Aloen Townsend, the Ralph S. and Dorothy P. Schmitt Professor, was appointed by the Gerontological Society of America (GSA) to serve on a national Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (AGHE) Gerontology and Geriatrics Education Competencies Workgroup. This workgroup is charged with reviewing the current competencies and recommending revisions.
Efforts to provide guidelines for undergraduate and higher education in gerontology and geriatrics began 1990, when the Academy for Gerontology in Higher Education (referred to then as the Association for Gerontology in Higher Education) was awarded a grant from the Administration on Aging to partner with the University of Southern California to develop the first guidelines. This was in response to the growing recognition that we lacked sufficient research, professionals and other workforce to address the needs of an expanding aging population. Those first guidelines were disseminated in 1993. The guidelines were designed to inspire colleges and universities to develop new programs in gerontology and geriatrics, conduct an internal review of an existing program, provide guidance on improving individual core courses, inform students what will be expected of them after graduation, educate employers about the knowledge, skills and values to expect graduates to possess, and advocate for institutional resources to improve instructional programs. The guidelines are now also used to evaluate programs in gerontology and geriatrics for recognition by AGHE as a program of merit.
The guidelines have undergone multiple reviews and revisions, most recently in 2020.