General OLLI Information/Policies

Below are some general program policies and information to help answer member questions:

Adding Courses to Your Schedule

Members may add courses until after the 2nd time a course has met (for five-week courses) or after the 3rd time the course has met (for 10-week courses). Please be sure to check your existing course schedule when adding courses to assure you are not double booking your time period (for example, do not schedule two courses that both start at 10 a.m. on Tuesdays).

Course Attendance

We know that unanticipated events and issues prevent members from attending every class session. However, as a courtesy to our instructors and to fellow members, if you know at registration time that you have plans to miss two or more class sessions, please do not enroll in that course. If you have started a course and find out early it is not for you, formally drop the course by contacting the office at osher@pitt.edu.

Drop a Course or Event

Please notify the OLLI office if you are unable to attend a course/class so that we can maintain accurate information on our programming and course evaluation efforts. Email us at osher@pitt.edu prior to the beginning of a class or at any time for courses that have multiple weeks. Let us know if you would like to enroll in an alternate course. Event refunds depend on each event and they are marked if the fees are refundable or not, and if they are, by what date.

Postponed, Cancelled or Full Courses

Occasionally, courses are postponed or cancelled, typically due to reasons beyond our control such as emergencies or illness for instructors, etc. If a class is postponed, you will be notified by email and informed of the rescheduled date, if it is known. If a course is cancelled, you will receive email notice as soon as possible.

Course enrollment size varies for several reasons including size of physical classroom space or the course type (Lecture, Discussion, or Active Learning).  For these reasons, not all courses can be open to anyone who wishes to attend, including online courses. If a course or event is full, you, most often, will be given the opportunity to be added to the waiting list in case there are cancellations. People are added to the course or event from the waiting list in the order received and notified via email.

Scheduling Conflicts

During registration, be sure to select only one course during a given time frame (Example: 10-11:30am). Should you accidentally enroll in two courses in the same time period, we will contact you by email and ask you to select the course you want to keep, and we will remove you from the other. If you do not reply in the time frame given in the email, we will remove you from both courses.

Refunds

Each catalog will indicate the date by which a membership may be refunded. There are no exceptions. Events that require a fee will indicate if the fee is refundable, and if so, by what date you must request a refund.

Email Notifications

Make sure we have your correct email address. The OLLI office sends emails to notify members of Zoom invites and course changes, course cancellations, upcoming events, as well as for our email newsletter. Instructors may also want to contact students regarding class information. Your information is always confidential. Share any change in your email address with our office at osher@pitt.edu.

Course Evaluations

During the last week of your courses you will receive an email with a link to your course evaluations. Please try to respond and share information about your experience in the course. This information is very helpful to us and helps guide future programming. If you have an issue with your course evaluation, please contact us at OLLI, osher@pitt.edu, and do not contact the University Office of Measurement and Evaluation of Teaching (OMET).

Code of Conduct

In all courses, lectures, events and in all formats, OLLI members are expected to follow the OLLI Code of Conduct. While our rules of conduct may seem common sense to most members, with a growing program it is important that everyone understands the expectations. OLLI members are expected to respect the learning environment, instructors, staff, and other members and embrace the concept of a civil community as well as follow all OLLI and University rules. 

Additionally, for all OLLI classes and activities your responsibilities include:

• Show the instructor the appropriate level of respect during class. This includes not interrupting them and asking appropriate and related questions. If you feel more discussion is needed, ask the instructor after class concludes.
• Tolerate opinions that are different from yours.
• Avoid confrontational behavior and interact appropriately with other members, instructors, and University staff, students, and faculty.
• Participate in discussions appropriately and do not dominate course discussions.
• Be on time and do not leave classes early unless arrangements have been made with the instructor. 
• Do not eat in the physical classrooms.
• Mute or turn off your cell phone during in-person courses. 
• Attend only courses for which you are registered.
• Do not register for a course unless you can attend the class sessions. If you will miss more than two of the OLLI class sessions, please do not register for the course.
• If you registered for a course and then find you won’t be able to attend, please formally withdraw from it by contacting the OLLI office.
• Classes are open to members only. Do not bring a guest to class unless they are explicitly allowed by OLLI staff. (An instructor is not in a position to approve bringing a guest to class.)

Finally, OLLI strives to be a welcoming place for members and instructors of all backgrounds. We ask that members be thoughtful about any comments they may make in or between classes or during conversation at an OLLI activity. We encourage you to be that person that welcomes the stranger among us. Include and involve new people in your conversations. Show congeniality and hospitality among members, instructors and guests of OLLI.