UMS employee and dependent tuition policy expanded

The University of Maine System employee tuition waiver policy and dependent tuition benefit policy now includes English language courses for the UMS workforce.

The policy expansion is part of an effort to generate strong and diverse candidate pools in searches. 

Concurrently, Maine NGOs and state education and workforce leaders report low English language proficiency as a barrier to workforce development for immigrants moving to the state, including individuals with specialty education and previous work experience. 

UMaine’s Intensive English Institute (IEI) has the capacity to welcome UMS employees in its classes and offer in-person or virtual instruction. It is one of two multilingual learning (MLL) centers in the state offering immersive and extensive academic preparation to English language learners at every level of proficiency. The second MLL center is at the University of Southern Maine.

In addition, expanding the employee dependent tuition benefit to include IEI courses will create college access for the dependents of UMS employees.

For more information about the IEI courses visit umaine.edu/iei. For more information about IEI courses as part of the employee tuition waiver and dependent tuition benefit, contact um.iei@maine.edu.