Students who take Early College (EC) classes within the University of Maine System (UMS) enroll at a rate that is about 12% higher than students with no EC courses. This is consistent with multiple national studies, which estimate that EC students are, on average, between 6.7 to 7.4 times more likely to enroll in college than students who do not have EC courses (An & Taylor, 2019). These data support the conclusion that EC is an important tool to raise aspirations and create a college-going culture among Maine’s High School students.
EC courses also help build a bridge between Maine’s high schools and public universities. This is supported by the data that show that if students participate in EC at UMS, they will matriculate at a rate that is 15% higher than non-participants. This benefits students in multiple ways including low cost access to high quality universities, ensuring course transferability, knowledge and understanding of how to use UMS technology (MaineStreet, Brightspace, etc.), and a built in connection to the university through the EC Administrators. Students who participate in pathway and certificate programs will also have a jump-start towards completion of an academic major.
* Exclusions include students still enrolled in UMS Early College as of following fall term (as of October 15) and students who were under the age of 18 as of October 15 in the following fall term.
** Adjusted cohort is the initial count of Early College participants less exclusions.
EC Fall College Enrollment After High School Graduation (as of Oct. 15)
| High School Grad Year | Total EC Students (Unduplicated) | Exclusions (Under 18 or still in high school) | Adjusted Cohort** | Enrolled in UMS | Enrolled Elsewhere | Total Enrolled | No Record Found*** |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 1,693 | 658 | 1,035 | 329 | 401 | 730 | 305 |
| 2016 | 2,375 | 959 | 1,416 | 471 | 561 | 1,032 | 384 |
| 2017 | 2,764 | 1,189 | 1,575 | 529 | 631 | 1,160 | 415 |
| 2018 | 2,956 | 1,268 | 1,688 | 575 | 659 | 1,234 | 454 |
| 2019 | 3,673 | 1,734 | 1,939 | 706 | 732 | 1,438 | 501 |
| 2020 | 4,777 | 2,303 | 2,474 | 877 | ***** | ***** | ***** |
*** Includes students with no enrollment record found either in UMS Census files or National Student Clearinghouse files.
**** Source: Maine Department of Education, NSC Student Tracker Report – 2019 (External PDF).
***** Data for enrollment outside of the UMS as of October 15, 2020 will be available January 1, 2021.