Maine could become first state in the country to offer free community college and then take it away

Maine is one of about 35 states that offer tuition-free community college. And since the fall of 2022, more than 20,000 Maine students have taken advantage of it. More than a third are the first members of their families to ever attend college. But unless lawmakers approve Gov. Janet Mills' plan to make funding for community college permanent, supporters fear enrollment will decline at a time when Maine needs to train and hire more skilled workers.

Erika Hanks is a second-year student at Eastern Maine Community College studying graphic design. She works three jobs, including at the campus food pantry.

"It's small, but it's definitely mighty…it can make a world of difference for somebody who's struggling," Hanks said.

Last year, it was Hanks who was struggling.

"When I first came to college, I was, like, broke, like, $3 in my savings broke, and I remember there would be lunch and learns around the campus, and even if I didn't go to them, they would invite me in to take leftovers," Hanks said.

Hanks said balancing three jobs and schoolwork is tough, but she's thrilled to have the chance to attend college.

"The second that I heard that I had the chance to go to college, I could envision myself as like a college girl, like a city girl, and the feeling was a lot like, I can't even describe how excited I was in the moment," Hanks said.

Neither of Hanks' parents has a college degree, and while they encouraged her to pursue higher education, they couldn't afford to pay for it. She couldn't finance it on her own. So when she learned about the free community college scholarship, she said it was a game-changer.

"It felt like that my possibilities for jobs opened up because, like, I looked around living in Waldo County is a very rural area. A lot of people are born there. They work at your local, local grocery store until they die," Hanks said.

Free community college immediately appealed to many students when it started four years ago, said Lillian Barry, a school counselor at RSU 24 in Sullivan.

"It was like, this is the smartest, most financially savvy step that you could make, like the barriers were eliminated," Barry said.

But without additional funding, the current class of high school seniors will be ineligible for the free community college scholarship. And Barry said she can already see the shift in their thinking and planning.

"It's less about, you know, their skills and their interests and their passion and more about back to that financial piece," Barry said.

Martha Johnston with the Finance Authority of Maine helps families figure out how to pay for education. She said community college was always going to be affordable for most students, but the word "free" helped motivate them to take the leap and apply.

"Now that we don't have that message anymore, we might see a reduction in the pipeline for those high-demand workforce programs, healthcare, and skilled trades that we need. So that if the affordability message starts to get watered down and people think they can't afford it, you know, we might see a softening in that pipeline," Johnston said.

Maine Community College System Officials say that since the start of the free tuition program, industrial trades, healthcare, and business programs have all increased enrollments by about 50%. And almost 2,000 free college students have gone on to pursue advanced degrees. And that's one of the reasons why Maine Community College System President David Daigler is trying to keep the program intact by making changes that he said could save about $2.5 million a year.

"Based on what I've heard from the administration, based on what I've heard from the legislature, based on what I've heard from the public, if you talk to your legislators, I'm optimistic we will get this program back up and made permanent," Daigler said.

Under the changes, the program would cover tuition but not fees, require students to live in Maine for at least one year before applying, and limit the time students have to finish their degrees. Because students are required to accept all federal and state aid before they can use Maine Free College Scholarship funds, only about half of the students who apply receive those funds. Republican lawmakers have expressed concern that the state is essentially subsidizing wealthier families. Republican Senator James Libby said it also undercuts other institutions that aren't free.

"If they want to go to the University of Maine, that is probably right for them, and it might have the specific programs that a community college does not have," Libby said.

Libby said instead of the free community college program, he is in favor of a program that would pay for first-year college students at any Maine higher education institution.

Free community college is widely supported, but some faculty in the community college system have raised concerns about the equity of the program and the strain the extra students put on the system. Tia Zukowski, faculty member at Central Maine Community College, said making the program permanent and providing more resources to the system to support the influx of students would be helpful.

"Our colleges have always been accessible to Maine students, but access is not the same as equity, and we really want to support the faculty and the staff who have been taking on extra work to support all of these students. We've really done a wonderful job, but we're concerned about resources continuing to be stretched thin," Zukowski said.

Daigler said he is sympathetic to those concerns.

"How can we continue to grow if we don't have any additional resources. You know, we're looking forward, and we're saying, okay, students, there are more students, and those students need more resources," Daigler said.

Daigler said he hopes to bring forward a new bill to the legislature for more student support in the future. His main focus now is ensuring the program is made permanent.

Back at Eastern Maine Community College, Erica Hanks also hopes the program is extended, not just because of her experience, but the change that she witnessed in her peers when the program was extended back in 2024.

"It was actually kind of inspiring to see the kids who didn't even care if they turned in their homework or, like, what grade they got, because it didn't matter anyway, to like asking questions, and like being awake during class, showing up to school. Like, you could really see a change in just the attendance and the attentiveness," Hanks said.

If the final budget at the end of the session includes funding to make the free community college program permanent, this year's class of graduating seniors would be eligible. But if the funding is eliminated, Maine would be the first state in the country to first offer students the option of free tuition and then take it away.