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More than 280,000 people in Maine started a higher education program but didn’t finish. These people, which represent more than a third of the state’s workforce, may have incurred debt but aren’t getting the benefits of a college or university degree or certificate.
One analysis found that students who took out loans to attend college but didn’t finish their studies are three times as likely to default on their loans, earn lower incomes throughout their lives, and have higher rates of unemployment. This is bad for the individuals and for the state.
The University of Maine System is launching a new program to encourage adults in Maine to return to college. Called Finish Strong, the new program will offer reduced cost courses and other financial incentives. It will be offered through the University of Maine, University of Maine at Machias and University of Maine at Fort Kent beginning next spring.
“There are over 280,000 individuals in Maine who began their pursuit of a college degree but never completed their studies,” Scott Marzilli, UMaine’s associate provost for student success and innovation, said in a recent press release. “Providing a pathway for these adults to complete their bachelor’s degrees would provide them with the specialized knowledge and skills they need to get promotions, advance their careers, and earn higher incomes.”
Nationally, more than 40 million Americans have some college education but no degree. That’s more than 17 percent of the country’s adult population. During the 2020-21 academic year, about 865,000 of these people had re-enrolled in a college or university and more than 53,000 earned a degree or credential. These numbers were down from prior years, likely because of the pandemic, according to a report from the National Student Clearinghouse Research Center.
As nearly every state, including Maine, has launched campaigns to increase the number of their residents with college degrees or credentials, returning these “some college, no credential” students to the classroom can be an important part of these efforts. Maine’s goal is to have 60 percent of its population with a degree or credential of value to the state’s businesses and industry by 2025. Currently, 55 percent of Mainers have such credentials.
Clearly, some people in some professions do very well without higher education. But, on the whole, people who hold a bachelor’s degree earn 84 percent more over their lifetime than those whose education ended with high school, according to The College Payoff, a Georgetown University project. Those with an associate degree earned a third more than those with only a high school diploma.
Further, the bulk of new American jobs are going to people with college degrees or other post-secondary credentials.
“When they earn their degree and have this specialized knowledge and skills, hopefully they can get jobs that they may not otherwise be qualified for. Perhaps they can get promotions within their current employment [and] really advance their careers, and ultimately, hopefully, earn … a higher income,” John Volin, provost for UMaine and UMaine at Machias, told Maine Public.
The new UMaine program hopes to encourage people who have taken college courses or who have an associate degree to complete a bachelor’s degree.
Students who sign up for online courses or in-person classes at the three campuses will receive a scholarship of up to $300 to participate. After registering for their first course, the second one will be free of charge.
All Finish Strong students will be given an adviser within the program. The university also will expand the reach of an English language learning institute currently based at the UMaine campus in Orono to Portland, in part to encourage people who are new to Maine and the United States to participate in the program. The university system estimates that there are more than 50,000 immigrants in Maine who could benefit from the program.
The program is funded through a $750,000 grant from the university system and should run for two years, although UMaine is hopeful that it can continue it for longer.
As the state continues to face a shortage of workers, this program can boost our economy while building skills and opportunities for thousands of Mainers.