The University of Maine System will seek accreditation for multiple bachelor’s degree programs that will require fewer credits to complete, it announced on Monday.
The five programs will focus on areas with workforce shortages across Maine, including public administration and business management. The degree paths will be open to anyone with prior college credit who has not been in higher education for at least two years.
The new programs will require 90 credits, compared with a traditional bachelor’s degree, which requires 120.
The board of trustees approved the programs at its Monday meeting, and said they were created with input from faculty, staff, students and employers as a way to react to job demands in the state while allowing students to balance their personal lives.
“This initiative reflects the commitment of our public universities to be nimble and responsive to changing educational and workforce needs by providing an innovative approach to help those many adults who need to complete degrees but are balancing work and family responsibilities a new and easier way to do so,” Board Chair Trish Riley said.
The degree programs include applied public administration at the University of Maine at Augusta, applied business management at the University of Maine at Fort Kent, applied college studies at the University of Maine at Machias and applied psychology and applied liberal studies at the University of Maine at Presque Isle. The programs will all be online.
The degrees are labeled as applied because they will focus on how skills learned in classes will transfer to jobs.
The board has requested that the New England Commission for Higher Education consider and authorize the programs at its November meeting. If authorized, the system hopes students will be enrolled in the program by next summer.
At the same meeting, the board approved the elimination of seven degree programs and the suspension of two others across the University of Southern Maine, University of Maine at Augusta and University of Maine at Fort Kent campuses.
The programs were all cited as having low or no enrollment along with similar offerings across the system.
