Maine university system trustees approve tuition hike

The cost of attending Maine’s public universities will increase for the coming school year.

The University of Maine System board of trustees, which met Monday in Fort Kent, approved a $648.6 million budget, as well as the system’s first strategic plan in two decades and extended Chancellor Dannel Malloy’s contract another two years until June 30, 2027, according to a system spokesperson.

That budget includes a 3 percent tuition increase for in-state students, as well as increases to mandatory fees and room and board. All told, that increases the list price for a full-time undergraduate student $821 a year.

It comes as the UMaine System continues to cope with inflation and flat enrollment projections.

The UMaine System maintains its campuses remain the “most affordable” in New England, noting that in-state undergraduate credit hour cost is 35 percent lower than the average of other New England flagship universities.

“Proposing a tuition increase is not something we take lightly but is necessary now to meet obligations to our employees and start making the investments needed to support our students and their success and stabilize our institutions’ infrastructure,” Malloy said in a statement. “Maine’s public universities are, and will continue to be, the most affordable pathway to high-quality postsecondary education and economic opportunity in the Northeast. And our Maine students with the greatest financial need will continue to have their needs met and the proven power of social mobility through higher education accessible to them.”

Tuition and student fees are the largest source of revenue in the UMaine System’s budget, comprising 39 percent. That’s followed by state appropriations at 38 percent, room and board at 12 percent, and sales and services at 11 percent.

The UMaine System said that employee compensation accounts for nearly two-thirds of expenses. The system said that contracts with several of its largest bargaining units, including the faculty union, remain “unsettled.”

The system said Monday that it has tempered the tuition increase by selling or leasing properties, canceling courses with low enrollment, and sharing space, staff and services. The UMaine System has sold or listed properties in Bangor, Belfast , Harmony, Houlton, Presque Isle and Portland since January, according to the system spokesperson.

The UMaine System expects to save $10.3 million through retirements and unfilled positions in the coming fiscal year. Additionally, various energy projects are anticipated to reduce overall electricity consumption by 1.3 million kilowatt hours on the University of Maine campus in Orono alone.

“The Board challenged our public universities to balance their budgets while finding new ways to invest in our students, share resources and expertise across our campuses, and find efficiencies. This required tough choices and hard work but the belt tightening by all in our university community is laying the foundation for a more sustainable System,” Trish Riley, chair of the system’s board of trustees, said in a statement. “While we need to get beyond just balancing the budget to a place where we can make real investments in our institutions, the University of Maine System remains the best value for Maine families, providing high-quality, accessible and affordable education statewide.”

The UMaine System will continue efforts to attract new students and generate additional revenue, citing projects at the University of Southern Maine in Portland to house community college students in its Portland Commons residence hall, increase summer programs and rent its facilities for conferences and events.

The budget approved Monday also increases investment in university buildings by 4.3 percent to improve student recruitment and retention and reduce costs and energy usage. That comes as the system grapples with $1.6 billion in deferred maintenance , with more than half of all system facilities and three-quarters of residence halls going without meaningful renovations for at least 50 years.