UCLA For Life
Overview
UCLA for Life is a strategic initiative that reimagines the university’s educational mission as a lifelong partnership with learners. It seeks to elevate and expand UCLA’s educational offerings to meet the complex, rapidly evolving demands of the 21st-century learner, whether traditional students, mid-career professionals, or returning alumni. By embracing innovation and inclusivity, UCLA for Life positions the university as a global leader in accessible, forward-looking education.
Goals
- Reimagine the role of a great public university for the 21st century by opening UCLA to more learners at any stage of life.
- Expand access to UCLA’s world-class resources across pivotal life moments, connecting learners to the skills, networks and opportunities that align with the needs of Los Angeles and the broader workforce.
- Establish seamless pathways between continuing education and degree-granting programs to create synergies between students’ academic and career journeys.
- Elevate UCLA’s educational mission by investing in pedagogical innovation, accessible and inclusive instructional design, modernized learning spaces and comprehensive support of faculty in their teaching.
- Leverage artificial intelligence and emerging academic technologies to personalize learning, improve student success and increase instructional efficiency.
Expected Outcomes
- A globally recognized lifelong learning identity that positions UCLA as a trusted partner for career advancement and continuous education at every stage of life.
- A premier technology-integrated learning ecosystem that leverages AI and instructional design to personalize education, supported by modernized physical hubs like UCLA Downtown and 21st-century classrooms.
Progress in Motion
- Establishing a One UCLA partnership across campus – including with the Teaching and Learning Center (TLC), UCLA Extension, academic units and UCLA Health – to share pedagogical resources and offer flexible learning formats that support Bruins in achieving their lifelong educational goals.
- Providing new spaces to support active and collaborative learning approaches, hybrid course delivery options for faculty and fully accessible educational experiences for students by opening the new Bruin Collaborative as part of UCLA Downtown and modernizing general assignment classrooms.
- Expanding educational access across the lifespan by offering courses for retirees and alumni through the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI), UCLA Second Act, the UCLA Age-Friendly University Initiative, the Senior Scholars Program from UCLA Health, and other workshops, seminars and courses across campus.
- Expanding education access for Angelenos by removing tuition barriers through the UC Excelerator program; fostering partnerships across Los Angeles between UCLA Extension, LAUSD and SoLA Impact; and developing affordable professional alternatives, such as professional programs from UCLA Theater, Film and Television or the joint UCLA Health and UCLA Extension Medical Assistant Program.
- Establishing a cohesive AI strategy for teaching and learning with the launch of the UCLA Teaching Symposium: Adapting Instruction in the Age of AI on June 10, 2026, engaging campus stakeholders to explore effective ways both agentic and generative AI could enhance the student experience and support faculty in the design and delivery of instruction.
- Evolving the ways teaching is evaluated and improving student feedback used to improve instruction, in particular through the Holistic Evaluation of Teaching (HET) framework and Student Experiences of Teaching (SET) program.
Meet the Leads
To be announced.
Meets Goal 4: Elevate how we teach
In response to a changing world — and an evolving teaching and learning landscape — the time is right for UCLA to modernize its instructional practices to stay at the forefront of excellence in education. Leveraging expertise and motivation, UCLA is well positioned to advance inclusive teaching practices by strengthening programs that support and incentivize continuous improvement and innovation in instruction, making intentional, research-informed, and equity-affirming changes to our teaching and learning enterprise, and re-envisioning how we evaluate and celebrate teaching excellence.