The University of Maine System announced on Friday a pilot program to help give struggling first-year students a chance to recover from a failing grade — for free.
The Make the Grade Student Success Initiative, which is now available for Fall 2019 first-year students across all seven campuses of the system, will allow students in their first year of college after high school, that failed a course during their first semester, to take a free course to make up for it, saving that student an average of $780 in tuition.
According to the UM System, only 44 percent of first-year Maine public university students who fail a course in their first semester return for the start of the next academic year. As part of the system’s Maine Values You initiative, which promotes the monetary value of a University of Maine education to potential students, the Make the Grade program is aimed at increasing overall student retention.
“A free course is not a remedy, but it sends the message to struggling students that the transition to college can be a challenge, and they are not alone,” University of Maine system chancellor Dannel Malloy said in a statement announcing the program.
There are many reasons why students making the transition from high school to college may struggle, including balancing the demands of work and family with the requirements of a given course load. Malloy said the program is a part of the goal of making sure university staff and faculty are more responsive to the overall needs of students.
“Maine is counting on our university leaders, faculty and staff to do even more to meet students where they are and with the support they need to succeed,” he said.
Requirements and eligibility for the program will vary from campus to campus, due to the specific needs of each individual campus in the system, and according to system spokesperson Dan Demerrit, each campus will begin proactively reaching out to qualified students over the holiday break.
For information on individual campus requirements, contact the campus’ student affairs department.
