| James Bradley <james.bradley@maine.edu> | |||
[Rumford, Maine] Students accessing their college courses through the University College Center in Rumford now have some extra added financial support. Students at the Rumford Center can now get some extra help purchasing books - just by taking advantage of tutoring support services available at the Center or online. Thanks to the “Tutoring Pays Off!” Program, students who access tutoring support two distinct times are rewarded with a $50 book voucher, up to twice per semester. And students will tell you, book costs are a major expense each year, so that voucher comes in handy. The Tutoring Pays Off program hopes to motivate students to
seek the valuable support services they need to be successful in their course work through their local University College Center.
“I look at this as a real win-win for our students,” said Lisa MacDonald Cooper, Director of University College @ Rumford. “Even better, I think it demonstrates how communities can invest in themselves. By supporting students staying in our community and taking college courses, lowering a cost barrier, and encouraging active success strategies, we are encouraging the persistence needed to complete a degree. These are our community members, our neighbors we’re helping. I believe that comes back to us in the end.”
Another recently added scholarship source comes from a wider-based community effort. Cooper is a working member of a non-profit development group called Maine West, a partnership of local and regional organizations dedicated to addressing systemic rural challenges and enhancing community well-being in Western Maine. Thanks to her work with that group, the Western Maine Scholarship Fund was established at the University of Maine at Augusta in 2016 with a gift from the Betterment Fund and Maine West.
The resulting Western Maine Scholarship is now available to UMA students attending the University College Centers in Rumford or in South Paris who have a minimum GPA of 3.0 and have completed a minimum of 24 credit hours (sophomore standing). Two $1,250 scholarships will be awarded each Fall and Spring semester the fund is available. According to Cooper, director of both Centers in Rumford and South Paris, she worked to establish this Scholarship, “because it was regionally focused. The Maine West group is an interesting blend of community partners developing ideas through increased collaboration across the economic, education,
health, and conservation sectors. The focus on cross-sector collaboration is a great approach to addressing many of the issues facing Western Maine. We see those issues play out in the stories of our students. The Scholarship is a way of encouraging those students to stay with it, despite some of the challenges they face, and to be rewarded for their hard work.”
If you know a student taking courses through our local University College Center, pass the word along. That too will prove to a student that their community is behind their success. Students can contact the Center in Rumford at 207.364.7882 for more information.
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University College has a system-wide mission to provide centralized services to students and faculty engaged in online and distance programs offered by the campuses of the University of Maine System. University College operates Centers at Brunswick, East Millinocket, Ellsworth, Houlton, South Paris, Rockland, Rumford, and Saco which allows students access to over 100 certificate and degree programs from the University of Maine System. Students access the resources of campuses while studying online, at their local Center, or pursuing a mix of online and traditional classroom instruction while staying close to home.
"Online, Affordable &
in your Community." |
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