Maine's public universities to award college credit for career-aligned high school microcredentials

AUGUSTA – As part of its efforts to promote postsecondary access, upward mobility, and the growth of the state's workforce, the University of Maine System (UMS) will award academic credit for microcredentials earned by high school students through Jobs for Maine's Graduates (JMG).

Through the agreement announced today, Maine's public universities will award up to eight college credits for microcredentials earned through JMG that demonstrate mastery of competencies and skills in high demand, including financial and digital literacy, entrepreneurship, and leadership development.

"This historic agreement between Maine's public universities and JMG will strengthen aspirations, access and degree attainment while reducing student debt and time to a door-opening college degree and meaningful, good-paying career," said UMS Chancellor Dannel Malloy. "JMG's microcredentials demonstrate a student's college-level learning and skill development in critical areas necessary to their future success and the growth of the state's workforce. Our System has rigorously evaluated them and is proud to accept them for credit as part of our ongoing efforts to create more college and career pathways that promote upward mobility and Maine's employers and economy."

To meet the workforce needs of the state, Maine has set a goal that by 2035, some 70 percent of working-age adults will hold postsecondary credentials that lead to good jobs. The state has made considerable progress over the past decade, thanks in large part to Maine's public universities expanding college access through early college, direct and guaranteed admissions, online offerings, adult degree completion initiatives, and region-leading affordability. Still, just 55.5 percent of Mainers hold a high-value credential, even as automation raises the premium employers place on durable human skills such as leadership, communication, and judgment.

Under the new program, JMG students can earn UMS credit for eight career-readiness credentials: Leadership Development, Personal Growth, Entrepreneurial Mindset, Multicultural Foundations, Pathway Navigation, Job and Career Readiness, Financial Literacy, and Digital Literacy. Students earn the credentials over multiple years of high school as portable digital badges, with the exact number of credits and course designation set by each UMS university.

Because most of JMG's more than 13,000 annual students do not enter the program planning to attend college, the agreement gives young people who may never have considered a degree the chance to leave high school with credit already in hand.

It is the first time faculty governance groups at Maine's public universities have agreed to accept microcredentials for college credit. The evaluation process used for the JMG short courses was consistent with that already used within the System to award credit for prior learning, such as work and military experience.

The partnership builds on JMG's three decades of programming across all 16 Maine counties and its long-standing partnerships with Maine's public universities, where JMG college success advisors are embedded. The approach is already drawing interest from other states through Generation US (GenUS), a national nonprofit launched by JMG. The same model is now being considered by education systems in Kansas, Kentucky, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.

JMG partners with public education and private businesses to provide results-driven solutions to ensure all Maine students graduate, attain postsecondary credentials, and pursue meaningful careers, including right here in RSU 14. Serving more than 13,000 students statewide each year, JMG offers on ramps from sixth grade through age 24 to nearly 150 programs embedded in public schools, career and technical education centers, and on every campus in the University of Maine System and the Maine Community College System.

"We've watched too many students walk into our classrooms who never once saw college as a realistic option for themselves," said JMG President and CEO Kimberley Acker Lipp. "Maine can't afford that anymore. We're the oldest state in the country, and we need more young people to stay and build careers here. Now a student can graduate from high school having already earned eight college credits. That changes the math for a 16-year-old who is considering whether college is within reach."

For more information, please visit gen-us.org and jmg.org. <