Alumni and community members can further their education at GW this fall after officials opened registration for the revival of the Course Audit Program last week.

Alumni and residents of Foggy Bottom and the area surrounding the Mount Vernon Campus may register for a select list of more than 300 in-person courses spanning from Biology of Cancer to Space Law at a discounted rate on a not-for-credit basis. Officials previously allowed alumni and campus neighbors to audit courses prior to the pandemic but placed the program on hold in March 2020 after campus shut down due to the spread of COVID-19.

“GW is proud to offer a variety of educational opportunities to foster a community of lifelong learners,” the course audit website states.

Prospective course auditors must be an alumnus, a Foggy Bottom resident in the 20037 or 20006 zip codes who is at least 60 years old or a resident in the area surrounding the Mount Vernon campus who is at least 60 years old, according to the course audit website. 

The course audit website states that auditors must pay $100 per course and associated fees for labs, music and art courses. Alumni must purchase a GWorld alumni card for $10, which allows access into campus buildings and the GW Libraries available to them when they were a student, and community members must purchase a Friends of GW GWorld card for $15, which allows access into campus buildings, Gelman or Eckles libraries, the Vern Express and brunch at Pelham Commons.

GW courses cost $2,080 per credit hour for part-time undergraduate students, ringing in at $6,240 for a three-credit course — $6,140 more than the audited cost. 

Officials suspended campus access to Friends of GW cardholders at the onset of the pandemic in March 2020 and reactivated access in January but did not reinstate the Course Audit Program alongside other community benefits like access to Gelman and Eckles libraries. Officials said in January that they want to ensure that campus neighbors receive benefits for living near a “prestigious” University.

Alumni under 60 years old could audit courses at $125 per course while alumni at least 60 years old paid $65 to audit courses in the 2009-10 academic year, which enrolled 216 course auditors. Course auditors said in 2010 that they continued their education at GW post-graduation to keep improving their writing skills and “reinvent” themselves.