The growing trend of senior living communities developing close collaborations with universities and colleges took an important step last month when Mirabella at Arizona State, a 348-resident community located on the ASU campus, became the first to be certified as a University Based Retirement Community (UBRC).
The newly established designation from UniversityRetirementCommunities.com has been years in the making. Andrew Carle, the website’s director, created a five-criteria model for success for university retirement communities (URCs) nearly two decades ago, and he used those criteria as the basis for the site’s new certification program, which was created in part due to the growing popularity of the segment within senior living. UniversityRetirementCommunities.com currently lists more than 80 communities nationwide.
“As the number of URCs has grown and continues to grow with the retirement of the Baby Boomers, we felt it imperative to bring structure to this sector, in particular recognizing communities that achieve the highest level of integration and potential for long-term success with a host academic institution,” said Carle, who serves as lead faculty for the graduate curricula in senior living administration at Georgetown University.
Communities that meet all five criteria will be certified as a University Based Retirement Program. Additionally, those meeting three or four criteria will be certified as a University Linked Retirement Community, and those meeting one or two criteria will be certified as a University Affiliated Retirement Community. Mirabella at ASU not only met all five criteria – it achieved a perfect 100 score. The certification allows the community to display the “Certified” UBRC logo and to receive the highest search ranking on UniversityRetirementCommunities.com.
“We are incredibly proud to become the first certified UBRC in the nation,” said Lindsey Beagley, senior director of lifelong university engagement for Mirabella at ASU, in a press release. “UBRCs are cross-sector innovations that have the power to re-imagine retirement to be more active, learning-centered and intergenerational, which we know are associated with healthy, resilient aging. Students also benefit tremendously from the opportunity to learn with and from the most experienced people in our society. It’s a win-win for everyone.”
Beagley said University Based Retirement Communities provide the best of both worlds for older adults – the peace of mind of a continuum of care and a vibrant campus with learning opportunities, intergenerational connections and meaningful engagement.
“So, instead of reluctantly moving only once they have a health crisis that requires support and intervention of their adult children, people can move in on their own terms while they are still healthy enough to take full advantage of the breadth of opportunities,” Beagley said. “At Mirabella at ASU, for example, we have as many 60-year-olds as 90-year-olds. I think you’d be hard-pressed to see any 60-year-olds in a traditional life plan community.”
Beagley said it is important to understand that a UBRC “isn’t just a senior living community that happens to be located on or near a college campus.
“This is a completely different product, which has implications at every level of the planning and operations,” she said.
Certification criteria include the proximity of the community to campus, documented resident-to-university and student-to-community programs, a continuum of senior living services, the percent of residents who are alums or retired university faculty or staff, and a relationship between the community and university that supports long-term operational success.
Mirabella at ASU, which is a Pacific Retirement Services community, opened in December 2020 on the university’s Tempe campus. The community offers a range of opportunities for lifelong learning, participation in university events and student-to-resident interactions. Beagley said about 40% of Mirabella residents regularly audit classes, and almost half of the community regularly attends performing arts or cultural events. Many attend athletics events.
Ongoing volunteer gigs are popular at the community, such as working with international students to improve their conversational skills, reviewing student theses, assisting in labs, coaching student entrepreneurs and helping in the early childhood education center. The community also launched a student artist-in-residence program that has graduate music or music therapy students live in the building each year in exchange for them offering programming support. The community holds a 99-year land lease through the university’s real estate division.
Carle said the new voluntary certification program will reduce confusion and bring clarity to URCs, making it easier for prospective residents to consider their options. It also will provide a roadmap for the development of new communities, as well as for those that may wish to move up in certificate level. Certification is valid for three years, and a community may apply to move to a higher available category at any time.
