The Organization

Life-Long Learning
Front Range Forum is designed to promote life-long learning, to be challenging and innovative, and to foster open discussion and social interaction among its members.

OPEN TO ALL
Forum membership is open to all who can attend morning or afternoon classes. There are no age restrictions. The only requirements are an eagerness to learn and a willingness to participate actively in presentations and group discussions and membership in the Fort Collins Senior Center. The Front Range Forum meets the third Tuesday of every month at 10:30 a.m. at the Fort Collins Senior Center, 1200 Raintree Drive.

Intellectual stimulation
Forum seminar "courses" help one to keep up with the rapid changes in today's world as well as to explore new areas of knowledge or those which one may not have had time enough time in the past to study and enjoy.

Diversity
The Forum offers a diversity of topics and issues for study and discussion. Topics change each term but are repeated from time to time. Typically they draw from such fields as music - both classical and popular, the visual arts, the physical and social sciences, history, literature, philosophy, natural history, ethical issues and topics of current concern.

No Examinations
The Forum offers no academic credit. It exists to provide an opportunity to explore ideas, expand one's knowledge, and exercise one's creativity in a flexible, informal, and congenial atmosphere.

No Tuition
Front Range Forum is a membership organization and is financed by membership dues rather than by tuition.

Member Led and Member Directed
The Forum depends entirely upon the talents and expertise of its members for administration and instruction. Members suggest topics, which after approval by the Curriculum Committee, they organize. They determine the scope of what will be taught. Members electing to take the course prepare and make assigned presentations in keeping with the topic. The group discussion method is favored over formal lectures.

Membership Benefits
In addition to the various classes three times a year, the Forum also offers a program every term which features an outside speaker on a topic of general interest. An opportunity is provided to ask questions and to discuss the topic being presented. Refreshments are provided, and there is an opportunity to socialize. Each summer, a special tow-day program is offered at CSU's mountain conference center at Pingree Park. The cost for the program is extremely reasonable. Members are informed of upcoming classes through a quarterly newsletter and on the City's web site. They may enroll in at least one course each term and an additional class if space is available.

Schedules and Registration
New terms start in late September, early January, and late March. Eight to ten course topics are offered each term. A Facilitator's Fair is held at the Senior Center approximately a month before the term begins. The facilitators for the upcoming topics are available at this time to provide information about their courses and to answer questions. Members then receive a newsletter with description of the courses, times of meeting, and an enrollment form to be returned to the Registrar. Courses meet weekly for two hours during the day over an eight week period. Most classes are held at the Senior Center. Class size is limited to twenty. A lottery is used to allocate space in oversubscribed classes. For this reason, it is desirable to indicate an alternate course as second choice. In fairness to others, anyone who knows that she or he will be unable to attend at least six of the class sessions should ask the Registrar to be placed on stand-by for space if it remains at the end of the registration period. The Front Range Forum meets the third Tuesday of every month at 10:30 a.m. at the Fort Collins Senior Center, 1200 Raintree Drive.

Membership Year
The membership year begins January 1 and ends on December 31. Annual dues of $15 are payable as of January 1. New members may join at any time although dues are not prorated. Membership entitles one to enroll in courses throughout the membership year at no additional cost other than that for books or materials and field trips, if any. Course facilitators strive to keep all such costs as low as possible. Discounts on books used in courses are usually available from a local bookstore.

Membership Application
You may join by applying at the desk of the Fort Collins Senior Center or printing out the application here and bringing it into the Senior Center. If you are not a current member of the Senior Center, you will also be asked to join at that time.

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