1. What is Program 60 (P60)?
Program 60 (P60) is a unique opportunity for Ohio's older citizens to take courses at The Ohio State University for free.
2. Who is eligible to participate in Program 60?
Individuals are welcome to participate in P60 if they are residents of the state of Ohio and 60 years of age or older. A person is considered old enough if s/he turns 60 during the quarter that s/he wishes to attend.
3. How much does it cost to participate in Program 60?
Although P60 is free to those eligible (See 2.), there may be costs for parking, books, and lab fees for which P60 participants are responsible
4. Where can I get Program 60 registration information?
The Ohio State University Office of Continuing Education (CEd) facilitates P60. To be on the mailing list, call CEd at (614) 292-8860. Once on the mailing list, CEd will send registration information in the mail. Registration information is also available online at www.ced.osu.edu/CED_pro60.html.
5. How do I register for classes?
P60 registration dates are available by visiting www.ced.osu.edu/CED_pro60_reg.html. Registrations are held from 9 a.m.-3 p.m. at the Fawcett Center, 2400 Olentangy River Rd.,in the room and on dates noted online and in the quarterly registration brochure. Ohio State provides a clickable online campus map at www.osu.edu/map.
6. Can I register online?
A printable P60 registration form is available at www.ced.osu.edu/CED_pro60_reg.html. Three copies of this form and a self-addressed stamped envelope must be mailed to us approximately three weeks prior to the beginning of each quarter during which classes will be taken. Complete details are also on the immediately aforementioned web page.
7. Can I register at the Office of Continuing Education in Mount Hall?
No. If you know the course names and call numbers for the classes that you would like to attend, a completed registration form may be dropped off at the front desk in 152 Mount Hall, 1050 Carmack Road, but you must do so no later than the published date for mail-in registration. The printable form and published deadline are available at www.ced.osu.edu/CED_pro60_reg.html. Please remember that if you choose to deliver your paperwork to CEd, you must drop off three copies of the registration form with a self-addressed stamped envelope.
8. Will I receive college credit for the classes I attend?
Credit cannot be given for attendance through P60. P60 students merely “sit in on” regular university classes. Some people think P60 students “audit” classes. This is not so. A true audit is only given to regular students who pay fees and receive permission to receive a grade of audit “R” on their transcripts. P60 attendance never appears on transcripts.
9. Does a signed Program 60 registration form guarantee acceptance into a class?
No, the final permission is always dependent upon available space and the permission of the class instructor. You do not need to complete a “Course Enrollment Permission” form. You DO need to complete a “P60 Guest Participant Registration” form.
10. Where can I learn about available courses?
The Master Schedule and the Course Bulletin are available online at www.buckeyelink.osu.edu/course_planning.html. A printed version of the quarterly Master Schedule may be purchased at UniPrint copy centers (formerly COP-EZ University Copy Centers). Call (614) 292-2219 for price and store locations.
Due to budgetary restrictions, CEd can no longer give P60 participants printed copies of the Course Bulletin. Printed copies of the Master Schedule are also not available from CEd. Please note that the university no longer produces a list of classroom changes and cancelled classes. All changes appear on the web pages for the Master Schedule as they occur. Although the vast majority of printed information being used by our peer registrars is accurate, the only way to be certain that the course you have scheduled is in the same location, on the same days and times, or has not been cancelled is to check online immediately prior to attending.
You may check online on your home computer or use one at a public library (often need to reserve a time for use of one of the public library’s computers that have Internet access). You may also use a public computing site on campus. The public computing sites and their hours of operation can be found at www.scc.osu.edu. You will need your BuckID (See 16.) in order to use the public computing sites.
11. Are my course choices limited?
Undergraduate and graduate level courses are available to you through P60. For a P60 participant, prerequisite courses are not necessarily required. The majority of course offerings are available through P60, but there are some exceptions. The most notable of these is medical school courses that are never available to P60 participants. Some other notable exceptions are History 398 and History 598, English as a Second Language (ESL) classes (Edu T&L 020, 021, etc.), piano classes in the Department of Music, courses with a “Y” section type, and all continuing education noncredit courses.
12. Does Program 60 use Social Security numbers to identify students?
Yes, but P60 participants may choose to register without their Social Security numbers (SSNs). However, BuckIDs (See 16.), Carmen (previously WebCT) (See 20.), and e-mail accounts (See 18-19.) will not be activated because the university uses SSNs to identify students.
13. May I take distance education courses?
Yes and no. Yes, if it is a regular distance education course, P60 students must register either by mail-in registration (See 6.) or at the P60 registration held at the Fawcett Center (See 5.). SSNs and the proper call numbers must be used on the registration form. Then, students must contact the instructors for final permissions (verbal) and class arrangements. No, if it has a “Y” section type, as that particular class is a contract course created for a specific employer’s personnel. Also, you cannot take noncredit distance education courses.
14. Do I need to contact the course instructor before registering and going to class?
Because P60 participants attend courses strictly on a space available basis, in most cases it is not necessary to contact the instructor. However, you do need to speak to the instructor before or after class to introduce yourself as a Program 60 participant and get verbal permission (See 9.). Distance education courses are an exception to this rule (See 13.).
15. What if I decide not to take a course for which I signed up or I drop out of a class?
You must inform both the instructor of the course and the Program 60 Coordinator in the Office of Continuing Education at (614) 292-8860.
16. Do Program 60 participants need to do all of the assignments?
Although academic requirements of some classes request full participation by all students, this is often not necessary. The individual instructors have the final say.
17. Will I get an Ohio State identification card (BuckID)?
P60 participants can obtain special Program 60 BuckID cards by taking copies of their registration forms to BuckID Services, 219 Lincoln Tower, 1800 Cannon Drive, (614) 292-0400. (Meter parking is available on the south side of Lincoln Tower. A map is available at www.osu.edu/map.) There is no charge for the permanent cards that are automatically reactivated each quarter students register for P60. The P60 BuckID cards not only allow use of Ohio State’s library system, but they also permit their holders to purchase quarterly Ohio State Recreation Facilities memberships at the faculty and staff rate that allow use of all five indoor campus recreational facilities. Please note that it may take up to 10 days for P60 BuckIDs to be activated. If this delay in card activation is a concern, we suggest that students use our printable online registration form available at www.ced.osu.edu/CED_pro60_reg.htmla. Please note that the printable mail-in registration form must be completed by the cutoff date as noted on the web site (approximately three weeks prior to the beginning of each quarter). In general, this allows for P60 BuckID activations by the first week of classes.
18. May I use my BuckID to ride the Central Ohio Transit Authority (COTA) system for free?
No, P60 participants receive a Program 60 BuckID that does not allow them to ride on COTA buses for free. However, P60 participants may ride the Campus Area Bus Service (CABS) for free.
19. Will I receive an Ohio State e-mail account?
Active P60 participants can receive a guest e-mail account. Guest e-mail accounts should only be active for quarters in which P60 participants are registered. P60 students who have registered for a course are able to activate their e-mail accounts (See 19.) and access Carmen.
20. How do I set up my Ohio State guest e-mail account?
It normally takes from several days to a week after registration for a P60 guest e-mail account to be activated. Once the account is activated, P60 students must contact the Office of Information Technology (OIT) Support Center Help Desk at (614) 688-HELP (4357), identify themselves as P60 participants, and ask for their guest e-mail addresses and passwords.
Carmen is a new course management system that has replaced WebCT. Carmen is an online tool that allows students to interact with course content. Instructors may need to manually enter P60 students into the Carmen system if used for the class(es) in which they are participating.
Please note that activation of P60 guest e-mail accounts and Carmen passwords may not
occur until the second or third week of each quarter.
22. How do I access Carmen?
First, you must set up your Ohio State University guest e-mail account and password (See 19.). You may then go to www.carmen.osu.edu. At the Carmen page, you enter your name.# and password. This will take you to a list of courses for which you are registered that use Carmen and you just click on the course you need.
23. Where can I park when taking Program 60 courses at Ohio State?
P60 participants may buy regular “C” or West Campus “WC” hangtags by taking their Program 60 registration forms to Transportation & Parking Services at Bevis Hall, 1080 Carmack Road, (614) 292-9341. Prices for P60 participants are the same as for regular students. Please note that permit prices are subject to change and are not at CEd’s discretion. Visit www.tp.osu.edu for more information.
24. May I use my State of Ohio Disability Parking Placard on campus?
No, you must obtain an Ohio State University Disability Permit. Any students, faculty, or staff members with temporary or permanent mobility impairments are eligible to purchase or obtain Ohio State disability parking permits. The university requires all faculty, staff, and students who wish to utilize disability parking to obtain university disability permits rather than using state placards along with regular “A,” “B,” or “C” permits. The purpose for this policy is to help identify where disability spaces are needed, to regulate the use of these spaces to ensure they are available for those who need them, and to discourage abuses by people “borrowing” state placards issued to other persons. Visit www.tp.osu.edu/students/parking/studentdisabilityparking.shtml or call Transportation & Parking Services at (614) 292-9341 for complete information.
25. What is the Program 60 Association?
The P60 Association is an educational, social, and service organization with volunteer opportunities available. Membership is optional and costs $3 per year. The P60 Association hosts a luncheon, a membership meeting, a bus trip, and a summer picnic. Members are notified of these events via a members-only mailing list for those with paid dues. Please note that you do not have to be a member of the P60 Association in order to participate in P60 by taking classes.
26. May I use the university’s recreational facilities?
Yes, P60 participants may purchase Faculty and Staff Recreation Facilities memberships for any quarter in which they are taking classes by taking their activated Program 60 Buck IDs to the Recreation and Physical Activity Center (RPAC, formerly Larkins Hall), 337 West 17th Avenue. Program 60 participants may only buy quarterly memberships at the faculty and staff rate. Pricing is available at http://recsports.osu.edu/membership_pricing.asp.
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View Course and Class Listings Explanations
Program 60 History
While The Ohio State University President Harold L. Enarson, Ph.D., and his wife were visiting Colorado in 1973, he read an item in a Denver newspaper about a university program for people of retirement age. After requesting more information from the University of Denver, Dr.Enarson presented Program 65 to Ohio State’s Board of Trustees. With the board’s approval in December 1973, Associate Provost for Instruction George Crepeau, Ph.D., launched the program for senior citizens five days after the start of winter quarter on Jan. 8, 1974.
Program 65 was seen as an opportunity for older persons to continue significant learning experiences for free in selected courses wherever space was available. To participate, individuals were required to be 65 or older and residents of Ohio. Previous university attendance was not a prerequisite, and tests or exams were optional. Registration was handled through the Office of Continuing Education so participants were not officially admitted to the university and no credit hours would be given toward degrees. Finally, special identification cards were issued, and various parking and library privileges were accommodated. By the end of the first year, enrollment totalled 185 men and women in approximately 200 different courses.
Encouraged by the successes of Program 65 at Ohio State, the Ohio legislature passed Senate Bill 497 on April 29, 1976, requiring all state-supported colleges and universities to permit senior citizens age 60 or older to attend classes on a non-tuition, noncredit, space available basis. As a result, Dr. Enarson immediately lowered Ohio State’s age requirement to 60 and the program name became Program 60.
Directed from the enthusiasm of many participants in Program 65 and then Program 60 toward creating an organization focused on social interaction and community service, the Program 60 Association formed. Members wrote bylaws in order to function in a businesslike manner, and in accordance with the final bylaws, pro tem officers served until an election could be held. Originally set at $2 per year, dues later changed to the current $3 annually. Today, association members volunteer at the Ohio State television and radio station fundraisers, usher at Ohio State graduations, contribute regularly to Ohio State’s scholarship fund, etc. Many also participate in studies conducted by various university departments, including the College of Medicine.
For more information, call the Office of Continuing Education at (614) 292-8860.
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