UMaine’s first-year student enrollment jumps 11.4% while national average drops 

Defying the national trend of declining enrollment among first-year college students, the University of Maine welcomed the largest first-year class in three years this fall, one that is 11% larger than the fall 2023 first-year class. 

According to newly released data from the University of Maine System, the increase at UMaine is driven largely by incoming students from Maine, which grew 20.9% from fall 2023 and 11.8% from 2020. At UMaine’s regional campus, the University of Maine at Machias, the first-year class this fall was 25% larger than one year ago. That uptick was predominately supported by new learners from other states, which grew 66.7% from fall 2023 and 233.3% from fall 2020. 

Across all of the University of Maine System campuses, first-year enrollment increased 8.2% from fall 2023. Growth across UMS, including UMaine and UMaine Machias, contrasts with the 8.5% average decline in first-year enrollment among four-year public institutions nationwide. 

“Over the past year and a half, our admissions and student financial services teams engaged in a thorough review of every facet of our enrollment management, prospect development, marketing and financial aid efforts. We optimized our use of technology and business processes to improve the services that we provide all incoming students,” said Kevin Coughlin, vice president for enrollment management. “As a result of the team’s commitment to continuous improvement, we minimized the time that applicants wait for admissions decisions; we provided admitted students with scholarship information in a very timely manner, and the student financial services team led a very effective adaptation to evolving FAFSA conditions. These initiatives placed positive pressure in our new student enrollment numbers.” 

Overall fall undergraduate enrollment grew 2.7% from last year at UMaine and throughout the System, outpacing that in the Northeast (0.9%) and national average for four-year public institutions (2.2%). 

The uptick occurred despite nationwide processing delays with the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) process. UMaine and other public universities statewide navigated delays by extending the application deadline and developing a predictive financial aid eligibility model to create estimated financial aid packages that were made available in March.

The growth in undergraduate enrollment also comes as UMaine and the System expand their long-standing collaboration with Maine’s community colleges so their graduates can more easily earn a four-year degree. As a result, UMaine and the Maine Community College System can streamline the application process for students, co-advise them, support a seamless transfer and offer many other benefits.

The number of undergraduate transfers at UMaine increased by 10.8% from fall 2023, according to UMS data. Across the System, the number of undergraduate transfers increased by 23.6% from last fall. 

Learn more about enrollment growth across Maine’s public universities on the UMS website.

Contact: Ashley Yates, ashley.depew@maine.edu