The University of Maine Shows How to Increase Its Student Population

2022-09-18

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1
  • The number of students going to college in the U.S. has dropped by over one million since the spring of 2020.
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  • At that time, COVID-19 restrictions began going into effect everywhere in the U.S.
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  • In addition, a number of U.S. states are finding they have fewer college-age young people than in the past.
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  • Maine, a state in the northeastern U.S., next to Canada, is one of those states.
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  • A decreasing number of young people and the effects of COVID-19 measures make it difficult for large state universities to keep up their student numbers.
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  • But, while universities in some states are having trouble bringing in new students, the University of Maine, in the city of Orono, is not.
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  • This is the case although Maine is far away from most other states and has 10 percent fewer state high school graduates than 10 years ago.
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  • During a time when fewer Americans are going to college, the University of Maine has been able to increase its number of undergraduate students by five percent. Why?
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  • A recent story in the publication Hechinger Report said the University of Maine is ahead of other states in recruiting and retention measures.
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  • The state is reducing the university's cost of attendance for students who come from other states and Canada.
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  • Because of scholarships and other financial aid, many students can go to Maine for the same price as a large university in their own state.
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  • For example, the University of Maine is advertising in nearby Massachusetts.
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  • The ads say: "Go to the University of Maine for the in-state cost of UMass."
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  • UMass stands for the University of Massachusetts.
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  • The university has about 12,000 students.
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  • While that seems like a lot, it is not nearly as many as big schools like Ohio State University, which has about 60,000.
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  • As a result, the school is trying to make a strong connection with both current and prospective students.
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  • University leaders say they are trying to get to know all students who visit - even those who decide to go elsewhere.
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  • Chris Richards is vice president of enrollment management.
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  • He said the school needs help from everyone to recruit the next class of students, not just the people who work in the admissions office.
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  • That was the old way.
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  • "That model," he said, "isn't going to work anymore."
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  • One part of the new way is for university professors and researchers to make presentations about their work at nearby high schools.
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  • Another is to make visitors feel welcome.
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  • Richards described helping someone who seemed new to the school grounds find their way.
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  • "People want that," Richards said.
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  • Em Jeffrey is a new student from the nearby state of New Hampshire.
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  • She said she noticed the difference between visiting Maine and visiting other schools.
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  • "I definitely felt more welcomed. None of it felt forced," she said.
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  • Jerome Lucido studies college enrollment at the University of Southern California's school of education. He said the University of Maine is on the right path.
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  • "I do think there are lessons to be learned from what's going on in Maine right now," he said.
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  • Richards said his university recognized the problem about 10 years ago when the number of high school students in Maine started to fall.
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  • At one point, 80 percent of the university's students came from Maine.
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  • Now about 40 percent come from other states.
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  • In addition, there are over 450 international students in a degree program at the University of Maine.
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  • Other international students are in the school's program for English learners.
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  • Orlina Boteva is the director of international programs.
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  • She grew up in Bulgaria and came to study at the University of Maine.
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  • She completed postgraduate degrees there and has been working with international students since 2009.
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  • She said international students who are interested in the University of Maine will have to pay a similar cost compared to students coming from other states in the U.S.
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  • But the university does offer scholarships from $5,000 up to $20,000.
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  • In addition, the university offers teaching assistant positions for graduate students.
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  • Boteva said her department does not do anything different from other schools in the northeastern U.S. to bring in international students.
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  • However, she said the university's goal of connecting with students extends to those from outside of the U.S. University officials travel to other countries to find students and meet their families.
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  • They even made some visits last year when other universities were not sending their representatives abroad.
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  • The university also tries to make sure international students feel cared for when they come to Maine.
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  • "Our population is small enough that we get to know our students. They have a really excellent experience on campus...So that experience really translates into a very high rating of the student experience on campus as an international student."
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  • As a former international student herself, Boteva said, she "deeply cares" about the experience students from other countries have while in Maine.
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  • She also wants students to know that it is possible to find out how to get a work visa and stay in the U.S. after finishing a study program.
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  • Boteva said the school is also paying attention to students who come from countries with economic problems.
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  • The U.S. dollar is much stronger today than it was a year ago.
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  • That means it is more costly to go to an American school.
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  • Boteva said the school will work with students who are already there but may be having trouble paying.
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  • In addition, the University of Maine just announced that it will change the cost of going to school for students who come from a country like Ukraine, which is affected by war.
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  • They will now pay the same amount as students who come from Maine.
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  • That represents a big savings.
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  • "This is really the first time that we as an institution are looking at what is our mission, as an institution to support displaced students by war."
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  • She said the school is thinking about how it can help students find a pathway to education if their countries become destabilized.
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  • This year, there are eight students from Ukraine attending the University of Maine.
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  • There is no guarantee the current ideas will keep working in the future.
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  • But, Richards said he believes the university will keep working to solve the problem of decreasing student numbers.
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  • He said the leaders of the university recognize the problem.
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  • "The good thing for us," he said, "is that our leadership hasn't existed in a vacuum of false reality."
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  • I'm Dan Friedell.