Faculty from the Department of Speech at Mexico State University set out to design a course in interpersonal and public communication for lifelong learners that would be relevant and appeal to both older adults and younger traditional-aged students working toward certification as a gerontological care provider. The course was designed to teach understanding and acceptance of the aging process, create an understanding of the nature of the self-concept and factors that are believed to stabilize it at a positive level, provide opportunities for socialization and interaction in small groups, encourage older learners to remain mentally active, and stress the value of past experience to society's current problem-solving challenges. Despite the careful needs assessment and curriculum planning efforts undertaken to develop the course, insufficient enrollment forced its cancellation. Lack of a comprehensive publicity effort, the inconvenient meeting time and location assigned for the course, and an inadequate description of the course in the course schedule were cited as probable reasons behind the course's failure to attract sufficient enrollment. These problems were addressed so that the course could attract the necessary number of students to continue its existence. (MN)