UMaine System sees uptick in out-of-state students
Overall enrollment is down for the University of Maine System’s seven campuses from last year, but enrollment from out-of-state students is slated to increase.
The Portland Press Herald reported that the number of out-of-state students signed up to attend one of UMaine’s seven campuses this fall increased by about 9% to 1,166 — an increase that will likely help the university system’s finances, given that out-of-state students pay nearly three times the cost of tuition than in-state students.
Despite the expected increase from out-of-state students, UMaine System officials are still grappling with an overall decline in enrollment, which has created a tricky situation as they work on a plan to close a projected $69 million budget deficit by 2019. Overall enrollment for the fall is 3,989, a nearly 3% decrease from last year’s 4,107 students.
University officials have attributed the system’s financial problems to declining enrollment, a tuition freeze and continuously decreasing appropriations from the state. UMaine System Chancellor James Page recently asked Maine businesses to help the system lobby the state Legislature for more adequate education funding.
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