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Senior Citizens Auditing Mississippi College Classes


Christian Studies professor Roger Greene meets with Clinton residents Shellie Bailey and Bob Mohr, who both audit classes on the Mississippi College campus.

Navigating his way through a stress-free education at Mississippi College is the perfect course for Shellie Bailey.

A retired pilot and instructor with the Mississippi Air National Guard, Bailey takes no tests or quizzes and doesn’t write lengthy papers. The 79-year-old Clinton resident pays no MC tuition.

With the exception of paying a $50 fee per class, the Mississippi State University graduate soaks up lots of knowledge at his Old and New Testament courses at rock bottom prices. He’s auditing MC classes on the Clinton campus this year.

“It’s a way to keep active, and learn more about the Bible,” Bailey says. “It gets you out and keeps you moving.”

A member of Alta Woods Baptist Church, he’s enhancing his knowledge by listening to outstanding Mississippi College professors deliver lectures. He will join classroom discussions only when the professor asks. “I’m sticking with it until the end of the (academic) year, and will probably sign up next fall.”

Welcome to the world of auditing classes at Mississippi College. It’s officially known as the university’s Senior Adult Education Program. It opens the door for adults 55-years-old and up to register for a select number of academic classes on a non-credit basis.

The MC Office of Continuing Education has administered the program for years. It’s just another way the Baptist-affiliated university reaches out to serve the needs of the metro Jackson community.

The program is limited to lecture courses. Science labs and art classes are generally not available. Typically only a half-dozen people or so will sign up each semester.

Students are “mostly from Clinton,” says Ken Gilliam, MC’s continuing education director.

And there’s really no age limit. “We had one lady in her 90s,” he recalls.

The deadline to enroll is one week before classes begin.

Bob Mohr, 65, a retired educator with the Rankin County Public Schools, recently began auditing Christian Studies classes after his friend, Shellie Bailey, suggested the idea. The Clinton men are fellow Mississippi State graduates and workout buddies at the Baptist Healthplex.

Since the 1990s, Fred Jabour, 80, has audited MC history, political science, music appreciation, and art classes. And he’s sampled English classes focusing on Shakespeare. “It’s a wonderful thing,” he said, but is sitting out this school year.

A retired agent with an insurance company and former Murrah High School physics, chemistry and mathematics teacher, Jabour says he highly recommends auditing Mississippi College classes. “I thoroughly enjoyed it,” says the Millsaps College graduate and Clinton resident. “They have impressive classes and students.”

For more information, contact the Mississippi College Office of Continuing Education at 601-925-3264.