How age-friendly universities can improve the second half of life

(The Conversation is an independent and nonprofit source of news, analysis and commentary from academic experts.)

David R. Buys, Mississippi State University and Aaron Guest, Arizona State University

(THE CONVERSATION) By 2030, more than 1.4 billion people across the globe will be at least 60 years old. This number will shoot up to 2.1 billion by 2050. At this point, there will be more people age 60 or older than people between 10 and 24.

These dramatic demographic shifts prompted the United Nations and World Health Organization to declare the 2020s the decade of healthy aging.

The creation of a more age-friendly world includes basic things like improving health care access. But one critical component is often overlooked: taking college courses in your 50s, 60s or beyond. These opportunities to learn later in life have been associated with a host of positive health outcomes. These include being less socially isolated and staying sharp mentally.

Many older adults know as much. According to the National Center for Education...