There was an almost immediate backlash this spring when the University of Maine System announced plans to reorganize.

On Tuesday, a committee from the system’s board of trustees approved several significant revisions in the plan, after the outcry that had emanated from some students, faculty members, lawmakers and others. The final draft will be released Friday and the entire board of trustees will vote on it Sept. 20.

When Chancellor Joseph Westphal released some details of the reorganization earlier this year, we found things to applaud, things to chide and a whole lot of details lacking.

While many details about actual changes must still wait until the implementation phase of the plan, some of the problems have been ironed out, and compromises have been made.

With these revisions, the reorganization plan should be an easier sell to skeptics.

Backtracking, the universities in Fort Kent, Presque Isle and Machias would remain separate. They were to be combined with a single administration. Now they would form a consortium, with a combined advisory board. The goal is to maintain the school’s individual identities while improving faculty and program coordination, including a more unified approach to budgeting.

The University of Maine at Augusta would still become part of the University of Southern Maine, which would affect the school’s Lewiston campus. According to the plan, the new campus in Augusta would offer bachelor’s and post-graduate programs while shifting many of its associate degree programs to the community college system.

In the revisions, the system’s 11 outreach centers would stay open, but their operation would be removed from the chancellor’s office.

The plan also pushes the university toward improving faculty and staff compensation, and launches a process to rename all of the schools except the University of Maine at Orono. The plan does not include name recommendations, only a mandate to research new options.

Of course, the changes have also reduced the anticipated savings. Originally, Westphal predicted the reorganization could save about $15 million a year, once fully put in place. That number is down to $12 million now.

Westphal says he thinks the revisions still accomplish the major goals of reorganization while compromises make it more appealing to critics. Nonetheless, he expects lawmakers might step into the process when the Legislature convenes.

If legislators get involved, they should understand that the status quo is not sustainable. The University of Maine System needs to be reformed. From what we know so far, this plan is a reasonable beginning.