With $3.6M, Maine’s community colleges train 180 for free to work in high-demand fields

February 18, 2020

Nancy Taylor was in her third year at Eastern Maine Community College studying liberal arts when she heard about a new, free medical assisting training the college planned to offer starting in fall 2019.

She had always wanted to get into the medical field, but this time, she would not have to spend any money to start her training. Everything — from tuition to the books, scrubs and a stethoscope — would be covered.

Taylor, 38, of Franklin is one of 40 students in the one-year, medical assisting certificate program whose costs are fully covered thanks to a $3.6 million Harold Alfond Foundation grant that’s allowed the Maine Community College System to establish 11 new workforce training programs in high-demand fields at five of its seven campuses.

“I chose to do this because of the opportunity to finish my schooling and not have a huge loan,” Taylor said. “I have four children, so paying for school loans is really difficult. It’s really nice to not have to stress about financial issues during this school year and instead I can just focus on my education.” More»