UMaine System's free tuition initiative is boosting enrollment

Courtesy / University of Maine System Chart showing enrollment increases within the University of Maine System this year.

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By Staff

The University of Maine System reported Tuesday that its initiatives to put more students on an affordable path to a college degree and a career in Maine are already seeing results.

Enrollment is up 2.5% this fall, increasing the student population of the UMaine System by 738 students.

One-third of the enrollment increase can be directly attributed to another record year of out-of-state enrollment, with 5,972 non-residents students attending UMaine campuses this fall. Maine’s tuition advantage compared to other states, coupled with the quality of the university programs, were cited by the UMaine System as key reasons for the record number of out-of-state enrollments.

Another factor cited is the UMaine System’s “Promise Initiative,” which was launched a year ago. That program enabled 477 qualifying first-year Maine students to attend college without paying tuition or mandatory fees: 283 of these students received a “promise award” that covers the difference between grants and scholarships and the cost of tuition and fees; the remaining 194 first-year students were eligible for a promise award but did not have any tuition or fee expenses remaining after grants and scholarships had been applied to their accounts.

The initiative targets first-year Maine students enrolled at the Universities of Maine at Augusta, Fort Kent, Machias, and Presque Isle who demonstrate the greatest financial need as determined by eligibility for a federal Pell grant. Students who make satisfactory progress toward four-year graduation and remain eligible for the federal Pell grant will continue to receive promise award support until they earn their first degree.

UMA’s promise award, the Pine Tree State Pledge, is also available to transfer and part-time students to meet the needs of adult, career-focused students who can access education at the Augusta or Bangor campuses, UMA centers across the state, or through online programming.

Among the students benefiting from a promise award is Clair Hemphill, an 18-year-old from Fort Fairfield who started at the University of Maine at Presque Isle this fall. She is the first member of her immediate family to go to college and is attending UMPI without tuition or fee expense with the help of the Promise Initiative. She is living at home to save on expenses and plans to become a classroom teacher in Maine upon graduation.

“If I continue with this program, I’ll be able to graduate college debt-free,” Hemphill said in a UMaine System news release. “To be able to avoid debt is a huge opportunity.”

Waivers, scholarship awards and financial aid

Another 764 Maine students are attending Maine’s universities with the support of waivers and scholarship awards that cover tuition and fees. UMaine’s Top Scholar Award, for example, is covering tuition and fees for 63 Maine students enrolled this fall.

Other examples include the Native American Waiver and Education Program, the Veterans Dependent Waiver, Tuition Waiver for Children of Firefighters and Law Enforcement Officers Killed in the Line of Duty, and Tuition Waivers for Persons in Foster Care.

The UMaine System reported that it’s also working to keep college affordable for all Maine families, in part by increases in financial aid that help lower student loan debt.

The system awarded financial aid to 23,948 students in the 2017-18 academic year, with an average aid award of $12,096, a 0.4% increase in students served and a 1.8% increase in the average aid award. Total financial aid awarded across the system was $289.7 million in 2017-18, a $6.2 million (2.2%) increase compared to the prior year.

Scholarships, grants, and waivers accounted for 55% of aid awarded and work study constituted 2%.

How campuses are meeting the challenge

Here are some examples of how the campuses are using scholarships and other financial incentives to boost in-state enrollment:

171 adult degree completion scholarships awarded to state residents this fall who are among the nearly 200,000 Maine adults who have earned some college credits but have not yet earned their first college degree.
The University of Southern Maine has invested more than $16 million in recent years into financial aid and scholarships, providing aid to 90% of its students and lowering the average loan per student for three years in a row. Nineteen USM students are enrolled as Promise Scholars, a scholarship that covers half the cost of tuition.
The University of Maine at Farmington is strategically investing in financial aid to bolster resources that can help keep high-achieving Maine students in state and on a path to a Maine career: 93% of UMF students receive financial aid and the institution is able to meet 86% of demonstrated need of those applying for financial aid. UMF has also established an emergency funding program with the generous support of alumni, faculty, and staff to help students whose completion pathway to graduation comes under financial threat.
The University of Maine offers some form of financial aid to 99% of its students and has doubled its Maine Matters Awards. Among its many scholarships and financial aid innovations is the Maine Match Program which commits to review and match the net cost of attendance offered to Maine residents by competing New England land grant institutions.
The University of Maine at Presque Isle offers a unique program to students with financial need who are not Pell grant eligible. UMPI's For Maine Families Award provides eligible Maine students with an expected family contribution of $20,000 or less, but who are not Pell-eligible, to receive a significant reduction of their tuition and fees by applying $3,084 or more in financial aid grants and awards.

"Maine's universities are keeping more Maine residents here at home and attracting record numbers of out-of-state students to our state," said James H. Page, Chancellor of the University of Maine System. "With voter support for the University Workforce Bond we will help put even more students on a path to a Maine career and help address critical workforce challenges like the nursing shortage."