Creative Senior Leadership Program

SURVEY

Although a formal survey of the Leadership Asheville Seniors program has not been completed since 1993 the conclusions from earlier surveys are still generally applicable. Each Leadership Asheville Seniors class evaluates its program. Information on recent Leadership Asheville Seniors classes can be found in “Statistics.” You will notice that most classes have maintained a balance of men and women, that the average age continues to decline, and that more people in their 50s participate than in earlier years.

Initial Report of LAS Survey

Leadership Asheville Seniors began after a year of planning, with its charter class in the Winter/Spring of 1987. In the winter of 1991 the North Carolina Center for Creative Retirement sent members of the first four years of LAS a self-administered survey to assess the effectiveness of the program and its affects on participants volunteer activities. A total of 101 (91%) of 110 graduates returned surveys.

LAS V and VI met in the Winter/Spring of 1991 and 1992 (under new director). The director and advisory committee decided to change the scheduled time of LAS to the fall for the 1993 class (LAS VII) (under new director). In the fall of 1993 the NCCCR and the Community Leadership Programs sent members of LAS V and VI a revised self-administered survey. A total of 43 (74%) of 58 graduates returned surveys.

Based on the two surveys, it is possible to compare the first four classes of LAS with the fifth and sixth classes, as well as to look at the impact of the program for all 144 (87.6%) of 168 graduates.

Participants

LAS participants from 1987-1990 were 60% male and 40% female while from 1991-2 participants were 40% male and 60% female. Overall, 55% were male and 45% were female. Usually older adult education programs attract considerable more women than men. That more men participate in this program may be explained by the appellation "leadership" that is appealing to well-educated, professional men who see themselves as leaders more frequently than do women in this age cohort. Although the two years inclination of more women enrolling is too short to establish a trend, if it continues, it might indicate the influx of more professional women, who consider themselves leaders, into the ranks of retirees.

Age

Younger people are choosing to participate in LAS. In the 1987-1990 survey, 38% were 70 or older (with 3% being over 80). Nearly 54% were between 60-69, with only 8% younger that 60. In the 1990-91 survey only 30% were 70 or older (with none over 80). Nearly 56% were in the 60-69 category, with 14% being under 60 years old. The change from close to 40% to less than a third of participants being over 70 may reinforce the national trend of decreasing retirement age since many choose to participate in LAS within four years after retirement (see below). With 14% of participants being under 60, one could assume that these younger retirees are looking for avenues to meaningful retirement activities and opportunities for community involvement.

Education

Those who choose to participate in LAS are well-educated. Of the total of those responding to the survey, 54% attended graduate school or earned a graduate degree. An additional 27% earned a 4-year college degree. No significant differences in educational level is apparent when comparing participants from 1987 -1990 with 1991-92.

Income

Examination of yearly household income of the two groups reveals that in the 75% of the 1987-90 group that reported income, 9% indicated $10,000 - 30,000 income, 39% indicated $30,000 - 50,000, 19% indicated $50,000 - 70,000, and 33% indicated over $70,000. In the 88% of the 1991-92 group that reported income, 16% indicated $10,000 - 30,000 income, 31% indicated $30,000 - 50,000, 24% indicated $50,000 - 70,000 income, and 29% indicated income over $70,000. Although the numbers suggest that in the last two years the household incomes of LAS participants has leveled between the categories, an additional response category in the 1990-92 survey was "over $100,00" and 24% of participants indicated that income. This response suggests that the LAS program continues to appeal to a wide range of income levels.

	$10-30K	$30-50K	$50-70K	over $70K
1987-90	9%	39%	19%	33%
1991-92	16%	31%	24%	29%

Marital Status

We did not ask participants about marital status on the 1987-90 survey. Those responding to the 1991-92 survey indicated 81% married, 7% widowed, 7% never married, and 5% divorced or separated.

Retirement Status

More than two-thirds (69%) of all LAS participants reported that they were fully retired with 18% being partially retired and 10% being "homemaker, not retired." Differences between classes, however, were evident. Of those in LAS I - IV, 68% were fully retired, 21% were partially, and 8% were homemaker, not retired. Of those in LAS V - VI, 74% were fully retired with 12% being partially retired, and 14% being homemaker, not retired. The later classes had fewer participants than the earlier classes who were partially retired.

	Fully retired	Partially retired	Homemaker, not retired
1987-90	68%	21%	8%
1991-92	74%	12%	14%

We asked LAS V - VI participants when they had retired to see if the LAS program appealed to people at a particular time in retirement years. The range of number of years retired was from less than a year to 28 years with four years being average.

Volunteerism

Many of those who enroll in LAS are active community volunteers during, and probably even before, their participation in the program. In LAS I - IV, two-thirds were volunteers for, most frequently, five hours per week. In LAS V - VI, half were volunteers about three hours per week. After their participation in LAS, 78% of the earlier classes, and 80% of the later classes reported being community volunteers an average of five hours per week. Was this considerable increase in volunteerism the result of the LAS experience? LAS affected the type, quality or quantity of volunteering for 40% in LAS I - IV. It was a factor for 31% in LAS V - VI. Considering the total group, LAS was a factor for 37% or participants. Those not volunteering gave a variety of reasons: not interested (2%), no appropriate role (7%), too busy with personal activities (10%), too busy caring for parent or spouse (3%), own health prohibits it (9%).

Reasons for Participation

We asked 1991-'92 participants why they joined LAS. The most popular response (37%) was to learn about the Asheville/Buncombe County area. Other responses that were given by about 20% of participants included: meeting new people, making useful contacts, meeting the movers and shakers in the community, and learning about volunteer opportunities.

Most Beneficial LAS Sessions

Participants rated the usefulness of the various LAS sessions and three-quarters (74%) thought the history of the area session was beneficial. Of those responding from LAS I - IV, 82% said the history of the area was the beneficial while 54% of LAS V-VI rated it the beneficial.

Economic development and the environment session was rated beneficial by 63%. Of those responding from LAS I - IV, 79% said this session was beneficial while 26% of LAS V - VI thought it beneficial.

The session on education was rated as beneficial to 45% of those responding. The classes were considerably different on this item. Of the LAS I - IV group, 60% rated education session as beneficial while only 9% on the LAS V - VI group rated it beneficial.

The session on health and human needs was rated beneficial by half (51%) of those responding. Again, the two groups were quite different. Of the LAS I - IV group, 64% rated it beneficial while 19% of the LAS V - VI group rated it beneficial.

The visions of the future session was rated beneficial by 38% of those responding. Half (50%) of the LAS I - IV group rated this session as beneficial while 12% of the LAS V - VI group rated it beneficial.

Effectiveness of LAS

Participants were asked to consider ways in which LAS might be more helpful. Very few (only 5%) thought the program's effectiveness would improve if it met more frequently. About one quarter (26%) thought that field trips would make the program more helpful or effective. About 17% thought that the program should involve participants in service projects. More than a third (36%) said they would prefer more interaction time or (36%) discussion time. About one quarter (24%) wanted more work in small groups. About a fifth (18%) wanted more speakers including speakers during lunch.

Those who responded to the survey overwhelmingly (98%) indicated that they would recommend the program to others.

Who Benefits from LAS

Those who responded to the survey were asked who benefits most from LAS. Newcomers to the community were the choice of 87%. Those not involved in the community were the choice of about half (54%). Those involved in the community were the choice of a third (33%). Longtime residents were the choice of 21%.

LAS Schedule

Participant of LAS V - VI were asked in which season they thought the LAS program should be offered. Those responding were evenly split (36% each) between fall and spring. Less than a quarter (23%) suggested winter.