UMaine System aims to cover tuition for 1,200 Maine high school grads

COURTESY / UNIVERSITY OF MAINE The University of Maine System aims to cover tuition and fees for more than 1,200 members of the Maine high school graduating class of 2020.

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By Staff

The University of Maine System announced today it's aiming to waive tuition and fees for more than 1,200 Maine high school students graduating in 2020.

The initiative is part of UMS’ new “Maine Values You” student outreach campaign, according to a news release.

“The University of Maine System is backed by more than $400 million in public investment, research funding, and donors who give generously to support our institutions and students,” UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy said in the release.

“We can proudly offer Maine students unmatched affordability and access to the state’s most-highly-credentialed faculty and the most accredited academic programs and pathways to careers and advanced degrees.”

University of Maine System’s six-year tuition freeze, investments in financial aid and donor generosity have made it possible for the public university system to establish the initiative. The goal is being set pending a fiscal year 2021 state allocation for the UMaine System at funding levels recommended at the start of the state’s biennial budget process.

Malloy shared the new affordability initiative on the first stop of UMS’ Maine school counselor tour.

Experiential learning

Overall, the new “Maine Values” initiative is designed to make high-impact experiential learning opportunities available to every student.

Experiential learning opportunities are valued by employers and better prepare students to be Maine’s next generation of inventors, innovators and business and community leaders, according to UMS. The number and types of opportunities vary by program and campus, but thousands of students across the system engage in internships, field research projects and knowledge creation experiences every year.

Joan Ferrini-Mundy, president of the University of Maine and its regional campus, the University of Maine at Machias, will lead a pilot initiative for UMS to expand and integrate experiential learning throughout the academic portfolio as a means to enrich the quality of academic programs and better prepare students for careers.

“Experience matters,” Ferrini-Mundy said in the release. “Great efforts already being led by our faculty show that experiential learning improves the richness of study for our students and demonstrates to employers that our graduates are career-ready at the time of hire.”

With more than $100 million in research activity and a statewide service mission, the University of Maine System is a state leader in providing students with high-impact experiential learning opportunities, she said.

The pilot initiative at UMaine and UMM will complement work already underway to strengthen curriculum and student learning opportunities at all of UMS’ campuses.

At the University of Southern Maine, for example, every academic program includes an opportunity for a student to engage in experiential learning.

In the 2018-19 academic year, 739 USM students completed nearly 1,500 internships for academic credit and amassed over 85,000 hours of experience with more than 200 employers.

$11M in private scholarships

Participating in the announcement was USM President Glenn Cummings. He noted that University of Maine System students receive more than $11 million in private scholarships every year, increasing the number of first-year Maine students whose tuition and fees are covered by grants and scholarships by about 20%. He credited alumni, civic organizations and philanthropists.

"Maine's public university students enjoy the support of the state's largest network of alumni and stakeholders," Cummings said in the release. “Private scholarships help keep the cost of college within the reach of thousands of our students and their families. We are very grateful."

A member of the University of Maine System donor community, John Ryan, said donor investment goes further at public universities. President of Wright-Ryan Construction in Portland and a member of the University of Southern Maine Foundation Board, Ryan has a special interst in USM’s Promise Scholarship, w hich helps Maine underserved achievers, with connections to youth organizations overcome financial, academic, social and cultural barriers, remain in school and graduate in four years with little or no debt.

"Education is the best investment money can buy," Ryan said in the release.