U-Maine System doing students right
To the editor:
The article “Maine’s Colleges Hit the Skids” (Wall Street Journal, Jan. 7, 2015) accurately depicts the demographic, economic and fiscal challenges facing Maine’s public universities and the state as a whole. Left untold, however, is our system’s commitment to wholesale, structural change to meet these challenges and ensure our universities continue to serve our students, Maine businesses and communities.
The entire student population of Maine’s seven universities is comparable to that of a single public university in many parts of the country. Recognizing the costs of these administrative redundancies, we are moving to a single administrative structure defined by function rather than location. While Maine’s vast rural landscape requires a commitment to our multi-campus model with its emphasis on regional needs and opportunities, our universities are each refining their strategic focus to achieve competitive advantage.
Through an inclusive, inter-campus academic planning process we will deliver a more rich and diverse set of programs to all our students regardless of location. The System Board of Trustees has no stronger commitment than to ensure a quality education is affordable for all Maine families. The trustees have made a nation-leading commitment to affordability that is reducing barriers to our classrooms and the burden of indebtedness for our graduates.
We face very serious — perhaps unprecedented — challenges in public higher education. But the future our students represent is worth every effort and investment we must make to ensure Maine’s public universities remain a quality, affordable path to advancement and opportunity.
James H. Page
Chancellor
University of Maine System
