Graduates from the class of 2022-2025 are eligible for free community college in Maine, but other classes aren’t offered this benefit. How is this fair? If this benefit extended to more students, there would be a huge increase in the number of students getting their degrees and attending college.

Maine’s free community college program was proposed early in 2022 by Governor Janet Mills and enacted by the Legislature a couple months later. It was proposed to help support high school students whose aspirations for a higher education were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. It’s been very successful and currently, advocates for the program are fighting to make this permanent. 

At SMCC in fall of 2023 enrollment went up 15% with more than 765 students enrolled. For all Maine Community Colleges, enrollment has increased over 18%. That is a huge indicator that free community college is a great incentive for students to enroll.

Classes other than 2022-2025 were also affected by covid. It impacted everyone and everything whether that was education, personally, family, or jobs. Covid aside, this is a matter of providing Maine youth with a permanent opportunity. Shouldn’t the benefits of free community college extend to every student? 

The average cost for in-state students at SMCC before aid is $18,065 and after aid is $8,170. The average cost of tuition before aid out of state is $20,945. It’s not fair for some students to be paying this amount when for others it’s free. 

One of the greatest benefits of having free tuition is that it eliminates a huge amount of stress a student takes on while in college. Academic performance affects students’ financial aid, which is a lot of pressure. This relief should extend to all students attending a Maine Community College.