UMaine System trustees OK budget as shared accreditation becomes official

Courtesy / University of Maine Unified accreditation for the University of Maine System, whose flagship university in Orono is shown here, "will cause us to work more closely together as universities to make sure we're meeting the needs of the people of Maine," UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy told Mainebiz.

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By Renee Cordes

University of Maine System trustees on Friday conditionally approved the fiscal year 2021 budget without any COVID-19-related tuition or fee increases. The University of Maine System and the New England Commission of Higher Education also announced that on July 1, UMaine's system-wide accreditation will become effective.

The budget proposal discussed by trustees included a $5.69 million shortfall for the fiscal year starting July 1, or about 1% of the $559 million spending plan. But the but budget did not include a long-planned inflation-adjusted tuition adjustment.

Friday's resolution conditionally approving the budget passed by a vote of 13 to 1, with student trustee Trevor Hustus voting against.

Pandemic-related closings are expected to cost Maine's seven public universities more than $20 million in lost event revenue, student safety allowances in dining and residence hall operations and investments in technology and safety equipment and supplies.

“The expenses and uncertainty of COVID-19 has created unprecedented budget challenges for Maine’s public universities,” said University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy in a news release. “While there is work yet to do, today’s vote by the board makes it clear that students and their families will not face a tuition increase this fall related to the costs of COVID-19."

Separately on Friday, the University of Maine System and the New England Commission of Higher Education announced that the accrediting body had voted to grant system-wide accreditation, a move that unifies the currently separate accreditations of its member universities.

“The commission commends the University of Maine System and its seven universities for their deep commitment to ensuring high quality, accessible, and affordable higher education to the people of Maine,” said NECHE President Barbara Brittingham in a news release. “The commission looks forward to working with the system and its universities to implement their unified accreditation model successfully.”

In an "On the Record" interview with Mainebiz published Monday in the latest print edition, Malloy said that unified accreditation "will cause us to work more closely together as universities to make sure we’re meeting the needs of the people of Maine."

He added: "We’re going to see ourselves not as a member of a team that wears a different color, or has a different mascot, but that we’re on Team Maine, and we need to work together to bring the best results to Maine."