the Young at Heart

by Joyce Hasselman Nigbor

In the fall of 2004, I decided to take advantage of the wonderful auditing opportunity presented to all Wisconsin residents 60 years old and older by the 1999 Assembly Bill 432. It says:

“The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:” 36.27 (1)(b) The board shall permit a person who is 60 years of age or older to audit a course without paying an auditor’s fee if the person is a resident of this state, as determined under sub. (2) (e), space is available in the course and the instructor approves.”

Since then, I have taken one course/semester, and this fall 2007, I will again be among approximately 200 plus seniors.  The courses I have taken are: Immigration and Assimilation, Caribbean Women Writers, Introduction to Black Women’s Studies, Scandinavian Tales and Ballads, American Indian History, and Jefferson and Jackson. They are a much different group of courses than I was required to take in the 50s or 70s when I got my undergraduate degree in physical education and a master’s degree in library science; however, they fit right in with my history minor.

I am a relative newcomer to auditing, but I have met other auditors who have been taking courses for many years. As long as your health holds, and you can get around reasonably well, this world is available to you. There is a free bus service to help students of all ages get around campus. The information maps for routes 80, 81 & 85 (campus routes) can be found at www.mymetrobus.com or can be picked up on the buses themselves. There are also elevators in most buildings.

Why audit? My answers are:

  1. Learn about the University of Wisconsin as it is today.
  2. Enjoy the beautiful physical campus especially in the spring and fall.
  3. Keep on learning for learning’s sake.
  4. Keep the brain cells active.
  5. Get out of the house and mingle with people.
  6. All of the above.

All the auditors that I have talked with say that the professors have been very cooperative in allowing them to audit. For your first official class you must take a few extra steps. Initially, you must fill out an application with your personal data, and prove that you are a state resident. The application, on line or to print out, is found at  www.dcs.wisc.edu/info/applySenior.htm  or can be gotten from the Adult and Student Services Center, 21 N. Park St, Rm 7101, Madison, WI 53715 (phone: 608-263-6960) The University asks that all Senior Guest auditors who attend classes enroll. Note: there is no cost for either the application or class attendance. I also buy the required texts, read the required material, take notes, (that I may or may not look at later) and participate in lecture discussions if the professor poses a question—being careful not monopolize the time. I personally like to be a part of the whole process.

After being cleared as a state resident, you then go on line at http://registrar.wisc.edu/timetable/ to find course listings. You should start this process two or three months before a semester starts. The reasons for selecting your course may range from: 

  1. It’s a field that I am interested in.
  2. I like this class, and it meets Tuesday and Thursday from 9:30–10:45 a.m. so it fits in my schedule.
  3. It is the only class that my friend and I can both fit into our schedules, and I want to drive to class with him/her.
  4. I want to take a class with this professor because I have heard that he/she is good.
  5. This class fits all of my criteria plus it is easily accessible after I park.
  6. I was never able to fit a class about this subject into my schedule when I was a student before, so I want to fill in this gap in my learning.
  7. Probably as many reasons as there are people.

Once you decide on a class, you need to contact the department, and get the professor’s temporary OK, at the same time realizing that you cannot participate in the discussion groups or labs.  I say temporarily because you must then attend the first class of the semester to see if there is actually room for you. At the first class, if there is a seat for you, the professor will sign a "Permission to Enroll" form giving you official permission to register. You submit the signed form to the department secretary. You can then register on line yourself or you can get help from the Office of Adult and Student Services.  (The form and details are found at www.dcs.wisc.edu/info/applySenior.htm )

The first time you do all of this, you will also have to go downstairs in Union South to have your picture taken for a student ID. This ID which proves you are a student at the UW is useful in a variety of ways in because it allows you to do the following: Use the Do It Computer Store (purchasing computers and accessories and having repairs done); get price reduced tickets for the February Film Festival in Madison, and for on campus theatre productions; use Nielsen Tennis Stadium for a more reasonable fee; use the UW libraries and take out books from the UW libraries; get a free e-mail address; use the computer Help Line; learn a few new computer techniques through free classes; access reading material that is assigned and found only on line—to name a few. Congratulations you are now a student again!!

This time, though, you will notice many, many changes on campus. Besides the beautiful young people and all of the new buildings, there is the proliferation of cell phones as students walk between classes; there are iPods being used by professors to teach; there are assignments found on the Internet; there are the computers found as you walk in the door to many buildings, where you enter your password, to find your latest e-mail or assignment; there is a Rate-a-Professor program when deciding which class to take; or you can read a large free variety of student newspapers to include: The Daily Cardinal, The Badger Herald, The Onion, The Madison Observer, and the Mendota Beacon—several that include jokes that would have raised eyebrows “in the old days.”  This time it’s a new different world—you are a student in the technology age, and after awhile, you surprisingly fit in, and enjoy it.

Give auditing a try. You will discover a whole new world. For more information, you can check out www.dcs.wisc.edu/info or call the Adult and Student Services Center at UW Madison at 608-263-6960.