FARMINGTON – U.S. Sen. Susan Collins commended the University of Maine at Farmington on Wednesday for being identified as one of 20 colleges nationwide that are models of educational effectiveness.
Speaking to students, staff and community members, the Maine Republican said, “This isn’t just an honor for UMF, it’s an honor for the people of Farmington, of western Maine and of the entire state.”
The university was included in “Student Success in College, Creating Conditions That Matter,” published by the American Association of Higher Education. Based on a collaboration of studies and surveys of college students and staff, the book seeks to serve as a how-to for other institutions looking to create a more supportive campus culture in which students are active, engaged, satisfied with their post-secondary experience and successful.
UMF and 19 other colleges surfaced as rating higher in student engagement than predicted after a nationwide survey, according to Mary Sylvester, the school’s director of development and alumni relations. These colleges were chosen by the authors to be featured as models of strong-performing institutions of higher education.
According to the authors, conditions important to student development include: a clear, focused institutional mission; emphasis on first-year students; respect for diverse talents; active learning and contact with faculty beyond the classroom.
“UMF creates a challenging environment of active learning for our students. The entire campus shares a commitment to student success,” university President Theo Kalikow said in a news release.
The university was also cited in the book for cultivating mutually beneficial connections with the surrounding community rather than harboring “commonly strained relations between town and gown.’
“For example, when the town of Farmington, Maine, needed more opportunities for indoor recreation,” the authors said, “UMF became a partner in addressing these community needs. The campus recreation center at UMF now is the primary indoor recreation site of the community. Increased demand for fitness classes and other instructor-led activities created additional jobs for students and increased the interaction between students and community members.”
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