As the leader of Maine’s largest higher education enterprise, I read with interest the April 23 article “More Maine high schoolers are looking to Canada for college.”

While the number of American study permit holders in Canada reached its highest point in a decade in 2025 — a 50% increase from 2015 — the good news for our state is that there is even greater growth in the number of Canadian students choosing the University of Maine System. 

In fact, a record 347 students from Canada enrolled last fall, a 10.5% increase just over the prior year and more than double the number attending 10 years ago. 

Beyond our nation’s divisive politics, education reporter Riley Board attributes students’ growing interest in our neighbor to the north to the affordability and ease of applying to their institutions. The same is true for Maine’s public universities, which require no application fees or standardized tests and offer direct admission to the state’s high school students and guarantee admission for community college graduates.

In addition to high-quality, door-opening degree programs and hands-on research learning, our system is successfully competing for more Canadian students because they qualify for our in-state tuition rate, which is the most affordable in New England. 

Mainers and Canadians have much more in common than a border. We are proud that both in-state and Canadian students and families are increasingly recognizing the exceptional value and opportunity for upward mobility available through Maine’s public universities. 

Dannel P. Malloy
Chancellor, University of Maine System
Bangor