School of Continuing Education and Summer Sessions

"Our kids were thrilled and did not want to leave. Having some independence from us was probably the highlight for all three of them. It was good for us, too, especially knowing how much fun they were having in a safe environment."
— James Reavis '85, North Kingstown, Rhode Island

Questions Answered (FAQ)

Q: Will the Thurston Avenue bridge be open this summer?

A: The bridge opened last August. Broad and beautifully arched, it provides a smooth and easy walk from the North to the Main Campus.

Q: How would you describe the seminars and workshops—dense and heavy or light and airy?

A: Neither. The classes are designed for bright, interested people who may not have backgrounds in the subjects. The substance is rich and deeply informative, the mood lively and informal. The teaching is superb.

Q: I haven't lived in a dorm for years. What should I expect?

A: Dorms are dorms—fun, convenient, and clean, but not luxurious. Court/Kay is the heart of CAU's living quarters and home to the message center. The comfy Adult Lounge there provides a computer to check your e-mail, coffee and tea for early birds, and wine, soft drinks, and snacks from 4 to 11 p.m. daily. A separate, designated wing of Court/Kay is also the very best home base for those who bring children to CAU because counselors there care for youngsters from 8:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. Those in Court/Kay share bathrooms with just a few other participants. Ecology/Hurlburt House has less personal service and a longer walk to campus, but may appeal to those who place a premium on an en suite bathroom and a close parking spot. The beautiful new Hilton Homewood Suites offers a full kitchen, high-speed internet connection, a pool, a hot tub, and flat-screen TVs. It also provides airport pickup and an hourly shuttle to your destination.

Q: How much free time do adults bringing youngsters have?

A: If you stay in Court/Kay, you have breakfast and dinner with your children twelve and under (teens eat all their meals together), but you're free of child care all day and every evening until 11 p.m., because counselors put the kids to bed. And those who don't bring children will be amazed by the quiet smoothness with which the adult and youth ships pass en route to their activities.

Q: I am single. How comfortable will I feel at CAU?

A: Half or more adults attending CAU are here without youngsters, and about one-third are singles. In classes and informal gatherings, you'll meet a great number of delightful and inclusive people.

Q: Who attends CAU?

A: Between 140 and 200 adults take part each week. The largest contingent has recently been made up of those who graduated in the 1970s, followed (in order) by the classes of the 1960s, 1980s, 1950s, 1940s, and 1990s. About 75 percent are Cornellians or Cornell spouses; our other smart folk learned about CAU from magazine articles, travel/study guides, or their Cornell relatives or friends.

Q: How much free time will I have, and what happens after class?

A: Classes meet each morning and adjourn each afternoon at 3:30. (No classes Wednesday afternoons.) CAU provides great extracurricular choices and warm, friendly folk with whom to enjoy them:

You can hike Cornell's "gorgeous gorges," jog in Cornell Plantations, golf on Cornell's Robert Trent Jones course, swim at Helen Newman Pool, see exhibits at the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art and the Kroch Library, attend first-run films on campus and in town, shop at the Cornell Store, and enjoy first-rate productions at one of Ithaca's two theater companies.
You can attend evening lectures and free concerts, sip espresso at an outdoor café in Collegetown, view the planets at Fuertes Observatory, explore Cornell's fabulous Lab of Ornithology, swim or hike at Buttermilk Falls or Taughannock Park, or rent a kayak on Cayuga Lake.
The week will speed by. And every day you'll enjoy good conversation and drinks at the CAU lounge, eat reasonably good college food, and meet the very nicest people.