AUBURN — Relatively low tuition of $3,500 a year is one reason for going to a community college. 

“The price is way lower than every other university,” said Mark Truss, 21, a student at Central Maine Community College in Auburn.

The low-cost tuition, and the tough economy, has helped fuel a record enrollment growth at Maine’s community colleges, again.

Statewide, enrollment grew by 11.8 percent over the past year. A total of 16,555 students — the most ever — are now attending Maine’s seven community colleges.

Since state lawmakers changed Maine’s technical colleges to the Maine Community College System seven years ago, enrollment has grown by 84 percent. The idea of creating community colleges was to encourage more Mainers to go to college, beginning with two-year programs and transferring to four-year colleges or universities.

At CMCC on Wednesday, a “fall transfer fair” was held in Jalbert Hall. Representatives from Bates College, Husson, the University of Maine and the University of Southern Maine, among others, came to talk to students about four-year degrees.

Over the past year at the Auburn campus, the number of students grew by 8.4 percent.

“We’re really pleased,” said Roger Philippon, dean of planning and public affairs. “For us, this is just another year we’ve had enrollment growth.”

At Maine’s largest community college, Southern Maine Community College in South Portland, enrollment grew by 10.5 percent. At Kennebec Valley Community College in Fairfield, enrollment grew by 12.3 percent.

Officials attribute the higher number of students to a growing familiarity with community colleges and the economic recession.

“When the economy is in some trouble, enrollment at community colleges tends to increase, as people who are unemployed or underemployed look at retraining opportunities to increase their employment potential,” Philippon said.

Students attending a criminal justice class on Wednesday agreed.

“I lost my job after 22 years because of the economy,” said Gayla Peters, 48, of Lewiston. “I qualified (through the CareerCenter) for a program to come back to school and get a two-year associate’s degree. They’re paying for everything. It’s a great opportunity.”

Kristi Couture, 48, of Jay, worked for 23 years as a paper maker before losing her job at Wausau. “They closed my mill down,” she said. Couture is planning to work in criminal justice, helping to find crime evidence on computers.

So is Kevin Simpson, 73, of Auburn.

“I got laid off from Geiger in January,” Simpson said. “This whole subject (criminal justice and computers) appeals to me.” He’s not retired because of “money,” he said.

Felicia Hinkley, 18, of Kingfield, said the cost was one reason she enrolled in Auburn. “And it’s a chemical-free campus.”

Sally Songalewski, 20, of Lisbon Falls, said she came because the community college has a curriculum she likes. “The faculty is really helpful here, and the price,” she said.

Still another reason enrollment is growing is because the community colleges have programs that students and the job market want, Philippon said.

In Auburn those include nursing, machine tool, automotive, criminal justice, human services and electrical technology. Some of those programs are new.

Faced with budget cuts, the community colleges “could have simply maintained the status quo,” Maine Community College System President John Fitzsimmons said Wednesday in a prepared statement. “Instead, we made a commitment to serve as many students as possible, and found a way to open our doors even wider.”

[email protected]

Sarah Faulkingham of Auburn, left, a 2009 graduate of Edward Little
High School, studies for an exam with Brooke Siprell of Farmington, a
2008 graduate of Mt. Blue High School. They chose to go to Central
Maine Community College in Auburn because it had the nursing courses they needed and it was so close to their
homes that they could go to school full time and live at home.

Sarah Faulkingham of Auburn, left, a 2009 graduate of Edward Little
High School, studies for an exam with Brooke Siprell of Farmington, a
2008 graduate of Mt. Blue High School. They chose to go to Central
Maine Community College in Auburn because it was so close to their
homes that they could go to school full time and live at home.

Sarah Faulkingham of Auburn, left, a 2009 graduate of Edward Little High School, studies for an exam with Brooke Siprell of Farmington, a 2008 graduate of Mt. Blue High School. They chose to go to Central Maine Community College in Auburn because it was so close to their homes that they could go to school full time and live at home.

Sally Songalewski of Lisbon Falls listens to instructor Bill King at Central Maine Community College during an Introduction to Criminal Justice class Wednesday morning.