As California’s community colleges continue to serve lifelong learners, Santa Monica College’s Emeritus Program stands out as a model for engaging older adults. For more than 50 years, the Emeritus Program has offered a broad range of free noncredit classes designed to enrich the lives of older adults—ranging from art and healthy living to community engagement and skill building. As one of the few programs of its kind in the state, it continues to demonstrate the vital role community colleges play in supporting lifelong learning and social connection.

In partnership with CollegeAPP, SMC has taken a data-driven approach to marketing and recruitment, using person-level data and digital marketing strategies to identify and connect with adults 55+, and in some cases, their family member living with them. Through precise audience targeting and messaging, the team used predictive models and detailed data to understand which audiences, messages, and marketing channels delivered the strongest results.

This one-hour session with CollegeAPP will highlight how those data insights translated into measurable enrollment growth, improved marketing performance, and more efficient processes that reduced barriers for older adult learners.