Times Higher Education mentions UMaine in report on state systems’ tuition, enrollment
The University of Maine was mentioned in the Times Higher Education article, “U.S. state systems freeze tuition fees as enrollment falters.” Growing numbers of U.S. state university systems are predicted to freeze tuition fees in response to faltering enrollment levels, but a leading researcher has warned that this could undermine efforts to widen participation, according to the article. Iris Palmer, a senior policy analyst at the think tank New America, said public university systems tended to freeze tuition fees when the state increased its direct investment in higher education and to raise fees when university funding was cut. However, she predicted that an increasing number of public university systems would freeze tuition fees in an effort to increase enrollments. She cited UMaine as an example of a public system that has recently taken this step “to make the schools more appealing to out-of-state students and to other students in the state.” In-state tuition fees at UMaine increased last year after having been frozen for the previous six years. In addition, four of the system’s campuses pledged last year to cover the cost of tuition and fees for low-income students, the article states.