Higher ed notebook: $8.9M in emergency student aid, new workforce training options

University of Southern Maine campus seen from above

File photo The University of Southern Maine, whose Portland campus is shown here, is part of the University of Maine System.

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By Renee Cordes

During this month of virtual graduations and other changes across Maine campuses, the state's public universities will begin disbursing $8.9 million in emergency aid to students whose studies were disrupted because of the pandemic.

Of the total, $8.6 million will be funded from the CARES Act enacted in late March, with universities adding to that amount with hundreds of thousands of dollars in additional CARES funds intended for institutional usage.

Some 20,598 students across the public University of Maine System are expected to receive relief, in the form of checks and direct deposits, though students from abroad are ineligible to receive CARES funds under federal guidance.

Payment amounts range from $100 to $675 each, depending on the university and student credit hours enrolled.

“The success of our students and their interests have guided our every response to the COVID pandemic,” said University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel P. Malloy in a statement. “Knowing that financial uncertainty is impacting many of our learners and their families, we worked quickly to get payments processed within days of receiving funds from the federal government.”

The money is especially meaningful to the many students who did not receive federal stimulus checks because they are dependents or who lost local jobs without the ability to collect unemployment benefits, according to Friday's announcement.

Find the full report on how Maine's public universities plan to distribute the funds here.

SMCC workforce training expansion

In related news, Southern Maine Community College recently announced that it is offering short-term workforce training programs aimed at providing in-demand skills training for people affected by the pandemic.

Current offerings include a 16-week online pharmacy technician training, and 500 free Professional Education Online licenses. The licenses provide access to online training in business, customer service, data and analytics, desktop publishing, finance, human resources, information technology and other fields.

“It is vitally important during these uncertain times to train Mainers in skills that are in demand,” said Jim Whitten, SMCC's dean of workforce development, in a statement. “These programs are offered at no cost to qualified applicants, who will gain the skills they need to begin new careers or advance in their current positions.”

SMCC, which offers classes at campuses in South Portland and Brunswick as well as at community satellite locations and online, said it plans to offer additional programs in the future.

More information about the current training programs is available online.

Funding for the programs comes from the Maine Quality Centers, which is part of the Maine Community College System and provides grants for workforce training that is delivered through SMCC and Maine’s other community colleges.