UMM one of four system campuses waiving tuition for Pell grant students, media report
Portland Press Herald, Maine Public, Bangor Daily News, WABI (Channel 5), WGME (Channel 13 in Portland), Mainebiz, WAGM (Channel 8 in Presque Isle), WVII (Channel 7) and The Associated Press reported the University of Maine System is eliminating out-of-pocket tuition and fees at four of its campuses next fall for any first-year Maine student who qualifies for a need-based federal Pell grant. The new financial aid program will be available to students at University of Maine at Machias, Fort Kent, Augusta and Presque Isle. According to officials, the move is expected to lower student debt while helping students graduate within four years and increasing retention, Press Herald reported. UMaine, while it isn’t part of the free tuition program, recently launched a similar marketing and student advising push of its own called Think 30 in an effort to boost the number of students earning a degree on time and keeping their debt down, the BDN article states. U.S. News & World Report carried the AP story. The BDN also published an editorial on the program.