To the editor:
As summer started, the University of Maine System announced it had achieved its highest summer enrollment since 2011.
Driving this exciting growth in enrollment and economic opportunity are our System’s County-based institutions, which have expanded accessible and affordable offerings for students in the summer.
As I write this, enrollment in the University of Maine at Presque Isle’s summer courses is up more than 30 percent over this same time last year and more than 350 percent over five years ago. Primarily because of its wildly popular YourPace online adult degree completion program, there are more than 2,000 students making progress toward their door-opening degree through UMPI this summer.
Meanwhile, the University of Maine at Fort Kent has more than 400 students enrolled this summer, the most since 2017. These summer gains have been driven by enrollment in UMFK’s graduate programs. Three years ago, UMFK had seven graduate students taking summer courses. Today, there are more than 100 taking high-quality master’s- or doctoral-level nursing courses that prepare students — many of whom are already working in healthcare and seeking to improve their career and earning opportunities — to deliver compassionate, competent patient care to our aging population.
Dozens of Maine high school students are also taking early college courses through UMPI and UMFK this summer, which means they are getting a head start on their postsecondary education and will be able to enter the workforce more quickly and at a lower cost.
I am proud that our public universities in The County continue to lead our System and the state in making higher education accessible and relevant. While it’s true that many of their summer students are taking classes online and may not visit Fort Kent and Presque Isle, their enrollment ensures these local campuses remain available to those in the surrounding communities who do rely on them for education, enrichment and employment.
Dannel P. Malloy
Bangor
Chancellor, University of Maine System
