Maine Maritime Academy’s graduation rate is about half of what officials want it to be and is lower than many other Maine colleges, a dip that may be related to ongoing fallout from the pandemic.
Only 34% of students who started at the public Castine college in the fall of 2019 graduated within four years, and 39% had a degree within six, according to numbers shared at its board of trustees meeting this month.
The academy’s goal is for at least 70% to graduate in six years, which it last achieved with students who started in 2015.
The latest numbers reflect students who were freshmen when the pandemic began, and at least one school official said he’s confident rates will rebound significantly soon. Others noted a spike in mental health challenges and expect academic setbacks from the pandemic will affect student performance for years.
Those are also notable issues because MMA is one of six schools in the country training merchant mariners, a profession in serious need of more workers to keep up international trade and national security.
MMA’s younger students didn’t have their high school educations interrupted by the beginning of the pandemic. But the academy is still seeing many academic challenges, citing a gap in college-level preparation that could stem from disruptions in their earlier schooling that other institutions have also noticed.
“I think we’re going to see the COVID effect for quite some time,” said Jennifer Waters, the school’s provost.
Statewide, 61.1% of students who started college in 2019 graduated in six years, according to the National Student Clearinghouse. Four-year public schools in Maine recorded numbers about 11 points lower than the national average of 70.8%.
Maine graduation rates stayed fairly steady between 2008 and 2019 freshman classes, without a steep pandemic crash, according to Clearinghouse data.
MMA is unique among those schools for its focus on maritime education, preparing students to get Coast Guard licensing to work on commercial ships.
Its nearest likeness is Massachusetts Maritime Academy. That school’s fall 2018 freshman class had a four-year graduation rate of 63%, and almost three-quarters graduated in six years, according to the school’s latest public data.
Among other retention challenges, MMA officials noted a lack of activities around the rural town of Castine. Another small, rural coastal school, the University of Maine at Machias, has even lower graduation numbers.
Only 25% of students who started at UMaine Machias in the fall of 2018 graduated in six years, according to the latest public data; 22% of the 2019 freshman class graduated in five years.
MMA reaches out to every student who leaves, according to David Markow, vice president for enrollment management, admissions and financial aid. Most cite life circumstances – though a later speaker noted students may not always share their real reasons.
Students have also been dismissed for poor performance, Markow said.
The school is close to hiring a director for its student success center, according to Waters, who said she thinks graduation rates should be higher and early support can help. Retention rates from freshman to sophomore years are currently higher, at 82%, with a goal of 85%.
Mental health issues have emerged as a major challenge, according to Diedra Davis, associate vice president of enrollment management. Stressors like the academic workload, rural location and long winters on top of existing mental health issues can become debilitating.
“Mental health is just massive,” she said. “Just massive.”
The school has numerous initiatives to help, she said, but some mental health challenges may be beyond its ability to fix, and the academy can’t turn away students who face them.
The school had two additional health services interns this year and they were all “extremely busy,” Davis said. MMA has budgeted for another mental health professional for the next fiscal year, according to communications director Michael Dickerson.
Graduation rates are much higher — 54% — within the school’s regiment of midshipmen, an intense and structured leadership program, and among student athletes.
Attendees suggested that may be because those students have busier schedules, along with more relationships with adults on campus who can notice if they’re struggling.
Faculty representative Steve Baer agreed faculty are seeing more student mental health issues. The athletics department, where he’s faculty liaison, tracks data closely and has started conversations about how to intervene early, he said.
Pandemic educational setbacks are also parallel to a perception that math and quantitative skills have been declining nationally for decades, he said.
The school is working on a range of retention initiatives, and tries to “triage” in response to crises, according to Markow. A number of reasons students leave are being addressed through those efforts, he said.
Trustees asked for more information about how many students who leave the school are interacting with counseling services, and said they intend to continue discussing retention.
Retention and graduation rates are a focus for the board’s education committee, Dickerson said Wednesday in response to a question about next steps. He did not provide additional comment.
