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Portland and Biddeford, Maine

Maine community college grads guaranteed transfer paths to six Maine independent colleges under new agreement

Several students studying in the Commons
The Maine Transfer Guarantee intends to break down barriers to a four-year education for Maine's community college graduates.

Community college graduates in Maine can now transfer directly to degree programs at six of Maine’s independent four-year colleges, including the University of New England, under the new Maine Transfer Guarantee announced Wednesday, June 5.

“The Maine Transfer Guarantee takes the guesswork out of higher ed planning for many Maine students and families,” said David Daigler, president of the Maine Community College System. “This provides clear benchmarks and guideposts to students and their families mapping out what can often be a confusing higher ed journey. Now they know exactly how to get from their associate degree to a four-year degree and beyond.”

Under the program, community college graduates meeting GPA requirements are guaranteed admission in programs at UNE as well as College of the Atlantic, Husson University, Thomas College, Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, and Unity Environmental University. More detailed information is available at the Maine Transfer Guarantee student portal. 

The agreement is the latest statewide Transfer Guarantee program coordinated by the New England Board of Higher Education. Other New England Transfer Guarantee programs exist in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Vermont. A New Hampshire program will launch this year.

“The Maine Transfer Guarantee is a big step forward in simplifying transfer with the goal of helping students stay on track to earn the bachelor’s degree they seek by removing barriers that previously slowed them down, such as credits lost in the transfer process that add both cost and time to degree,” said UNE President James Herbert, who is also president of the Maine Independent Colleges Association.

Maine’s community colleges already have guaranteed transfer agreements with Maine’s public universities, including a block transfer agreement that guarantees transfer of up to 35 credits of general education requirements, and Advantage U, which guarantees community college Liberal Arts graduates admission with advanced standing to a Maine public university.

The New England Transfer Guarantee initiative, aimed at establishing systemic state transfer programs, is funded by the Teagle Foundation, the Arthur Vining Davis Foundations, the Davis Educational Foundation, and the Lloyd G. Balfour Foundation.

About the University of New England

The University of New England is Maine’s largest independent university, with two beautiful coastal campuses in Maine, a one-of-a-kind study abroad campus in Tangier, Morocco, and an array of flexible, accredited online degrees. In an uncommonly welcoming and supportive community, we offer hands-on learning, empowering students to make a positive impact in a world full of challenges. The state’s top provider of health professionals, we are home to Maine’s only medical college, Maine’s only dental college, a variety of other interprofessionally aligned health care degree programs, as well as nationally recognized programs for marine science degrees, natural and social sciences degrees, arts and humanities degrees, and business degrees.