University of Maine System Trustees yesterday approved an in-state tuition freeze for the upcoming academic year, marking the first time tuition has remained flat in 25 years. The last year-to-year tuition freeze was in 1987, according to a press release.
The trustees also approved a new set of goals and actions to boost the system’s efforts in program development, work force development and cost control, according to a press release. They approved a directive to form business partnerships and collaborations to better align academic and certificate programs with the state’s work force needs, an ongoing objective, as well as a new initiative to provide more flexible course scheduling and online courses to serve working adults.
Trustees also approved expanding the Wise Lab of Environmental & Genetic Toxicology in Portland; establishing a new master of laws one-year professional degree program at the University of Maine School of Law in Portland for educating foreign lawyers; and demolishing outdated apartment buildings at UMaine’s University Park. The goals are the result of several months of work by trustees, staff and university presidents, according to the release.
