ORONO — The University of Maine System announced that it will offer a free college course to promising first-year students who failed a class during their first semester. The Make the Grade Student Success Initiative is a pilot project to provide students struggling to make the transition from high school to college with the resources and support they need to stay on track to success.
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, university system officials said. The free course would allow students to benefit from additional resources and student support to successfully transition to college-level work.
A UMS in-state student working toward college success with a free Make the Grade three credit-hour course will save an average of $780 in tuition costs, according to a news release.
All seven campuses of the University of Maine System will be participating in the Make the Grade student success pilot initiative for fall 2019 first-year students. Eligibility and requirements for participation will vary as the universities experiment with different approaches and leverage existing initiatives that are successfully meeting the specific needs of students. Campuses will be proactively reaching out to students who are eligible for a free course over and immediately following the holiday break. At the University of Maine at Augusta a “Make the Grade” Grant will provide UMA matriculated students who qualify with the opportunity to retake one class of four credits or less from the Fall 2019 semester. UMA will cover the tuition for a repeat in the Spring 2020 semester with the student responsible for course-specific fees. Courses in which a grade of D+ or lower, L, and WF are valid for this pilot grant opportunity. UMA students with questions about eligibility are urged to contact 877-UMA-1234 of visit www.uma.edu/makethegrade/ At the University of Maine at Farmington eligible students will hear from academic advisors early in the New Year. Students offered the Making the Grade course will participate in a newly established intensive advising effort for first-year students with a GPA below 1.0. Students have been able to take advantage of the advising in lieu of a review for academic suspension.
