Aspirations Program

PURPOSE OF THE PROGRAM 

The Aspirations Program ensures that participating students have opportunities to explore or begin a post-secondary degree or certificate while still in high school. To help more Mainers achieve a credential of value consistent with the State’s statutory postsecondary attainment goal, all stakeholders should work towards the goal that program participation mirrors student demographics at the state, regional, and school levels.

 

ENROLLMENT, LIMITS, AND COURSEWORK

Enrollment

  • Enrollments must be processed through the ExplorEC / OnCourse portal in order to be Aspirations-eligible.
  • All subsequent course management (e.g., drops, withdrawals, roster verification) must happen through the portal in order to keep students, colleges, schools and Maine DOE informed of student activity.
  • Course enrollments are counted by earliest application date and timestamp in the ExplorEC / OnCourse portal and all colleges (MCCS & UMS) agree to determine Aspirations Program eligibility based on application date.

Lifetime Cap

  • Starting with the Class of 2027, students will have access to 18 credits of Aspirations eligibility.
  • Career and Technical Education students in approved career pathways are eligible for an additional 6 credits in their pathway courses at MCCS, for a total of 24 credits.
  • Once a student exceeds the Aspirations credit limit, the student, parent/guardian, and school will be informed prior to registration and then the student will be billed accordingly.

Course/Credit Limits

  • Course limits per semester (totals within and across systems):
    • Summer: 2 courses, cannot meet during the same shortened session
    • Fall: 3 courses
    • Spring: 3 courses
    • Year-long concurrent enrollment courses may be counted in either fall or spring semester with campus approval, but students will still register in the fall.
  • UMS/MCCS has the right to deny enrollment to a student based upon their prior academic history. Course limits may be upheld regardless of the student’s ability or willingness to pay for excess credits.

Eligible Coursework

  • Courses must be credit-bearing and transcribed by the granting post-secondary institution. MCCS and UMS cannot guarantee transferability but will advise students on course selections.
  • College experiences that are ineligible for reimbursement include remedial or developmental courses, courses taken for audit or pass/fail, or credits obtained through articulation (such as those awarded through secondary/post-secondary articulation agreements, external learning opportunities, or any prior learning assessment.) Additionally, the Aspirations Program funding does not provide for the purchase of books, materials, or payment for additional student fees or transportation costs.

Course Withdrawal

  • Students who drop or withdraw or no-show from a course:
  • Students who withdraw from a course after the college census receive a “Drop/Withdraw Bill” status.  “Drop/Withdraw Bill” courses count towards the annual Aspirations limit.  
  • If a student enrolls in credits beyond the limit set by the Aspirations Program statute, the student is responsible for any bills generated, regardless of when they drop or withdraw from the course. The college will not adjust registrations in the event of a course withdrawal in order to bring a student below course or credit thresholds.
  • No-show enrollment will count towards the student’s total Aspirations credits.

Retaking Coursework

  • Students who do not successfully complete a postsecondary course must retake the course in order to be eligible to enroll in subsequent postsecondary courses. 
    • The course may not be retaken without prior consultation with and approval from the early college advisor or staff.
    • Students who do not successfully complete a postsecondary course must retake that course at the original institution where the course was first taken.
    • The following rules apply in order for a course retake to be covered by the Aspirations program:
      • The Aspirations Program retake policy applies only to the following (or equivalent) grades: D, F, W (Withdrawal) or L (Did not attend).
      • Courses taken to improve a transferable grade are ineligible for Aspirations Program reimbursement. 
      • Students will be permitted to retake only one course.
    • The course that is retaken will be counted toward the total number of eligible courses students are permitted to take in the Aspirations Program.
    • Students who are not successful in subsequent courses may retake additional courses, but these will be billed as self-pay.

 

STUDENT ELIGIBILITY

The eligibility requirements reflect the statutory language of the program and the funding source.

Eligible students

    • Publicly funded high school 9th-12th grade students enrolled at a Maine school; and
    • Students who attend a high school or academy classified as a Private Schools Approved for the Receipt of Public Funds and who are not private pay tuitioned students; and
    • Home instruction students who meet the requirements of Title 20-A, section 5001‑A, subsection 3, paragraph A, subparagraph (4); and
    • Students who are residents of Maine. An exception includes international exchange students if the superintendent has approved the acceptance of the student as a foreign exchange student and the student is attending the school at public expense and are not paying tuition to that school.

Ineligible students

    • Students who attend private schools and pay tuition. 
    • International students who are paying tuition to a public or private school.
    • Any Maine student who is paying tuition to attend a public or private high school.
    • Students attending equivalent schools of instruction that are not approved for the receipt of public funds from Maine school units pursuant to 20-A MRSA Chapter 117, Sub-chapter 2.
    • Non-residents of the State, except where allowed by statute (for example official student exchange program participant).

Additional stipulations

  • Students must be at least in their first semester of secondary school instruction.
    • Seniors are not eligible for early college courses in the summer semester following their senior year, regardless of course start date or high school graduation status. 

 

STUDENT ADVISING AND SUPPORT

Advising and student support include all aspects of early college course consideration, appropriate course selection and modality, credit accumulation and guidance, appropriate student recommendation, and academic learning support. Advising and student support are shared responsibilities across secondary and post-secondary partners. As the Aspirations Program is intended to promote post-secondary planning and education, course selection should align with each student’s interests and goals.

Secondary Schools

The following items related to secondary school functions were developed through, and supported by, the LD1880 Report, the Maine Early College Report, and stakeholder discussions.

  • The online ExplorEC / OnCourse portal is central to the administration and student support facets of the Aspirations Program.
  • Schools are responsible for supporting students in their use of the portal, for assisting with parent/guardian approvals when needed, and for ensuring appropriate school staff use the portal for the responsibilities of their roles.
  • Schools should promote early college opportunities equitably as students explore and design secondary education plans.
  • High schools and Career and Technical Education (CTE) schools should cooperate and align advising when students are taking college courses in both settings.       
  • Schools should be aware of Aspirations Program eligibility rules and program credit limits and thresholds and counsel students appropriately. Schools should advise students that they will incur a bill when the credit limit is exceeded.
  • Schools are responsible for recommending students for the appropriate college course at the appropriate time. Schools are responsible for understanding that there are significant differences between high school and college disability accommodations and should make recommendations in the best interest of the student.
  • If a student is taking a college course to fulfill a specific high school graduation requirement, the school counselor should ensure that reasonable time in the daily schedule and support for that course is provided to the student.
  • Schools understand that college courses may not be available and are not designed for high school credit recovery.
  • Schools should be aware of the differences that exist between secondary and post-secondary policies and refer students to post-secondary resources when appropriate.
  • Schools will ensure that course prerequisites have been met before recommending students for specific courses. Provide evidence to support approval of courses with prerequisites (e.g. test scores, transcripts, etc.).

MCCS and UMS

  • Collaborate with a focus on meeting the needs of Maine’s high school students within the available resources provided. Align policies and procedures whenever possible to ensure consistency and help students, parents, and schools navigate Aspirations Program offerings.
  • As institutions develop and promote career exploration pathways, MCCS and UMS will provide resources and supports that will guide students to take courses that align with their career exploration and post-secondary interests and that maximize transferability.
  • Provide tools to help students purposefully select their courses including resources to help students select career exploration pathways that align with their career interests.
  • Ensure college advising is available to every student at either a credit threshold or if the student enrolls in 12 or more credits or if the student requests it.
  • Advise students that transferability is not guaranteed and provide resources that students can use when seeking credits at institutions outside of MCCS/UMS.
  • Provide professional development opportunities and training for school counselors, including resources to ensure awareness of MCCS and UMS policies and procedures.
  • Ensure early college students have access to college resources including tutoring, libraries, access to transcripts, and other supports provided to matriculated students.

 

PROGRAM QUALITY

Program quality for coursework delivered under the Aspirations Program is designed and intended to meet national best practices in dual and concurrent enrollment administration in reference to the regional New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) accreditation standards and the concurrent enrollment specific National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP) accreditation standards.

MCCS and UMS continue to align their policies with NACEP standards, national best practices, emerging research, and reports. These best practices address partnerships, faculty, assessment, curriculum, student, and program evaluation. The Maine Department of Education supports this approach.