Courtesy / Maine Community College System
Central Maine Community College in Auburn is part of the Maine Community College System.
Updated: May 20, 2020
Higher ed notebook: UMaine System IT upgrades, community college freebie
Courtesy / University of Maine at Fort Kent
The University of Maine System, a network of public universities including the University of Maine at Fort Kent shown above, is planning IT classroom upgrades this summer in an expedited plan announced this week.
As the leaders of several higher education institutions in Maine map out a joint plan for reopening this fall, the University of Maine System is planning $2.56 million in IT classroom upgrades this summer.
Of that amount, $2.26 million will go towards enhancing physical classrooms and $300,000 for portable web-conferencing carts, with the goal of maximizing the number of learning spaces capable of supporting web conferencing and video lecture capturing.
This summer's tech revamp is planned for about 180 of the 263 classrooms across member institutions that recently received audiovisual equipment upgrades. For rooms lacking updated equipment, they will each receive portable web-conferencing carts.
Additional academic flexibility and connectivity options are being developed to increase classroom content delivery options and potentially accommodate social distancing protocols.
“Our commitment to meet our students where they are and serve them safely must be met with investments in our technology infrastructure,” said UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy. “The upgrades we are making this summer will give us more options for offering face-to-face instruction on campus this fall and more opportunities to extend the classroom experience to students remotely and at times that fit their work and family obligations.”
The expedited investment plan was presented to the UMS board of trustees at its May meeting, and comes after Malloy earlier this spring formed a committee to develop operational plans and protocols that can be aligned with changing public health guidance to welcome students back to campus.
Malloy is also leading a working group of Maine's higher education institutions to develop a common reopening framework for Maine's colleges and universities this fall, with plans to present a report to Gov. Janet Mills and state health officials in early June.
Besides Malloy, the working group includes Jim Thelen, UMS chief of staff and general counsel; James Dlugos, president of Saint Joseph's College of Maine and president of the Maine Independent Colleges Association; Joan Ferrini-Mundy, University of Maine president; President David Daigler of the Maine Community College System; Clayton Spencer, president of Bates College and a 2018 Mainebiz Woman to Watch; and Joshua Hamilton, University of New England provost.
A graduation 'gift' for high school class of 2020
With about 13,000 Maine high school students graduating this spring and 8,000 of them expected to enroll in college this fall, Maine's community colleges aim to give them a head start with an offer of free summer classes.
Seniors from the high school class of 2020 will be able to choose from a wide range of college-level classes in English, math, sciences, languages, psychology, history, digital photography, creative writing and other subjects, under a plan unveiled this week.
The offer isn't just for personal enrichment, but can also save time and money as well. Someone taking two free college courses this summer at a Maine community college can save between $2,000 and $7,000 in tuition at a four-year college or university.
“The Class of 2020 has lost a lot this spring, from missing out on proms and traditional graduation ceremonies to a disruption of their college and work plans,” said Daigler in a statement.
“Summer jobs are likely to be in short supply which makes it hard to earn money to help with college expenses and gain valuable work experience," he added. "We hope this can save the Class of 2020 significant time and money in reaching their college and career goals. We can’t replace what they have lost, but we can offer to help them keep moving forward.”
Noel Gallagher, director of communications and public affairs for the Maine Community College System, told Mainebiz while there has not yet an estimate of how many high school students are expected to take advantage of the offer, a few colleagues reported a surge in emails and calls after the announcement.
Students who are interested can find out more online and connect with a college navigator to explore course options and get help registering for classes.
Maine’s seven community colleges provide education and training to over 27,000 individuals each year and offer nearly 300 degree and certificate options in over 140 occupational fields.
More than three-quarters of those offerings are the only ones of their kind in the state, according to MCCS.
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