LEWISTON — The fate of the University of Southern Maine’s Lewiston-Auburn College campus will remain uncertain for a little longer than expected.

The Finance, Facilities and Technology Committee of the University of Maine System board of trustees was expected Wednesday to discuss selling the college property in Lewiston so the campus could move downtown. If the committee approves of selling, the full board will take it up.

But the committee decided instead to take no action Wednesday. Committee members wanted more information about the proposal, including a timeline, a multiyear cost analysis for relocation, projections for enrollment and revenue, and a survey of market potential for relocating the campus downtown.

The committee won’t be able to take up the issue again until January at the earliest, when it has its next scheduled meeting. However, Chairman Sam Collins signaled committee support for the relocation.

“Moving Lewiston-Auburn College into the downtown is the right strategic direction and our discussion today focused on the data, process and timeline the board will need to advance the exciting vision President (Glenn) Cummings has outlined,” he said in a statement released after the meeting.

Cummings on Wednesday said the committee’s discussion “represented an important step” for USM’s vision for the campus.

“The guidance we received from the board today moves us closer to achieving what I believe will be a major and meaningful change for our students and the Lewiston-Auburn region,” he said.

USM officials have said they’d like to relocate the campus in the next few years.

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