Towards an Age-friendly University: An Intergenerational Study among FICS-UPOU Graduates

Abstract

In this study, the educational experience of graduates under the Faculty of Information and Communication Studies (FICS) for A.Y. 2017-2018 was assessed through an intergenerational lens. Respondents’ age range was categorized into three generations: Baby Boomers (1945-1965), Generation X (1966-1985), and the Millennials (1986-2005). A survey questionnaire was used to gather data on the respondents’ socio-demographic profile (age, gender, and employment status) and educational experience. Educational experience was assessed through five variables: relevance of curriculum, usefulness of the program, quality of instruction, effectiveness of online delivery, and current employability. Generational disaggregation of data was done before data analysis. Afterward, the collected data were analyzed using both descriptive and inferential statistics. Aside from measures of central tendency, the means test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and Spearman correlation were also used to determine the relationship between the respondents’ socio-demographic characteristics and educational experience. On average, the respondents found their UPOU learning experience to be quite positive – indicating an age-friendly curriculum flexible to the needs of different generation cohorts. Results showed that there was no association between gender and learning experience; and age group and learning experience. On the other hand, employment status was found to have a weak inverse correlation with two indicators: effectiveness of online delivery; and current employability. The results of the study presented implications for instructional design and improvement of online delivery to achieve an age-friendly university consistent with its lifelong learning philosophy.