MAINE, USA — If you are a Maine high school student, thinking about that next step in education, or have recently graduated and have been admitted into one of Maine's seven community colleges—this news is for you!
If you are still in high school, you can take a course at a community college this summer.
"That might be a great way to either catch up from some disruption that happened over the last year or get ahead as you think of what your Junior or Senior year might look like while you are in high school," said Mercedes Pour, the director of college access for Maine's community colleges.
Pour said it's the community colleges' responsibility to help students as much as they can and lead students to get back to some of the educational goals they had.
"We want to talk with Maine high school seniors or anyone graduating with a high school degree this year, and say 'you last year has been a little disrupted, maybe you feel a little nervous about taking that next step,' so we want to make sure that any high school graduate who intents to come to a community college... we want to invest in those students," Pour said.
This initiative is all part of the new “Momentum from the Start” program. All tuition and fees are waived and students only pay for books or materials. More information about Momentum from the Start can be found here.
"We are hoping that some students that maybe have been questioning 'Oh, is this the right time for me to do this?' or 'Oh, am I really ready to do this?' This is one more step or one more indication that we are going to support you on this, so maybe it is time to connect with your local college admission office," Pour said.
Education experts across the country have noted a dip in high school student engagement during the pandemic, and these free classes make it easy for Maine students to re-engage with the educational opportunities around them.
Most of these summer introductory classes will be offered online unless there is an in-person component.
“This has been a very tough year for high school students, and we know many of them couldn’t take the classes they wanted—including early college classes—for a number of reasons. This gives them a chance to catch up, re-engage on pursuing their interests, and experience college-level instruction,” said Janet Sortor, vice president and chief academic officer of the Maine Community College System.
“Some students lose their initiative to attend college over the summer – it’s known as 'summer melt'—and we don’t want that to happen to a single person," Sortor added.
Students interested in this program should contact their high school counselor or college advisor if already admitted to a community college.
York County Community College (YCCC) is also offering its own local incentive: "The York County Promise."
Under the scholarship, any Class of 2021 graduate who took early college classes with YCCC can get two years of free tuition, fees, books, and supplies. More information on that program can be found here.