- recent high school graduates aspiring to earn a certificate or a two year degree;
- recent high school graduates seeking to accumulate general education courses and then transfer to a four year institution;
- recent high school students seeking to prove themselves capable of college level work in order to qualify for admission to a four year institution.
- adult learners seeking credentials necessary for a sought after promotion or career change.
Students in the state's Free College program made up almost half of students in the Maine Community College system in the 2022 school year.In a report to the legislature, the system says more than 6500 students were enrolled through the initiative.Translated: Maine taxpayers are paying the tuition of approximately 50% of students attending Maine's community colleges. Approximately 50% of students attending Maine community colleges are not generating revenue for the institutions. Rather, the institutions are heavily subsidized by Maine taxpayers.
- learner persistence: do learners complete courses or programs in which they are enrolled? Or do learners bail from courses or programs without completing them?
- program completion: do learners enrolled in degree or certificate programs complete the program; earn the sought after degree or certificate?
- time to graduation: do learners complete programs in a timely manner? Time is money. The quicker a learner can complete a program, the lower the cost; financial and opportunity costs. Are there structural impediments within the institution that impedes time to graduation? For example, are key required or elective courses available when learners are ready to take them?
The Maine Public Radio report continues:
And system president David Daigler said they've been able to attract students who otherwise would not have gone to college.Daigler reinforces the emphasis on enrollment. Unclear is why he notes, "that is more important today than it's ever been." A cynic's mind might wonder to the historically declining enrollment in Maine's community colleges. The cynic might might ponder that the priority is to fill seats to shore up funding for Maine's Community college system; to use tax subsidies to shore up Maine's struggling community college system?
"So we're bringing students into college classrooms that have been shying away from college classrooms," he said. "Now that is more important today than it's ever been."
The system has given out more than $10 million to students through the Free College initiative. That's just over half of the $20 million the legislature allocated for the effort that pays community college tuition and fees for recent high school graduates.Note the emphasis on the input metric: dollars "given out." Perhaps I'm being over sensitive here, but the thought of my tax dollars being "given out" is unsettling. Do the learners enrolled in the free community college program similarly view that they are receiving a hand out? Stepping back, what is the ROI on these dollars that are "given out"? Enquiring minds want to know. For example, how many learners successfully complete degree or certificate requirements?
"And if you were to ask me what is the most important, most revealing statistic is that we are attracting students, and a specific type of student who had demonstrated a resistance to higher education both before the pandemic and especially during the pandemic," Daigler said.What is this "demonstrated a resistance to higher education"? What does that mean? This phrase reeks of an elitist attitude that is, in my experience, common among individuals in higher education leadership positions. This elitist perspective holds that learners that don't enroll in academic institutions aren't savvy enough to appreciate the wonder of our academic programs and institutions. (The credo that 'everyone' should attend college is another common elitist belief . That kettle of fish I'll leave swimming and not elaborate here further). In other words: blame the learner. A better approach is for higher education institutions to look inward; to scrutinize the value proposition(s) the institution offers learners.
Overall enrollment in the system increased 12% in the 2022 school year, nearing pre-pandemic levels. Free college students made up 46% of degree-seeking students.