SACO, Maine - Graduates from Thornton Academy in Saco will soon be able to earn a college degree in three years. Thornton and the University of New England today announced a partnership where students who excel in certain coursework can enter UNE as a sophomore. The goal is to increase access and affordability for those seeking a college degree. It's an option that's becoming increasingly common in higher education.
Tuition and board at the University of New England runs more than $40,000 a year. That falls in line with the average tuition at a private university in the U.S., but over the course of four years, it amounts to a lot of cash - and potential debt.
That's why, UNE president Danielle Ripich says, it made sense to partner with nearby Thornton Academy to offer students a chance to earn a liberal arts degree in just three years.
"UNE is a private university with a very public mission, and this is a way of honoring that mission for, I think, both of our institutions," Ripich said at a news conference in Saco.
Ripich says UNE is constantly looking for ways to be more affordable, and Thornton emerged as a good partner because it provides more entering students to UNE than any other high school in Maine, or the U.S.
To matriculate as a sophomore, Thornton Academy students will have to demonstrate proficiency in certain core advanced placement requirements. Thornton Headmaster Rene Menard says there may be current seniors who could take advantage of the program. "What a terrific opportunity to bypass an entire year of college and enter in the the University of New England with sophomore status," Menard said. "It's just - it's unprecedented."
The idea got a thumbs up from Sen. Angus King, who appeared in support of what he says is a creative way to lower the cost of a college degree. "We can talk about more student aid and lower interest rates and bigger Pell grants, but we also have to talk about more economical ways to deliver the product," King said.
Accelerated programs aren't entirely new. More and more colleges and universities in Maine and across the country offer them for certain degrees. Bates College has offered an accelerated program since the 1960s. But in recent years, only one or two students a year have chosen the option.
Though these programs may be slow to gain traction, UNE President Danielle Ripich expects that will change just as today's incoming college students have become more savvy.
"They're more poised, they're more mature, probably, even than students we saw five, 10 years ago," she said. "Kids today have an exposure, probably with all the technology. They're just more sophisticated students in many ways."
Ripich says she expects fewer than 20 Thornton Academy students will likely qualify for the program every year. And though it may touch just a small pool of students, she says it taps into a demographic that often falls through the cracks when it comes to financial assistance: the middle class.
"They can't get the benefit of the full amount of loans. But yet the family doesn't have the wealth to pay the full tuition," she said. "So I see these students as somewhere in that middle ground. And those are students that oftentimes we find have the biggest challenges with finding tuition dollars and an ability to come up with money."
Alli Bell, a senior associate at HCM Strategists and former researcher at the National Center for Education Statistics, says a three-year degree is a big cost saver for students, and it can also help ensure they complete their college degree.
"One of the predictors of dropping out entirely is extended time to degree," Bell says. "So by getting students through more quickly, you're actually reducing the cost for that student, as well as for the state or institution."
Danielle Ripich says she hopes to expand UNE's partnership to other high schools in the future so that more incoming students will have the accelerated, three-year degree option.
