PRIORITY NOTICE from the Maine Department of Education: New Lifetime Credit Eligibility for Maine Aspirations Program
Dear Champions of Education,
The Aspirations Program allows publicly-funded high school students and registered home-instruction students to take college classes tuition-free. This program is vital to encouraging college aspirations and post-secondary credential attainment in Maine.
In order to make this possible, the University of Maine System (UMS) and the Maine Community College System (MCCS) waive most student fees and a portion of tuition costs. The collaboration between UMS and MCCS, as well as the open-access policies supported by both systems, makes it possible for high school students in Maine to access Maine’s participating public institutions with one shared application portal. Maine’s Aspirations Program is one of the most generous and accessible programs nationwide.
Because of these innovative policies and practices, in the 2024 school year, more than 10,000 eligible high school students were able to enroll in courses to earn tuition-free college credits. While the program and its defining statute have provided 12 credits per year for each eligible student, the program is not able to support current enrollment levels. The Maine DOE, UMS, and MCCS are committed to supporting and continuing this activity. However, we must also ensure sustainability; activity has exceeded the funding allocated for the Aspirations Program for the past several years.
Our priority is ensuring that this opportunity is as widely available as possible for Maine students who want to take a college course. The tension between student access and fiscal sustainability of this program has been an ongoing issue. School counselors, secondary administrators, and education association leaders in Maine who advised both the Maine Early College Report (2022) and the LD 1880 early college stakeholder group (2023) agreed that a lifetime credit cap for the Aspirations Program would help to address the fiscal issue and promote intentional course selection.
For these reasons, beginning with the Class of 2027 (current high school sophomores), each student will be able to access a total of 18 tuition-free college credits through the Aspirations Program. The annual limit for eligible students will remain at 12 tuition-free credits, and students will be limited to a lifetime total of 18 credits. The one exception to the 18-credit lifetime limit will be CTE students in designated early college career pathways, as many of those programs have corequisite course requirements. Students in approved CTE pathways will be able to access a total of 24 tuition-free college credits.
Students who choose to take courses beyond the lifetime cap may apply for additional credits as self-pay students at the Early College tuition rates set by UMS and MCCS.
For more information please contact:
- Jason Libby, Maine Department of Education (jason.libby@maine.gov)
- Amy Hubbard, Executive Director of Early College, University of Maine System (amy.l.hubbard@maine.edu)
- Mercedes Pour, Director of College Access & Secondary Partnerships, Maine Community College System (mpour@mainecc.edu)
Thank you.
Sent February 11, 2025