[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"doc-seo-585080-105":3,"detail-sidebar-cat-0-en-105":81,"doc-detail-585080-en":130},{"code":4,"msg":5,"data":6},0,"ok",{"site_id":7,"language":8,"slug":9,"title":10,"keywords":11,"description":12,"schema_data":13,"social_meta":74,"head_meta":76,"extra_data":78,"updated_unix":80},105,"en","free-college-scholarship-initiative-2023-annual-report","FREE COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP INITIATIVE - 2023 Annual Report","","2023 Annual Free College Report summarizes the Maine Free College initiative at Maine’s community colleges and its outcomes in the first scholarship year (2022-23). Submitted to the Governor and the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs, it addresses compliance with LD 1995 and describes how the $20 million investment advanced tuition-free access. The report highlights enrollment and scholarship distribution results, re-engagement of pandemic-impacted students, expanded programs, housing capacity changes, and increased workforce training participation.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & Report",3,{"item":32,"name":10,"@type":21,"position":33},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/free-college-scholarship-initiative-2023-annual-report/585080/",4,{"url":32,"name":10,"@type":35,"image":36,"author":41,"headline":10,"publisher":44,"fileFormat":47,"inLanguage":8,"description":12,"dateModified":48,"datePublished":49,"encodingFormat":47,"isAccessibleForFree":50,"interactionStatistic":51},"DigitalDocument",{"url":37,"@type":38,"width":39,"height":40},"https://docshare.wps.com/thumbnails/free-college-scholarship-initiative-2023-annual-report/585080.png","ImageObject",300,407,{"name":42,"@type":43},"Maya Linwood","Person",{"url":19,"name":45,"@type":46},"DocShare","Organization","application/pdf","2026-10-29","2026-10-15",true,{"@type":52,"interactionType":53,"userInteractionCount":55},"InteractionCounter",{"@type":54},"ViewAction",6,{"@type":57,"mainEntity":58},"FAQPage",[59,65,69],{"name":60,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":62},"What is the Maine Free College initiative and why was the report created?","Question",{"text":63,"@type":64},"The Maine Free College initiative provides tuition-free community college through the Free College Scholarship. The report is required by law (LD 1995) to document how the program is used and how successful it is.","Answer",{"name":66,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":67},"What were the main 2022-23 results for enrollment and scholarships?",{"text":68,"@type":64},"In 2022-23, MCCS enrolled 6,577 Free College students and distributed $10.2 million in Free College Scholarships. Overall enrollment increased by 12 percent, with Free College students representing a large share of degree-seeking students.",{"name":70,"@type":61,"acceptedAnswer":71},"How did the initiative affect student success and related program efforts?",{"text":72,"@type":64},"The report notes higher fall-to-spring retention for Free College students (74% versus 72% for non-Free College students). It also describes expanded nursing and other high-demand programs, housing capacity changes, and increased short-term workforce training enrollment.","https://schema.org",{"og:url":32,"og:type":75,"og:title":10,"og:site_name":45,"og:description":12},"article",{"robots":77,"canonical":32},"index,follow",{"doc_id":79,"site_id":7},585080,1792210373,{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":83},"success",[84,88,92,96,101,105,110,114,119,122,126],{"id":22,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":85,"show_sort_weight":86,"slug":87},"Story & Novel",90,"story-novel",{"id":26,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":89,"show_sort_weight":90,"slug":91},"Literature",80,"literature",{"id":33,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":93,"show_sort_weight":94,"slug":95},"Exam",70,"exam",{"id":97,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":98,"show_sort_weight":99,"slug":100},5,"Comic",60,"comic",{"id":55,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":102,"show_sort_weight":103,"slug":104},"Technology",50,"technology",{"id":106,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":107,"show_sort_weight":108,"slug":109},7,"Healthcare",40,"healthcare",{"id":111,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":29,"show_sort_weight":112,"slug":113},8,30,"research-report",{"id":115,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":116,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":118},9,"Religion & Spirituality",20,"religion-spirituality",{"id":117,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":120,"show_sort_weight":117,"slug":121},"World Cup","world-cup",{"id":123,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":124,"show_sort_weight":123,"slug":125},10,"Lifestyle","lifestyle",{"id":127,"doc_module":4,"doc_module_name":25,"category_name":128,"show_sort_weight":97,"slug":129},19,"General","general",{"code":4,"msg":82,"data":131},{"doc_id":79,"user_id":132,"nickname":42,"user_avatar":133,"doc_module":4,"category_id":111,"category_name":29,"doc_title":10,"doc_description":12,"doc_content":134,"file_id":135,"file_url":136,"file_type":137,"file_size":138,"view_count":55,"is_deleted":4,"is_public":22,"is_downloadable":22,"audit_status":22,"page_count":139,"language":140,"language_code":8,"site_id":7,"html_lang":8,"table_of_contents":141,"faqs":142,"seo_title":143,"seo_description":12,"update_tm":144,"read_time":145,"preview_page_count":4},962084928432,"https://ap-avatar.wpscdn.com/davatar_155a257f0dc6eb9ab79c44ca47cae57d","| To: | Governor Janet T. Mills\u003Cbr>Members of the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs |\n| --- | --- |\n| From: | David J. Daigler, President, Maine Community College System |\n| RE: | 2023 Annual Free College Report |\n| Date: | October 1, 2023 |\n\nIt is my pleasure to submit the annual report on the Maine Free College initiative at Maine’s community colleges.  \nThis report is in response to LD 1995, a Supplemental Budget bill signed by the governor on April 20, 2022 establishing the Free College Scholarship. The law requires the Maine Community College System to submit a report to the Governor and the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs on the use and success of the program.  \nThis report profiles the Maine Free College initiative in 2022-23, the first academic year the scholarship was available. The state’s charge was to use the state’s $20 million investment to provide tuition-free community college to at least 8,000 pandemic-era students from 2020-23, and we are on track to meet those goals by the end of the academic year 2023-2024.  \n• In 2022-23, MCCS enrolled 6,577 Free College students, with 2023-24 enrollment still to come.  \n• Of the $20 million, MCCS distributed $10.2 million in Free College Scholarships.  \nAnd while overall 2022-23 enrollment was up 12 percent, it remained short of pre-pandemic 2019-20 enrollment. While Free College certainly played a role in increasing enrollment, the scholarship was not the only factor.  \nThe 2022-23 academic year is also when Maine’s community colleges:  \n• Doubled our nursing program capacity, adding 200 spaces, and expanded or added other highdemand programs.  \n• Eased pandemic-related dampers and expanded housing capacity by reverting dorm rooms limited to singles due to COVID back to doubles. Nationwide, pandemic-era students began returning to college: Enrollment at public two-year colleges increased about half a percent, while enrollment at four-year colleges was down 1.2 percent.  \n• Experienced a 300 percent increase in enrollment in short-term workforce training programs, to  \n12,000 students in 2022-23, up from 3,000 students in 2021-22.  \n• Added new scholarships for short-term workforce graduates who subsequently enroll in degree and certificate programs. In 2022-23, 723 scholarships were awarded.  \nIn all, Maine’s community colleges are welcoming students in greater numbers across all our programs. That’s excellent news for the students, who are learning the skills they need for good-paying jobs, and for the state, which is getting more skilled workers entering the workforce faster.  \nThe community colleges are proud to be the stewards ofthis transformational scholarship program that has already benefitted so many students, families, and communities. It would not have happened without the vision and determination of the Mills administration and the bipartisan support of the 131st Legislature. We look forward to continuing this worthy and valuable partnership.  \nFREE COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP INITIATIVE  \n2023 ANNUAL REPORT  \nSubmitted to the 131st Legislature’s Members of the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs and Governor Janet T. Mills  \nTABLE OF CONTENTS  \n1 Letter from President Daigler  \n4 Executive Summary  \n5 Overview  \n6-8 Key Goals and Strategies  \nAppendix 1 Free College Data  \nEXECUTIVE SUMMARY  \nThe Maine Free College initiative was a major success in its first year: re-engaging pandemic-impacted high school graduates who didn’t enroll in college after graduation back to higher ed, hitting financial targets, and returning MCCS systemwide enrollment to near pre-pandemic levels. Created and launched when two-year college enrollments were crashing nationwide, the promise of tuition-free college was a hopeful, powerful incentive for high school graduates to emerge from the pandemic and return or start college for focused, purposeful, low-cost academic programs that prepare them for either a good job","cbCaipzMdYJWAfWS","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaipzMdYJWAfWS","pdf",968537,21,"English","# Letter from President Daigler\n# Executive Summary\n# Overview\n# Key Goals and Strategies\n# Appendix 1 Free College Data","[{\"question\":\"What is the Maine Free College initiative and why was the report created?\",\"answer\":\"The Maine Free College initiative provides tuition-free community college through the Free College Scholarship. The report is required by law (LD 1995) to document how the program is used and how successful it is.\"},{\"question\":\"What were the main 2022-23 results for enrollment and scholarships?\",\"answer\":\"In 2022-23, MCCS enrolled 6,577 Free College students and distributed $10.2 million in Free College Scholarships. Overall enrollment increased by 12 percent, with Free College students representing a large share of degree-seeking students.\"},{\"question\":\"How did the initiative affect student success and related program efforts?\",\"answer\":\"The report notes higher fall-to-spring retention for Free College students (74% versus 72% for non-Free College students). It also describes expanded nursing and other high-demand programs, housing capacity changes, and increased short-term workforce training enrollment.\"}]","FREE COLLEGE SCHOLARSHIP INITIATIVE - 2023 Annual Report | PDF",1792053600,53]