At USM students seemed to greet the news of a planned merger with UMaine at Augusta with a mixture of surprise and mild approval.
But at UMA, where the changes proposed by the University of Maine System would eliminate associate degree programs that enroll half the student body, the reaction was quite different. Student leaders there expressed bewilderment and dismay at what they felt was a gutting of the university and abandonment of the central Maine population it serves.
“I definitely don’t think it’s for the better,” said senior Shannon Collins, a member of the UMA Student Government Association. In a group interview last week, Collins and three of her student government colleagues said they were particularly troubled by the UMS trustees’ plan to phase out associate degree programs during the merger. They maintained that such a move would undo years of hard work that have brought the university to its current position.
Senior Melissa Spatafore joined Collins in pointing out that UMA’s student population consists substantially of single mothers, working-class citizens living at the poverty level, displaced workers, seniors, veterans and people with disabilities. The majority of those students seek associate degrees, they said, and if the UMS plan were approved, such students would be left in the cold.
In a separate interview by telephone, UMA President Charles Lyons disagreed with Collins’ view of the situation. Lyons embraces the UMS strategic plan as “our best hope for the future,” and he said that becoming a baccalaureate-only institution is “where we’ve been headed anyway for years.” He argued for UMA “moving out… of the associate degree business” and leaving that role to the community college system.
Collins, though, sees that as a betrayal of students. The state’s community college system, she said, is already overcrowded and turning people away. She speculated that the projected $15.5 million savings under the trustees’ plan would go directly toward construction on community college campuses rather than benefiting the Augusta campus.
Student government leaders at UMA also expressed worries that some of the bachelor’s level programs would be eliminated. The strategic plan aims to convert UMA into a more specialized institution, with an emphasis on public policy and administration. But the plan’s wording is unclear about how exclusive that emphasis would be, or whether bachelor’s programs would be sacrificed to bring about that emphasis.
Lyons insisted that rumors about cutting bachelor’s programs are completely untrue. He said no one at the trustees’ office or the Chancellor’s office has said anything to him about eliminating programs at UMA in conjunction with the plan, except at the associate degree level. “Nothing like that has even been contemplated by anybody,” Lyons said.
Nevertheless, Collins feels that Augusta students will be ill-served by this plan. She said she suspected the merger would bring tuition and fees in line with USM levels, adding, “I don’t think this area can handle the tuition [of USM].” In-state tuition at UMA is $123 per credit hour, whereas at USM it’s $144 per credit hour. Other fees, such as student activity fees, are substantially higher at USM than at UMA, Collins said. UMA has no student newspaper or radio station and has far fewer student organizations.
UMA senior Robert Spatafore cited transportation as a major hurdle if the merger goes into effect, and he speculated that students seeking bachelor’s degrees might be forced to commute to USM, an impossible demand for those with families and full-time jobs.
Lyons did not rule out phasing in USM level tuition and fees, but argued that the cost savings from consolidation could have a positive impact on tuition and fee levels. He said that UMA’s current undergraduate programs would likely remain at the Augusta campus, and lengthy commutes to Portland or Gorham would be unnecessary.
“Nobody’s going to be asked to do anything that’s unreasonable,” Lyons said.
Reactions in the USM community contrast with those in Augusta and have so far been cautious but generally favorable. “It looks like a positive move in increasing efficiency,” said Student Senate Chair Jeremy Collette.
Student Sen. Jonathan Read said he felt the consolidation of administrations was a good idea. “Anytime you can eliminate extra bureaucracy, it is a good thing,” he said.
Still, Student Sen. Ezekiel W. Kimball did express some reservations when asked for comment, saying, “I always feel a measure of conflict when I hear that the University has further plans to expand.”
Faculty, Professional Staff and Classified Staff Senate chairs at USM did not return phone calls asking for comment.
Brian O’Keefe can be contacted at [email protected]