SCHOOL DAYS : Self-Fulfillment U.

The first thing you need to know about Everywomen’s Village--an oasis of quaint bungalows barely noticeable among the cheap motels that cling to a stretch of Sepulveda Boulevard in Van Nuys--is that, well, it isn’t really.

“I’d like to see it called Everyone’s Village because that’s who it’s for--everyone,” says Anita Matthews, Everywomen’s Village curriculum director. In the 12 wildly frescoed cottages men and women, young and old, engage in competition-free education, pursuing the school’s goal of “self-understanding and creative expression through the joy of learning.”

The name stems from the fact that 31 years ago two sisters, Lynn Selwin and Chris Edwards, and a third woman, Diane Rosner, wanted to help women who wanted some kind of learning experience but were intimidated by the idea of returning to a university.

They rented six bungalows and offered a few art, dance and personal development courses that were taught without any testing or grading. About a thousand people attended the first year.

Today, as many as 7,000 students take classes in computer programming, stone carving, Tarot reading, self-defense and more--all without the slightest whiff of competition. Prices vary, depending on the subject and the number of classes; the three-session computer program class costs $168, for example, but most others are under $50. Over the years, the village has drawn a vibrant and diverse group of students, including such celebrity alumni as Barry Bostwick, Kristy McNichol and Jayne Meadows.

Even the instructors find the laid-back environment addictive. “I thought it would only last a short time,” says John Zerby, Everywomen’s Village one-man dance department, who agreed to teach the first dance classes at the request of founders Selwyn and Edwards. Thirty-one years later, he’s still teaching--six days a week. “I’ve had a lot of offers to go other places, but I like it here,” says the 80-year-old veteran of the Broadway stage and the Folies Bergere, now completely at home in this cozy enclave. “It’s a pleasant place to be.”

“The philosophy of the school was never vocational,” says Matthews, who joined the staff four years ago. “The idea was to kind of explore yourself, to look into yourself and to be a better person. We don’t set any kind of goal other than self fulfillment.”