The Harvard Center for Continuing Education announced yesterday that it will begin an education program for retired persons this February.

The program, to be called the Harvard Institute for Learning in Retirement, will allow retired people in the Boston community to enroll in two courses a year at either the Center for Continuing Education or the Harvard Extension School.

In addition, members of the institute may enroll in an unlimited number of study groups that the institute will run.

Tuition for the program will be $75 per semester.

"The need for this type of program is there, and it is not being met anywhere in the Boston area," Michael Shinagel, director of the Center for Continuing Education said yesterday.

New School

The program will be modeled after the Institute for Retired Professionals at New School in New York City, Shinagel said.

The New York program, which has a current enrollment of about 200, has been very successful, according to Everett Mendelsohn, professor of the History of Science, whose parents have been actively involved in the New York program since its inception, said yesterday.

The program has given retired persons "something to do in their lives" allowing them to remain active and intellectually stimulated, Mendelsohn said.

Membership in the Institute will be open to any retired person who has "shown a commitment to learning" during his career, Shinagel said. No prior association with Harvard is required.

Members may utilize the program to obtain a Bachelors Degree, or a certificate for one year of advanced graduate study, Shinagel added. In the future, other graduate degrees may be offered