University of Maine System Chancellor Daniel Malloy at a Press Conference a Few Years Ago in Portland.  Previously he was the Democratic  Governor of Connecticut from 2011 – 2019.

More than 25,000 students will advance their career readiness and upward mobility through Maine’s public universities this fall.  While an official count of students will not take place until October, the University of Maine System (UMS) is on track for its sixth consecutive semester of year-over-year enrollment growth, defying demographic trends in the Northeast according to a press release issued this morning..

With five days until classes commence for the 2025-26 academic year, more than 25,000 undergraduate, graduate and law students have enrolled in the System — an increase over last year and the most since 2021.  Additionally, more than 1,500 Maine high schoolers will get a head start on their postsecondary education through UMS early college, bringing the total number of students served by the System in credit-bearing courses to nearly 26,600.

“When our public universities grow, so does Maine’s workforce and economy.  Our sixth conserutive semester of enrollment gains demonstrates that the University of Maine System is meeting the market with relevent, highquality academic programs that are affordable, accessible and a proven path to great-paying Maine careers,” said Chanellor Daniel Malloy.  “We’re grateful to the increasing number of students and families who are entrusting us with their higher education and upward mobility and we will do everything we can to support their success on our campuses and in Maine commuities and careers.”

Bolstered by its breakout national rankings, bar passage rate and downtown Portland campus, the University of Maine School of Law has hit its highest enrollment since 1997, with 292 students.  This growth is enabling Maine’s only law schoool to expand access to justice through its legal aid clinics, which provide more than 17,000 hours of pro bono service annually and by graduating more attorneys into the state’s workforce, including into rural practice.