A Few Links to College Older Adult Auditing Websites

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How to Get Started

  • The links for the colleges below include instructions for applying and registering to audit courses.
  • Sometimes instructor permission is needed but usually that is granted.
  • General information on enrolling in an older adult audit program ↗
  • In my experience, these pages are a great starting point, but completing registration requires a phone call, an email, or both.
  • See additional notes at the bottom of this page.

New York State

SUNY System

  • There are 64 different SUNY campuses, including universities, 4-year colleges, and 2-year community colleges:

    These SUNY campuses explicitly allow older adults to audit online classes:
    Brockport
    CUNY Hunter
    Monroe
    Niagra
    Orange
    Purchase

    These SUNY campuses explicitly exclude older adults from auditing online classes:
    Binghamton
    Herkimer Community College
    New Paltz
    Stony Brook

    I do not know about the other SUNY campuses.
    This URL has links to all 64 SUNY campuses ↗

SUNY Binghamton

  • Search this page for "To participate in the Older Adult Audit program" ↗
  • Alert: As of May 2026 this school no longer allows older adults to audit remote courses. I have asked the school to reverse that change in policy.
  • Sample registration periods
    For Winter 2026: October 1 - December 1, 2025
    For Spring 2026: December 15, 2025 - January 15, 2026
    For Summer 2026: March 9 - May 1, 2026

New Jersey

Public Universities

Pennsylvania

Public Universities

Illinois

Public Universities

Maryland

University of Maryland, College Park

Private

A few private colleges offer free auditing to alumni.

Additional Notes

  • The exact name of the senior citizen program varies by state and sometimes by school.
  • Usually these programs are open to residents 60 years or older. (A few states require 62 or 65 years.)
  • Registration may be on a space-available basis. Even so, it may help to make initial contact with the school early.
  • The dates shown on this page were taken from official school websites; however, some schools listed multiple dates. I selected the dates that appeared most authoritative.
  • This list of colleges is very incomplete. Every state college and university has an older adult program, as these programs are required by state law in every state.
  • Please let me know if you find any broken links ().
  • Please let me know if you find similar links for other colleges ().
  • Please let me know if you end up auditing a course ().