AUBURN — A new pilot program at three of Maine’s community colleges (Central Maine Community College, Southern Maine Community College and York County Community College) is addressing a growing national concern: the number of adults with some college credit but no degree. The issue is especially significant in Maine where an estimated 20 percent of working age adults, more than 185,000 individuals, have earned some college credit but lack a degree.

In May, 57 Maine adults who participated in the Accelerate ME pilot earned an associate degree. For most of these students, it was a graduation years, even decades, after they first began working towards that goal. Like many other Mainers, their dreams of a college education were deferred by work and family commitments and financial constraints.

Funded by a three-year grant from the Kresge Foundation and supported by a number of other donors, Accelerate ME is designed to address many of the barriers that have prevented adults from completing a degree. Students who enroll in the program receive financial assistance to cover the costs of tuition, mandatory fees and books so that they can enroll in college full-time. The program also provides them with comprehensive academic and student support services and priority scheduling of their classes so that they complete their academic requirements as quickly as possible.

Shelly Stevens, 44, of Bridgton, who received her degree from CMCC this spring, said she would not be graduating from college without the program and then corrected herself: “Well, maybe in 15 years.” A mother while she was still in high school, she started taking college courses in the 1990s and earned credits from a number of institutions. When she found herself unemployed last year, she still needed 25 credits to obtain her degree. “The scholarship ‘at my age’ made a big difference,” she says. “No one ever gives scholarships to people like me.”

Individuals interested in learning more about the program are encouraged to contact the admission offices at the three colleges or to visit www.mccs.me.edu/accelerateme.html. At CMCC the contact person is John Devine, 755-5370 or [email protected].