Recommendations are offered in this manual for planning, organizing, and financing academic programs for older people, based on the experience of institutions already conducting programs for older students, on current thinking in gerontology, and on knowledge and experience of staff and consultants of the Academy for Educational Development. Three major questions are addressed: (1) Why should a college or university be interested in establishing special programs for older people? (2) What kinds of couses are older people interested in taking, and what kinds of supplemental services do they need? (3) What are the steps that must be taken in planning, operating, and financing such a program? Six program models are described: The Institute for Retired Professionals at the New School for Social Research; Fordham University's College at Sixty; The College of Older Americans at Mercyhurst; Project Elderly at Miami-Dade Community College; Opportunities for Older Adults at Hawkeye Institute of Technology; and Elderhostel at several New England institutions. Suggestions for financing the programs are discussed, and working tools are described, such as marketing instruments, evaluation instruments, financial reports, and newsletters. Appended are lists of colleges offering programs, courses being offered, and state agencies on aging. (LBH)