Kansas University’s Mini College program annually draws about 150 alumni and other adults to campus to enjoy a lifelong learning experience.

Hopefully, those attendees will leave KU with a little new knowledge in a few subject areas. Perhaps even more important is for those people to carry home with them a positive feeling about KU and its overall mission.

The Mini College was started by KU’s College of Liberal Arts and Sciences in 2009 and attracts mostly retirees to a weeklong program that features a variety of topics including natural sciences, art, math, social and behavioral sciences and the humanities. Participants pay $225 for the program and can even stay in student housing, if they want to get the full college experience.

The majority of those attending are alums who appreciate the opportunity to come back to KU to enjoy the company, the campus and a classroom experience free of the academic pressure they experienced as students. Faculty members make it fun. At the final lecture for this year’s Mini College, held June 2-5, KU theater professor John Staniunas entertained his class with songs that illustrated his points about the changing genre of musical theater.

At $225 each, KU probably doesn’t make any money off the Mini College, but the program has the potential to benefit the university in many other ways. A few days on campus, working with current KU faculty is a great opportunity for participants to get updated on what’s happening at KU. That, in turn, should build their commitment and loyalty to the university. Every year, KU should be gaining about 150 new ambassadors who can help carry the university’s story across the state and beyond to community leaders, state legislators, prospective students and others.

Assuming participants go away with a good feeling about KU, their support and good will can be an invaluable resource for the university.

We hope everyone who participated in this year’s Mini College had a fun learning experience and a good time on campus. Hopefully their time on campus spurred not only some fond memories but also some positive feelings about KU’s present and future.