Access to Education

An adult learner scholarship from MaineCF helped Gail Hackelberg complete her studies and graduate from Eastern Maine Community College in Bangor with an associate degree in nursing. Photo Ashley L. Conti

Vision: All Maine people, including adult learners and other nontraditional students, can complete a degree or certificate program to maximize their potential.

Our research showed that education and training led to better wages and improved life outcomes across all sectors and populations. The benefits of education and training are twofold: they improve the quality of life for individuals, and strengthen our economy by supporting the skilled workforce we need.

We also learned that a growing gap exists in Maine between the skills employers need and the skills workers have. Meanwhile, too many residents work below their potential. Increasing access to education and training for adult learners and other nontraditional students addresses this gap. However, education in Maine is spread across multiple systems and institutions, from local Adult Education to the University of Maine’s largest campuses. Our assessment found that the system is fragmented and didn’t succeed in providing support for adult learners as they moved through and between these systems.

We wanted to understand how these factors are keeping Mainers from the education and training they need and want. By addressing both individual and system barriers, we hope to close the gaps in training. Improving access would help improve employment opportunities, the incomes of individuals, the well-being of families, and Maine’s overall economy.

What MaineCF did

Working with partners, MaineCF sought to strengthen the higher education community’s ability to serve adults through the Adult Promise coalition. Organizations with Adult Promise work to develop a collective response to, and support of, the pool of students that all share. Developing an online hub and a network of trained Navigators improved the ability of all organizations to help adults with thinking through and planning their next education or career move.

Partners in the Adult Promise include: the University of Maine System, Maine Community College System, Adult Education, the Maine Educational Opportunity Center, Finance Authority of Maine, New Ventures, Maine Development Foundation, and others. You can learn more about Adult Promise here.

Adult Promise partners are also able to work together to develop new models for funding adult students, like MaineCF’s Adult Learner Scholarship. Since 2019, this scholarship has met the varying needs of adult learners in both certificate and degree programs. It provides renewable, flexible awards for direct and indirect expenses, such as child care and transportation. The program has awarded over $1.5 million to date. Learn more by watching the video at right.

Sometimes barriers to education are unexpected, so MaineCF also committed to funding Emergency Grants at community college and University of Maine campuses. Emergency grants can help students cover crises such as housing instability, a broken-down car, or medical emergencies that might threaten their ability to continue in school.

In order to address long-term challenges, MaineCF is a member of the MaineSpark coalition and provides annual support to Educate Maine. MaineSpark is a 10-year commitment from Maine’s most influential education and business leaders to reach a common goal: that by 2025, 60 percent of Mainers will be credentialed and positioned for success. MaineSpark provides a platform for collaboration and an opportunity for advancing shared policy priorities. Educate Maine advances education policies and practices that prepare Maine students to be the next generation of productive, engaged citizens.

“I can see how far I have come and the journey makes me proud. I had no idea where I was going when I started and now I have a clear picture.” – Adult Learner Scholarship recipient

More information

The James and Marilyn Rockefeller Fund is one of the funds administered through the Adult Learner Scholarship, and is MaineCF’s most prominent supporter of adult learners. Learn about the challenges and opportunities these students face in this video, Promise Kept, about Rockefeller Scholarship recipient Beatrice Downs.

The Adult Promise Navigator program has helped train 373 Navigators across the state to assist adults in returning to school. An online hub makes finding information across systems easier for adults.

For more information, contact Director of Strategic Learning Cherie Galyean at cgalyean@mainecf.org or (207) 412-2017.