Commissioner’s Update – September 24, 2015

From the Maine Department of Education

Gov. LePage hosts Maine DOE and UMFK in the Cabinet Room

The Maine Department of Education and the University of Maine at Fort Kent have announced a first-of-a-kind partnership to expand the number of options Maine students have to earn college credit while still in high school. This partnership was celebrated Wednesday, Sept. 23 at 3 p.m. in the Cabinet Room at the State House where Governor LePage hosted Acting Deputy Commissioner Rachelle Tome, Program Specialist Abby Manahan, Retired UMFK President Wilson Hess, and UMFK’s Scott Voisine, Dean of Community Education. Maine DOE’s Acting Commissioner Tom Desjardin was also able to join for the event.

“We need to start looking ahead; I don’t want to lose the kids,” said Governor Paul R. LePage. “This partnership goes up and beyond the normal status of education in Maine.”

Starting this fall, high school students enrolled in 17 advanced placement (AP) courses throughout the state via the Maine DOE’s online AP4ALL program will have the option to be dually enrolled in those courses via UMFK’s Rural U program.

Dual enrollment is defined as the opportunity to earn college credit for a high school course with an approved course syllabus meeting college course standards and a teacher approved as a college adjunct instructor. By adding the dual enrollment option to eligible AP4ALL courses, high school juniors and seniors can choose to earn credit by passing the final AP exam and receiving a grade for the course from UMFK, becoming part of an official college transcript.

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