As a public institution, the University of Maine System (UMS) must comply with state and federal laws and policies. 

As changes occur, the responsible UMS offices including the Office of General Counsel and other stakeholders across the System review such changes to understand the potential impacts on our universities and provide practical guidance to our campus communities.

Given the volume of Executive Orders and federal agency directives released by the new administration that may affect our public universities, the System has created this page to provide updates and reliable resources as they become available and are relevant with UMS faculty, staff, and students. Be aware, however, that these resources may not always include the most current or completely accurate information. 

Please know that during this transition, directives from the federal government are coming quickly and their guidance has been subject to change, including as a result of court action. 

We encourage you to visit this page frequently for the latest updates and to reach out to your supervisor or appropriate university or System administrators if you have questions that are not adequately addressed with these resources. 

Helpful Resources

Latest Updates

Thursday, Feb. 6 — The NCAA, of which multiple UMS universities are members, announced its Board of Governors has voted to update the Association’s participation policy for transgender student-athletes following the President’s Feb. 5, 2025 Executive Order. 

Wednesday, Feb. 5 — The President has issued a new Executive Order related to women’s and girls’ participation in sports, which is directed at federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Education. Multiple UMS universities are members of the NCAA, which has issued a statement in response to the order that reads, in part, that the organization “will take necessary steps to align NCAA policy in the coming days, subject to further guidance from the administration.” 

Monday, Feb. 3 — The Association of Public & Land-Grant Universities (APLU), of which the University of Maine is a member, has released an updated overview of federal Executive Orders (PDF) with a focus on those most relevant to institutions of higher education that may be of interest to the UMS community. 

Friday, Jan. 31 — A federal court has issued a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) directing federal grant-making agencies to “…not pause, freeze, impede, block, cancel, or terminate… awards and obligations to provide federal financial assistance to the States, and… not impede the States’ access to such awards and obligations, except on the basis of the applicable authorizing statutes, regulations, and terms.” As the Court’s Order reflects, the above terms are temporary as litigation in the case is ongoing.

Friday, Jan. 31 — The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) has announced it will enforce Title IX under the provisions of the 2020 Title IX Rule, rather than the 2024 Title IX Rule. Resources from the U.S. Department of Education pertaining to the 2020 Title IX Rule, now applicable again, are available here. 

Wednesday, Jan. 29 — The President has issued a new Executive Order related to combating anti-Semitism at schools and on university and college campuses. While the order is directed at federal agencies including the U.S. Department of Education, UMS is reviewing the order to determine any direct impacts to our universities and will issue relevant internal guidance if necessary. 

Wednesday, Jan. 29 — The President has issued a new Executive Order related to K-12  education. Because the order references teacher education, UMS is reviewing it to determine any potential impacts to our universities including UMS educator preparation programs and will issue relevant internal guidance if necessary. 

Wednesday, Jan. 29 — The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has notified federal agencies and executive departments that it had rescinded a previous order that required them to “temporarily pause all activities related to obligations or disbursement of all federal financial assistance.” The OMB recision follows a court-ordered temporary stay on the order but the White House has reinforced the President’s Executive Orders remain in effect. 

Wednesday, Jan. 29 — In response to questions from members of the UMS community, guidance has been provided to the Presidents that can be customized with information specific to their university related to immigration enforcement and then shared internally.

Thursday, Jan. 23 — The U.S. Department of Education has announced action the agency is taking to comply with the Executive Order related to diversity, equity, and inclusion and reverse policies and practices of previous administrations. This includes, but is not limited to, the dissolution of the Department’s Diversity & Inclusion Council and plans to remove more than 200 web pages from the Department’s website that housed DEI resources and encouraged institutions of higher education to promote DEI programs.

Monday, Jan. 20 — The new U.S. President has issued a number of Executive Orders that may impact UMS universities. The American Council on Education, of which UMS is a member, is tracking and analyzing Executive Orders here. The System and university stakeholders are reviewing all orders, including those related to :

Helpful Resources

  • UMS Federal Funding Overview: In FY24, the University of Maine System received $226.1 million in federal funds. This included $137.8 million in federal student financial aid, including federal Pell Grants ($35.8 million), federal student loan funding ($92.2 million), and federal work-study ($3.3 million); $87.9 million in federal grants, contracts, appropriations; and $355,000 in pandemic-related relief. Please note that the grants and contracts figure reflects federal revenues actually recognized in the System’s FY24 financial statements and not all awards issued or pass-through funds. 
  • Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) Guidance and Training: FERPA is a long-standing federal law that protects the privacy of a student’s educational records by ensuring a student’s personally identifiable information may not be shared unless the student consents or certain exceptions apply.  FERPA guidance most relevant to UMS may be found here (External Site). Additionally, UMS employees are expected to annually take UMS FERPA training, which can be found in UMS Academy. 
  • Federally Funded Research Impacts: To assist all UMS Principal Investigators (PIs), the University of Maine Office of Research Administration has created this web page (External Site) to provide timely updates specific to federally funded research activities.
  • UMS Employee Assistance Program: Employees and members of their households may access assistance online or at 1-866-365-0829 (TRS: Dial 711).
  • The State Higher Education Executive Officers (SHEEO), of which UMS is a member, provides a Daily Higher Education Policy Update newsletter that may be a helpful resource to those tracking higher education policy matters. To sign up, visit this web page (External Site). 
  • UMS Office of General Counsel: Faculty and staff may contact the Office of General Counsel at generalcounsel@maine.edu or (207) 581-5841 if their information needs are not fully addressed with these resources.