May 4, 2022
Public-private partnership will double nursing program capacity
AUGUSTA, ME – Maine’s community colleges are adding new night and weekend nursing programs, expanding the number of seats available, and ultimately doubling the number of nursing graduates, thanks to $2.5 million in new state funding that is being matched by the state’s two largest healthcare providers.
The new state allocation was included in the supplemental budget signed by Governor Janet Mills on April 20.
“Some of our nursing programs have hundreds of applicants that are turned away because classes are full. At the same time, demand for nurses is at a crisis level. This expansion is key to increasing the number of skilled nurses in Maine,” said David Daigler, president of the Maine Community College System (MCCS). “We are so grateful for the state’s investment in nursing, and to our longtime, valued partners, MaineHealth and Northern Light Health.”
The $2.5 million, matched by the healthcare providers, allows Maines’ community colleges to double the number of nursing program graduates from approximately 240 people per year to 480 per year.
Northern Light Health and MaineHealth are matching the state’s $2.5 million.
“Northern Light Health welcomes partnering with the Maine community college nursing programs along with MaineHealth to increase the number of nursing graduates,” Northern Light Health President and CEO Tim Dentry said. “While Maine has made progress increasing nursing education capacity, we continue to be challenged by a shortage of nurses who are needed to meet patient care needs throughout Maine. This immediate action will show results; the most exciting thing is this will open doors to the great profession of nursing to so many people.”
MaineHealth Chief Executive Officer Andy Mueller, M.D., agreed the effort would help.
“These funds to expand the nursing programs in the Maine Community College System are a significant investment in addressing the nursing shortage in our state. Training the next generation of nurses and providing the educational support to help them succeed in this important career path is a win-win for everyone,” Mueller said.
Among the highlights of the planned nursing expansion:
- Central Maine Community College: Adding 40 new nursing students annually, by using the existing lab space on nights and weekends. Hiring eight new nursing faculty, simulation tech and simulation coordinator positions.
- Eastern Maine Community College: Adding 12 new students at WCCC, up to 12 new students at Pen Bay Medical Center in Rockport, and another 24 new students in expanded summer start and evening programs. Hiring two full-time faculty, two adjunct faculty, and simulation lab staff. Purchasing equipment.
- Kennebec Valley Community College: Adding eight new students in fall 2022, and an additional eight students in fall 2023, for a total of 56 seats. Hiring additional faculty and a clinical coordinator.
- Northern Maine Community College: Adding eight new students in 2022-2023, and an additional eight students in 2023-2024, for a total of 48 seats. Hiring additional nursing faculty members, a simulation operations specialist, and purchasing additional equipment for the simulation laboratory. Adding support for students to increase retention.
- Southern Maine Community College: Adding 42 new students in a new evening nursing program at the South Portland campus, and hiring six new nursing instructors. Doubling nursing capacity at the Midcoast Campus in Brunswick, with a new nursing cohort starting every year instead of every other year.
- Washington County Community College: Building a new WCCC nursing program while partnering with EMCC to provide an opportunity for a cohort of 12 students starting next academic year. Hiring at least two new nursing instructors, and immediately adding a new health occupational certificate program to prepare future nursing students to enter the new WCCC program. The new nursing program anticipated launch date is 2023 at the Calais location.
- York County Community College: Launching new nursing program with 32 seats in fall 2022. Hiring four full-time faculty.
The nursing programs at Maine’s community colleges are top-ranked, with EMCC recently ranked as #2 in the Northeast for two-year nursing programs by NursingProcess.org. Our colleges consistently post among the highest pass rates on the NCLEX, the national licensing exam. The seven colleges also offer many other healthcare programs, training medical assistants, physical therapy assistants, community mental health workers, child care and gerontology specialists, front-office staff, and more.
April 21, 2022
AUGUSTA, ME – Maine’s community colleges are now offering up to two years of tuition-free college to all high school graduates from 2020-23 under the new Free College initiative funded in the supplemental budget signed Wednesday by Governor Janet Mills.
“This is a historic moment for Maine,” said Maine Community College System (MCCS) President David Daigler. “There is nothing more important that giving someone the tools and education they need to pursue their dreams and build a better life. Free College will help those people most in need, and boost our communities and state economy with more skilled workers earning good paychecks.”
The supplemental budget includes a one-time $20 million allocation for free college. To qualify for the Free College Scholarship, students must have a high school diploma or equivalent from 2020-23, enroll full-time in an associate degree program or one-year credential, live in Maine while enrolled, and accept all federal and state grants, scholarships and other funding sources.
Free college is “extremely beneficial for Maine students,” said student Makenzie Cowles, a human services major at Southern Maine Community College in South Portland. “It allows people to have more opportunities to grow into a field of work that helps our society. It gives students like myself, who struggle financially, the access to achieve our goals and build successful lives. It also gives us the chance to fully establish ourselves in Maine as participating community members.”
Current community colleges students can qualify for the program as well. Home schooled students and adult learners who earned a GED or Hi-SET also qualify.
“These funds will translate immediately into more young people getting a debt-free, strong start on an education that will benefit them for the rest of their lives,” Daigler said.
The Free College Scholarship is offered in addition to multiple other tuition waiver or free college opportunities at Maine’s community colleges, such as free early college classes for Maine high school students; free short-term workforce training programs; and tuition waivers for adult education students, service members or veterans; students from foster care; Native Americans from regional tribes; low-income parents; senior citizens; and children or spouses of Maine public servants killed in the line of duty.
The average annual cost of tuition and fees at Maine’s community colleges is $3,700.
April 20, 2022
$20M pays for up to two years tuition for HS Classes of 2020-23; $2.5M doubles nursing grads
AUGUSTA, ME – Maine Community College System (MCCS) President David Daigler issued the following statement today about Governor Janet Mills signing the supplemental budget.
“What a great day for Maine’s graduating high school students! This historic budget includes critical state support for MCCS, funding up to two years of tuition-free community college to recent high school graduates and a nursing expansion plan that will double the number of graduates from our top-ranked nursing programs,” President Daigler said.
“These high school students in particular deserve a break. The pandemic completely upended their high school experience, and many put their future on hold because of uncertainty over the pandemic. Being able to get back on track—tuition-free—is an incredible opportunity,” Daigler said. “We need more skilled workers, and students with degrees command higher salaries, particularly in a tight labor market.”
“The pandemic also highlighted and compounded the severe nursing shortage in the state. This state support will translate immediately to expanded training that will deliver more skilled nurses to our health care system.”
The budget includes $20 million for free college and $2.5 million to expand the system’s six nursing programs.
Students are eligible for the Free College Scholarship if they are a high school graduate or equivalent from the Classes of 2020-23, enroll full-time to pursue an associate degree or academic credential, live in Maine while enrolled, and accept all federal and state grants, scholarships and other funding sources.
March 30, 2022
Forgives up to $2,000 in past debt for each returning student
AUGUSTA, ME – Maine’s community colleges are launching a new debt forgiveness program that eliminates up to $2,000 in student debt for all former students.
The Maine Community College System (MCCS) Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve the change at their meeting Wednesday at the Augusta Civic Center.
“It’s time to come back and finish what you started,” said Janet Sortor, chief academic officer and vice president of MCCS. “These students have already proven they can succeed academically. They just need a little help getting over the finish line.”
The new program takes effect immediately.
“We want our students to succeed, and this is a great way to welcome them back and help them complete their degree or certificate without being burdened by student debt,” MCCS President David Daigler said. “We do everything possible to make Maine’s community college affordable. We have the lowest tuition in New England. We distribute more than $50 million a year in grants and scholarships. We provide emergency funds to students when needed. This debt forgiveness program is one more chance to show our students we believe in them and support them.”
Former MCCS students can take advantage of the “Return, Resume, Reward” small debt forgiveness program if they owe no more than $2,000, it has been at least two years since they attended a Maine community college, they enroll in at least six credits, and they maintain good academic standing.
A student’s past debt is set aside during the program, and half of the past debt (up to $1,000) is forgiven after the first semester. The second half is forgiven after the second semester.
Several of the system’s seven colleges have had an unofficial debt forgiveness program in place, allowing a student to re-enroll or access college services despite a small debt. This formalizes the process for all the colleges.
Tuition at Maine’s community colleges is $96 per credit, and the average cost of tuition and fees for a year of full-time study is $3,700.
Since the pandemic began, the colleges have distributed $24.5 million in federal pandemic relief funds directly to students for emergency aid, and the colleges have used almost $1 million in institutional pandemic relief funds to clear debts incurred by students during the pandemic. In addition, The Foundation for Maine’s Community Colleges distributed $1 million in scholarships last fall.
Also Wednesday, the trustees were briefed on the details of $8.5 million in recent federal appropriations for Maine’s community colleges:
- $4,000,000 for Eastern Maine Community College’s Katahdin Region Economic, Community, and Family Development project, expanding child care for EMCC students.
- $1,000,000 for Northern Maine Community College’s Mechanized Logging Operations Training Program
- $988,000 for Northern Maine Community College’s Expansion of Safety Training for Wind Turbine Technicians
- $1,000,000 for Southern Maine Community College’s Accelerated and Expanded Manufacturing Training
- $977,000 for the Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center’s Building the Next Generation of Maine’s Seafood Workforce at Washington County Community College and Southern Maine Community College
- &567,000 for Northern Maine Community College’s electrical construction and maintenance program.
“We will use these funds to add new tools for teaching logging, wind power and aquaculture, debut a new mobile lab to take our welding program on the road to where it’s needed most, and increase access to child care in the Katahdin region,” Daigler said.
“This is an incredible investment that will pay off for decades.”
March 16, 2022
We’ve known for a while that the Maine Community College System and its students are capable of impressive things, but we’ll admit not knowing it was such a basketball powerhouse. Not until now, that is.
Two Maine schools, Central Maine Community College (CMCC) and Southern Maine Community College (SMCC), are now home to national champion basketball teams. The CMCC women’s team and SMCC men’s team both took home U.S. Collegiate Athletic Association Division II championships last Thursday.
It is the third time in five years that the CMCC women are national champions. As reported by the Lewiston Sun Journal, the team from Auburn featured 16 new players and worked to overcome some challenges early in the season.
“It’s been really fun and interesting because we’re all so young,” freshman Emily Strachan told the Sun Journal. “I expected to go all the way, and I think all of us did, but I think some other teams didn’t. We had some challenges along the way. Some issues with the team, right in the beginning we had some stupid girl stuff, but we got through it all and we pulled it out.”
Well, there’s nothing stupid about a national title.
“It feels really, really good to be home,” CMCC head coach Andrew Morong told the Sun Journal. “This title is very special because it came with a lot of adversity. There were a lot of peaks and valleys along the way, and there was a lot of stress, a lot of triumph, and this one was special. It was special because it was earned, down to the itty-bitty details.”
While national championships seem to be something of a habit for the CMCC women, the SMCC men’s victory is the first team championship in SMCC’s 76-year history as a school (the South Portland College previously had several other names, including Southern Maine Technical College).
“I give all the credit to our players, who have been unselfish and bought into our team concept all year,” Matt Richards, SMCC coach and athletic director, told TV station WGME. “This is a great honor for Southern Maine Community College to bring home a championship to the state of Maine.”
School president Joe Cassidy highlighted the historic nature of the moment for the entire school.
“We are so proud of all of our student-athletes and their success on the court and in the classroom,” Cassidy said.
All of Maine should be proud of these recent successes from two Maine community colleges. With so much upheaval and uncertainty around the world right now, fun news like this could get lost in the shuffle. It’s March and it seems there’s madness all across the globe. A cynical person might even dismiss basketball as inconsequential compared to, say, the worrisome risk of nuclear war.
But what better time to hold up and hold on to the moments of hope and inspiration? It certainly is not the fault of these impressive student athletes that the world is terrible while they are doing great things. They should enjoy their accomplishments, and so should the rest of Maine.
February 14, 2022
In Auburn on Friday, Mills laid out the case for students to attend two-year colleges for free.
AUBURN – More than a dozen students at Central Maine Community College offered the same adjective to describe a new proposal from Gov. Janet Mills to make community college free for many students: “Great.”
Myah Nicholas of Lewiston even called it both “a great idea” and “a great opportunity” for students who might otherwise go straight from high school to a job.
Whatever legislators may think about the governor’s $20 million proposal, community college leaders and students expressed strong support for it Friday during an appearance at the Auburn campus to promote her initiative.
“It will have a really positive impact not only on this campus but systemwide,” said William Cassidy, who chairs the board of the Maine Community College System.
He said it “meant a good deal” that the governor chose to push the plan on the first day after she announced it during Thursday’s State of the State speech.
Mills’ plan would provide up to two years of free community college for students who graduated in 2020 or later, at least through the class of 2023. That’s worth as much as $3,800 annually for students at today’s tuition rate.
Under the plan, eligible, full-time students would first apply for grants and scholarships. The state would take off whatever their remaining bill is.
Not everybody’s on board with the idea, which requires legislative approval.
The executive director of the Maine Republican Party, Jason Savage, said Friday that “given that Janet Mills’ school lockdowns deeply hurt students and parents’ mental, emotional and financial health, any of her election-year proposals funded by federal funny money should be met with extreme skepticism.”
Sarah Poli, a student from Benton, said the governor’s proposal would help out many “students who are struggling” and who need the extra money to make it possible to earn their degrees or certification.
Though she and others said community colleges are already affordable for many, “even if it’s super cheap, it will be a burden” for some, said Demarco McKissic, a student from Laconia, New Hampshire.
Mills said she deliberately focused on young students whose education was disrupted by the pandemic.
“We need these people in our workforce,” she said, “and we need them as soon as possible.”
Maine Community College President David Daigler said the pandemic has driven many low-income students out of the system as they’ve struggled financially and with other hardships related to COVID-19. Offering to make it free for them to return, he said, will likely spur some to come back.
He said he anticipates about 8,000 young people will take up the offer if the Legislature gives its backing to the plan.
Mills said she hopes it will succeed and become a permanent program in Maine.
In the fall, Maine’s community colleges enrolled more than 15,000 students statewide, but only a third of them attend full-time.
Daigler said it is a “bold step” to invest in students who “had their education stymied” by the pandemic but one that will pay off by sending debt-free graduates into a variety of careers that require the skills they can acquire at community college.
Christine Kendall, CEO of Auburn-based H.E. Callahan Construction Co., said her industry is desperate for new carpenters, plumbers and electricians, some of the trades that community colleges churn out.
“We need young minds,” she said, that can spur innovation in everything from offshore wind to high-tech medical facilities.
Having more financial assistance would provide greater incentive for Maine’s young people to stay in the state, said Calder Horowitz, a student from Burlington, Vermont, who said he came to CMCC “to play basketball and go to an awesome school.”
Mills and Daigler said students who come to Maine’s community colleges from other states may also quality if they indicate they will stay in the Pine Tree State.
Mills told a group of high school students touring the Auburn campus they should consider attending.
“This is a great location,” the governor said, “near most everything you’d like to get to,” including some good fishing spots.
“All you’ve got to do is give it your all,” Mills told the students.
Spotting some other students collecting canned goods for a food pantry, Mills thanked them for their efforts, then apologized she had nothing to contribute.
“I should have brought you stuff from the Blaine House,” Mills said.
The $20 million community college spending plan is expected to be a key provision in the supplemental budget proposal that Mills said she will likely provide to the Legislature next week.
The plan will also suggest keeping tuition hikes in check for students in the University of Maine system and a revision in the Opportunity Maine Tax Credit to make it easier for Mainers with student debt to get some relief.
January 7, 2022
Maine adults seeking to pursue college have a new option to jumpstart their education, with support from their local Maine adult education program. A new partnership between the Maine Community College System (MCCS) and the Maine Department of Education (DOE) will offer tuition-free college courses to Maine’s adult education students.
Maine adult education programs have supported adult students in their transition to college and career through the Maine College and Career Access program for almost twenty years. This new opportunity expands upon that idea by allowing adult education students to take a college course with the full support of their adult education program mentors so they can develop the habits, skills, and confidence to succeed in college.
“Maine’s adult education programs have assisted thousands of Maine adults in making a successful transition to college,” said Maine Education Commissioner Pender Makin. “This new partnership with the Maine community college system takes it to the next level by giving students the chance to try a college course with the support they need. We are excited to see the impact it makes for our adult education students.”
Adult education programs will work with adult students to select a course at the community college that is appropriate for their college and career goals, and then support the student as they complete the course. The goal is that they will continue their education once the course is completed.
“This is an opportunity for us to encourage and connect with adult students throughout Maine,” said MCCS President Dave Daigler. “The hope is that students can choose courses that align with their individual career goals and that we can help provide that motivation and support to continue on once they complete their adult education program.”
Tuition and fees for the courses are being generously provided by the Maine Community College System while the Maine Department of Education’s Office of Adult Education will provide textbooks and course materials for students.
Adult students interested in this program will need to be enrolled in a Maine Adult Education program to take advantage of the opportunity. Adults (with or without a high school diploma) who would like help achieving their educational and career goals can contact their local adult education program for next steps.
November 19, 2021
PORTLAND (WGME) — As health care providers struggle with staffing shortages, some are hoping that a big boost in community college funding will help.
A Maine State Senator will propose an extra $2.5 million to go to the system for its nursing program.
Currently, about 230 nurses graduate from the system each year. The bill would help double that number.
Rebekah Hilt is studying to become a nurse at Southern Maine Community College. She says she wanted a smaller class size after initially going to a larger university. More»
November 10, 2021
Southern Maine Community College has announced it opened a new virtual welding lab that allows students to perform welding exercises on simulators while learning valuable skills to advance or launch their careers.
The simulation lab, located on the Midcoast Campus in Brunswick, allows students to practice their welding skills virtually on any of 10 welding simulation machines that can enhance their learning experience while saving on material costs, according to the college. It is the first of its kind in the Maine Community College System. More»
November 8, 2021
Rapid change in work means a need for more training, even in jobs that didn’t previously require it
BRUNSWICK, Maine — As the silkscreen printing company where she’d worked for five years became more and more short-staffed, Vanessa Moody found herself putting in 60 hours a week, starting at 6 a.m. on weekdays and including Saturdays.
This story also appeared in Maine Public Radio and National Public Radio
That left the single mother little time to spend with her 7-year-old son, whose grandparents watched him while she worked.
“We only had Saturday night to hang out and Sunday to do things,” said Moody, who is 32. “And he’d to say to me, ‘Why is your boss so mean?’ ”
The last straw was when Moody asked for a $2 raise above the $18.50 an hour she was making and the boss said no. So she joined the legions of Americans quitting their jobs.
That’s when Moody realized something else she shares with many of those other workers who want to switch careers: She’d need more education to get a new one.
Moody was recounting her story at a noisy training center where she was in her third day of a three-week, 120-hour Southern Maine Community College course in welding, plasma-cutting, grinding, blueprint-reading and technical math. Her goal: to land an interview for a job at the General Dynamics-owned Bath Iron Works. Pay at the shipyard typically starts at around $22 an hour before overtime, often rising to more than $27 an hour after six months, with generous benefits including paid time off and pensions. more»