adult student market analysis

Draft Final Report

Undergraduate and Graduate Adult Student Market Analysis

University of Southern Maine

August, 2011

5 Marine View Plaza, Suite 212, Hoboken, NJ 07030

T: 201.377.3332 ● F: 201.377.3096● E: [email protected]

http://adultstudents.educationdynamics.com

Draft Final Report

Undergraduate and Graduate

Adult Student Market Analysis

Conducted for:


Conducted by:

Carol B. Aslanian, Project Executive

Scott Jeffe, Project Director

EducationDynamics

5 Marine View Plaza, Suite 212

Hoboken, NJ 07030

T: 201.377.3332

F: 201.377.3096

[email protected]

http://adultstudents.educationdynamics.com

August, 2011

mailto:[email protected]

About EducationDynamics

Find. Enroll. Retain.

EducationDynamics -- higher education's leading marketing company --

provides marketing and student affairs professionals the tools they need to meet

their critical objectives in attracting students and retaining them through

graduation. The organization has pulled together the best in content resources

and proprietary technology applications all managed by a team of professionals

with unparalleled experience in the higher education field. Collectively, it is the

only organization that delivers products and services with a proven track record

for helping schools find, enroll and retain students.

Singular Focus on Higher Education

EducationDynamics currently helps more than 1,800 higher education institutions

recruit, enroll and retain more students. Whether an institution is a not-for-profit,

for-profit, traditional, online, private, public, large or small, EducationDynamics

has a portfolio of proven tools to maximize the interaction with prospective and

current undergraduate and graduate students to drive student growth and

retention.

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The EducationDynamics suite of recruitment, enrollment and retention tools are

metrics-based applications that have been time-tested and proven to deliver

results. From inquiry generation to enrollment services that have shown inquiry

and application increases from 10 to 60 percent to retention services that have

program participants show significantly higher retention rates than non-

participants, EducationDynamics empowers schools to chart their course and

meet their objectives.

CONTENTS

Page

Executive Summary i

Study Methodology 1

Study Area Maps 3

Respondent Profiles

Recent Undergraduate Adult Students - 4

Recent Graduate Adult Students - 7

Study 1: Undergraduate Adult Student Demand

Degree and Nondegree Study - 10

Schedules of Courses - 17

Study Formats - 20

The Position and Image of the University of

Southern Maine

-

24

Promotion of the University of Southern Maine - 32

Media to Advertise - 37

Cost of Courses - 41

Study 2: Graduate Adult Student Demand

Degree and Nondegree Study - 44

Schedules of Courses - 52

Study Formats for Graduate Adult Students - 54

The Position and Image of the University of

Southern Maine

-

59

Promotion of the University of Southern Maine - 65

Media to Advertise - 70

Cost of Courses - 75

Study 3: Employer/Organization Demand - 78

Study 4: School District Demand - 100

Study 5: Competitor Analysis - 106

Undergraduate

Kaplan University-South Portland

Southern Maine Community College

Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick

University of Maine at Augusta

University of Phoenix


Graduate Saint Joseph’s College of Maine


University of Maine

University of New England-Portland


i

Executive Summary

The University of Southern Maine commissioned Aslanian Market Research to conduct a

comprehensive market analysis of demand for undergraduate and graduate adult student

education. The overall purpose of the analysis was to gather data that would allow the

University to ensure that institutional policies, practices, and programs that serve adult

students are responsive to changing needs and demands of prospective undergraduate and

graduate adult students who live, work, and study within the University’s service area.

For the purposes of this analysis, a study area based on a 50-mile radius around each of

the University’s campuses -- in Gorham, Lewiston-Auburn, and Portland – was used.

Conducted during the spring and summer of 2011, this market analysis had six core

components:

In studies 1 and 2, we assessed the demand for undergraduate adult and graduate

study among individuals who had engaged in such study in the past seven years,

and who reside in the aforementioned study area.

In studies 3 and 4, we assessed the demands of employers in the region by

conducting interviews with representatives of 50 businesses and other

organizations as well as 10 school districts.

In study 5, we analyzed the undergraduate adult and graduate offerings of a set of

institutions with which the University competes. These institutions were identified

by the University of Southern Maine staff as competitors and were rated as such

among the undergraduate and graduate adult students we surveyed.

Finally, we conducted a site visit during which we met with key stakeholders and

spoke in depth with both staff with specific responsibility for serving the needs of

adult students as well as staff who are engaged in the overall operations of the

University as they relate to increasing enrollment and retention. In a sense, all of

these people reflect current ―supply‖ offered by the University in a study that is

otherwise focused on demand.

This Executive Summary offers recommendations and highlights key findings based on

the extensive report that follows. We carefully reviewed the data from our investigations

and have drawn conclusions as appropriate.

It is important that the University of Southern Maine staff read the entire report to

understand fully the outcomes that underpin our recommendations and, equally

important, to develop additional conclusions based on the data and their own extensive

experience. Our recommendations and key findings follow a brief overview of the

University’s operations over recent years.

ii

Background

The University of Southern Maine mission statement begins by stating that the University

is ―dedicated to providing students with a high quality, accessible, affordable education.‖

To that end, Aslanian Market Research was asked to conduct an analysis of the demands

and preferences of individuals 25 years of age or older who have recently engaged in

undergraduate or graduate study, to identify where these demands and preferences may

diverge from current practices at the University.

Given declining high school graduation rates in the state of Maine shown below, in order

to expand enrollments in coming years, the University will have to consider a minimum

of three options: (1) lower admissions requirements for traditional aged students in order

―dig deeper in a shrinking pool‖, (2) engage in more costly out-of-state recruitment, or,

(3) configure programs and services in a way that will allow adult students to be able to

consider enrolling at USM while juggling home, work and other life responsibilities.

In a review of 2004 and 2008 IPEDS data for the state of Maine, we see that total

enrollment (at both the undergraduate and graduate levels) have grown slightly – adding

about 5,000 additional students in four years. This growth has been largely at the

undergraduate level – where there was 8.5 percent growth, and less so at the graduate

level – where there was 2 percent growth. Accurate comparisons by age (under 25 and

25+) are not possible due to the fact that in 2004 a large number of Maine’s colleges and

universities (including USM) did not report their enrollments to IPEDS by age, but rather

were submitted as ―age unknown).

The modest growth at the state level has not been mirrored in matriculated enrollments at

USM, where in the same time period (2004-2008) enrollments at both the undergraduate

(-5%) and graduate (-7%) levels declined slightly. The good news is that institutional data

provided to Aslanian Market Research (in the table below) indicate that degree

enrollments at both levels have increased in both of the years since 2008. The decline in

iii

nondegree study at USM between 2004 and 2008 (-23%) is important to note as it stands

in contrast to Aslanian Market Research national trend data that indicate that nondegree

study (certificates, licenses, and individual course study) is on the rise – comprising as

much as 40 percent of adult students in any given study we conduct.

USM Fall Enrollment 2004-2010

Adult student enrollment (age 25+) as a percentage of total enrollment at USM has fallen

significantly over the last decade, due, we assume, to a strategic plan that specifically

sought to focus on traditional age enrollment (particularly out-of-state students) rather

than adult students. USM was not alone in this decision-making. Colleges and

universities throughout the country who had long served the non-traditional/adult market

were advised to focus on the 18-22 year old market by consultants, faculty, and other

stakeholders. The results could not be clearer – while in 2000, 65 percent of all USM

enrollments were 25+ years of age, in 2010, just 35 percent were 25+ years of age. In

fact, the core adult student age group (25-40 years of age) dropped from 47 percent of all

USM enrollments in 2000 to 30 percent in 2010. The traditional age strategy also

extended to USM’s graduate programs where, in 2010, 40 percent of graduate students

are now between the ages of 21 and 25. This stands in contrast to national, and even state

of Maine data which indicate that approximately 80 percent of graduate students (in

2008) were over the age of 25.

In retrospect, given the declining number of high school graduates being produced in

Maine (and neighboring states from which USM might draw students), and the fact that

the educational needs of adults residing in the area have only increased in the last decade,

the strategy of moving away from meeting the needs of adult students may have

adversely impacted USM.

We believe that growth in the ever-tightening and competitive higher education market is

possible, particularly if the University pursues enrollment growth in the adult student

market. This will require not only offering programs that are in demand, but also offering

6797 6847 6718 6583 6483 6552 6582

13931414 1343 1463 1296 1322

1358

2573 24062126 2133 1961 1514 1431

Fall 2004 Fall 2005 Fall 2006 Fall 2007 Fall 2008 Fall 2009 Fall 2010

Undergraduate Graduate Non-Degree UG/Grad

iv

programs in a manner (schedules, formats and services) that the adult student can even

consider enrolling in given their competing priorities (work, family, education, etc).

According to a recent study by the Lumina Foundation, 37 percent of working

professionals aged 25-64 hold at least a two-year degree. This is almost precisely at

national average of 37.7 percent. If we consider those who have attained a four-year

degree, Maine lags a bit more behind the national average of 29.5 percent with just 26.6

percent of working-aged Mainers holding such a degree. Again according to the Lumina

Foundation, there are 157,000 individuals (22 percent of the state’s population) between

the ages of 25-64 who have earned some college credits but no degree. They will need

generous credit transfer policies, flexible schedules, convenient locations and programs to

advance their careers. Attracting even a small percent of these individuals through adult-

friendly, convenient and flexible programs would help the University reach aggressive

enrollment targets in a manner that is cost effective while also contributing to the long

term economic viability of the state.

Institutional Structure

The University of Southern Maine is organized in a ―centralized, decentralized‖ manner

that we see at many institutions – meaning that decision making and responsibility are

shared among many offices, units, departments, etc. This leads, in many cases, to no one

having ultimate authority or accountability for…just about anything. The Student Success

(enrollment management operation) office handles recruitment and admission of all

students – whether they be traditional age or adult. The University Outreach staff work

with (counsels, advises, etc) adult students once they are enrolled (they also manage

USM’s online and noncredit professional development offerings, which will be discussed

below). Both of these offices (that are required to recruit and manage adult students) have

little to no influence on what is being offered, how it is offered, and where it is being

offered. This is not to say that these offices should be making these decisions alone, but

the information they bring to the table about what it will take to make USM attractive to

adult students should be more than a minimal part of the process in deciding how, when

and where USM offers its programs. Otherwise, they can’t really be held to goals set for

them. This is indicative of a common maxim: ―you can’t sell what people don’t want.‖

Course scheduling and the determination of course formats during the fall and spring

semesters (an issue of outsized importance to the recruitment and advisement of adult

students as compared to their 18-22 year old counterparts) are in the hands of the various

schools and colleges at the University, and decisions are based on a number of variables:

pedagogy, availability and willingness of faculty to teach at a given time, place, etc,

resources available to hire adjuncts, and other collective bargaining strictures. The input

of Student Success and University Outreach regarding the times, places, formats and

subjects that are needed by adult students to even be able to consider enrolling at USM

have not been a driving forces in scheduling decisions.

v

Enrollment decisions for traditional age students are not predicated on course schedules

and formats (although we predict they will be more and more in the future). For the most

part, such students will take courses at the times, places, durations, and in the formats

they are told are available. The University’s decision in the last decade to focus on

traditional age students is reflected in the fact that while a decade ago several of USM’s

degrees could be completed exclusively through evening study, today staff report that

that is virtually impossible.

We were also concerned to learn that the University will be rolling out a new

undergraduate core curriculum in the coming year that was described to us as including

classes throughout the four years of study. In preliminary discussions with prospective

undergraduate adult students, admissions staff indicated to us that these requirements

present a challenge to the student, and thereby to USM. Given the number of adults in the

state of Maine with some college but no degree (see figures above, as cited by the

Lumina Foundation), the ability to be able to waive (or not waive) some of these

requirements are likely to impact both enrollment and retention of adult students.

The University Outreach office does manage the scheduling for the summer and winter

terms and in a review of course offerings, it is clear that they do so with the adult student

in mind. They also currently manage the University’s online offerings through USM

Online. We predict that as USM’s online offerings expand (as they must in order to meet

demand) there will be increasing pressure for the responsibility for such offerings to be

put in the hands of the various schools and colleges. We would caution the University to

ensure that regardless of who controls the offerings that they be sensitive to market

demands. The rise of several for-profit providers in Maine in recent years is ―proof

positive‖ that there is demand and adequate technological capability for online education

(as well as classroom study offering in a manner conducive to adult student needs).

Various constraints such as accreditation issues, a limited supply of faculty, and a small

number of ―practical experiences‖ have forced USM to cap enrollments in some high

demand programs (e.g.: Nurse Practitioner, Counseling). With regard to these ―supply‖

issues, it seems, again, that the University’s hands are tied by collective bargaining

agreements that may stifle growth. The University must seek solutions that allow it to

serve the demands of the people of the state of Maine.

While we find nationally, and in this study, that adult students at both the undergraduate

and graduate levels have no bias against being taught by adjunct/part-time faculty – in

fact, nationally there is a slight preference for it – there seems to be skepticism among the

University’s academic leadership about over-using them. Some we spoke with indicated

that their own research has found that adjunct faculty are ―easy graders‖ and that larger

proportions of their students earn disproportionally higher grades. We do not dispute

these findings, but think that it is unlikely that busy working adults seek out adjunct

faculty for ―easy grades.‖ More likely they select courses taught by adjunct faculty

because either (a) that course is all that is available to them at the time they can dedicate

to study, or (b) they prefer to enroll in courses taught by instructors who also work in the

vi

field in which they are teaching. However, it has also been true that adult students do, in

fact, excel in their courses as compared to younger students.

All in all, the current state of the ―process‖ and organization of USM make serving the

needs of adult students, and thereby the recruitment of, a significant challenge.

vii

RECOMMENDATIONS

Action recommendations for this study will be presented in a subsequent edition of this

report and will be based in a careful review of the market data surfaced in our analysis in

combination with input, observations and commentary provided by University of

Southern Maine. This will ensure that the action recommendations are directed in ways

most useful to successfully advancing the University’s service to adult students.

1

Study Methodology

During the spring and summer of 2011, EducationDynamics conducted a comprehensive

market analysis of demand for undergraduate and graduate adult student education on

behalf of the University of Southern Maine. The overall purpose of the analysis was to

identify policies and practices to enhance the University of Southern Maine’s market

share of undergraduate and graduate adult students living within a 50-mile radius of its

campuses in Gorham, Lewiston-Auburn, and Portland. Planned jointly by representatives

of the University of Southern Maine and EducationDynamics, the analysis consisted of

four studies, which are described below and reported in this document.


Random telephone calls were made to thousands of households in the study area (an area

within a 50-mile radius of each of the University of Southern Maine’s campuses in

Gorham, Lewiston-Auburn, and Portland) in order to find a sample of 150 undergraduate

adult students. Respondents were 25 years of age or older when they initially enrolled in

their most recent undergraduate study within the past seven years (about 80 percent of

respondents) or had firm plans to enroll in a undergraduate course in the next two years

(about 20 percent of respondents).

The patterns and preferences of these students are reflective of the students that the

University of Southern Maine can position itself to attract. This approach is based on the

belief that what and how students have actually studied in the recent past or have firm

plans to do so in the next year or so are the best predictors of what others will study in the

future. To put it a different way, we have found, as a result of many studies, that

examining demand is far more reliable than examining prospective interest.

Recent undergraduate adult students residing in the high or medium-high learning census

tracts in the designated area were interviewed (see the map that follows). The interviews

collected information directly related to a number of areas of interest among the

University of Southern Maine staff, including fields of study, schedules of study, study

formats, the position and image of the University of Southern Maine, promotion

strategies, use of media for advertising, and course costs. Each interview also included

questions about the personal characteristics and circumstances of the undergraduate adult

students at the time they took their most recent undergraduate course.

We interviewed a wide range of respondents, as shown in the respondent profile tables

that follow. In general, undergraduate adult students are typically:

Caucasian females 35 years of age. Most are not married and do not have children

under 18 years of age. They are employed full time, and typically have a total

family income of about $55,000. About 30 percent of undergraduate adult

students had already earned a bachelor’s degree or more before they had most

recently enrolled in undergraduate study. They are most often motivated to enroll

2

in college in order to change careers (28%), advance in their current career (26%),

or enter a first career (16%). They most often use personal funds to support their

education (57%), followed by student loans (40%), and grants (28%).


Random telephone calls were made to thousands of households in the study area (an area

within a 50-mile radius of each of the University of Southern Maine’s campuses in

Gorham, Lewiston-Auburn, and Portland) in order to find a sample of 150 graduate adult

students. Respondents were 25 years of age or older when they initially enrolled in their

most recent graduate study within the past seven years (75 percent of respondents) or had

firm plans to enroll in a graduate course in the next two years (25 percent of

respondents).

The patterns and preferences of these students are reflective of the students that the

University of Southern Maine can position itself to attract. This approach is based on the

belief that what and how students have actually studied in the recent past or have firm

plans to do so in the next year or so are the best predictors of what others will study in the

future. To put it a different way, we have found, as a result of many studies, that

examining demand is far more reliable than examining prospective interest.

Recent graduate adult students residing in the high or medium-high learning census tracts

in the designated area were interviewed (see the map that follows). The interviews

collected information directly related to a number of areas of interest among the

University of Southern Maine staff, including fields of study, schedules of study, study

formats, the position and image of the University of Southern Maine, promotion

strategies, use of media for advertising, and course costs. Each interview also included

questions about the personal characteristics and circumstances of the graduate adult

students at the time they took their most recent graduate course.

We interviewed a wide range of respondents, as shown in the respondent profile tables

that follow. We note here that finding graduate degree holders in the Maine portion of our

study area presented a greater challenge that it did in the neighboring states, indicating

less prevalence in Maine. In general, graduate adult students are typically:

Caucasian females 35 years of age. Slightly more than half are married and most

do not have children under 18 years of age. They are employed full time, and

typically have a total family income of about $75,000. About 30 percent of

graduate adult students had already earned a master’s degree or more before they

had most recently enrolled in graduate study. They are most often motivated to

enroll in college in order to advance in their current careers (54%), change careers

(16%), or keep up-to-date in their current career (15%). They most often use

personal funds to support their education (63%), followed by tuition

reimbursement (35%), student loans (29%), and grants (17%).

3

STUDY 3: Employer/Organization Demand

We interviewed representatives of 50 employers in the region all of which fell within a

50-mile radius of the University of Southern Maine’s Portland, Maine campus. The

interviews were designed to investigate their familiarity with the University of Southern

Maine, tuition assistance programs, prior arrangements with outside vendors for

education and training, unmet education and training needs, as well as other topics. In

addition, the conversations addressed employer interest in discussing education and

training needs with the University of Southern Maine representatives.

STUDY 4: School District Demand

We interviewed a representatives of 10 school districts in southern Maine. The interviews

were designed to investigate their familiarity with the University of Southern Maine,

prior use of colleges or universities as sources of education and training, their most

pressing needs in terms of the skills required of new employees and their possible interest

in working with the University in the future, and other topics.

Study 5: Competitor Analysis

Over several months, EducationDynamics examined undergraduate adult student and

graduate student programs offered at several individual institutions, including the

University of Southern Maine. The institutions analyzed were selected based on their

market share among the recent undergraduate and graduate adult students we surveyed

and the University of Southern Maine staff’s knowledge regarding the competitive

marketplace in the study area:

Undergraduate



Southern New Hampshire University-

Brunswick



the University of Southern Maine

Graduate

Saint Joseph’s College of Maine

Southern New Hampshire University-

Brunswick

University of Maine



2

Study Timetable and Reporting

Supported by technical assistance from Resolution Research and Marketing and Applied Education

Research, EducationDynamics carried out this undergraduate and graduate adult student market analysis

during the spring and summer of 2011. That work produced this report, which contains both findings from

the study and recommendations based on the study to guide the University of Southern Maine’s future

policies and practices.

Technical Notes

All percents in this report have been rounded; therefore, the total percent figure in a table may not add up to

exactly 100. Further, if the total percent figure is substantially more than 100, it is because some questions

allowed the respondents to choose more than one option.

Data are expressed in percentages except in instances where numbers express the data more precisely.

Study Area Map

3

4

Respondent Profiles


Gender

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Female 77%

Male 23

Ethnicity

Caucasian 96%

Native American 2

African American 1

Hispanic 1

Age When Last Enrolled

25-29 34%

30-34 13

35-39 14

40-44 6

45-49 13

50-54 9

55-59 4

60-64 5

65 or older 2

Married

No 57%

Yes 41

Prefer not to answer 2

Children Under 18 Years of Age

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

No 70%

Yes 30

5

State of Residency

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Maine 55%

Massachusetts 25

New Hampshire 20

Zip codes of undergraduate adult students are available upon request.

Employment Status

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Employed full time 63%

Employed part time 17

Not employed and not seeking employment 9

Not employed, but seeking employment 9

Retired 2

Income

Under $25,000 15%

$25,000 - $39,999 19

$40,000 - $54,999 16

$55,000 - $69,999 8

$70,000 - $84,999 8

$85,000 - $99,999 5

$100,000 - $114,999 13

$115,000 - $129,000 10

$130,000 - $149,000 2

More than $150,000 3

Highest Level of Schooling Completed

High school diploma/GED 23%

One or two years of college, but no

associate’s degree 26

Associate’s degree 18

Three or four years of college, but no

bachelor’s degree 4

Bachelor’s degree 17

Some graduate courses but no master’s

degree 5

Master’s degree 6

Some graduate courses beyond a master’s

degree, but no doctorate --

Doctorate 1

6

Primary Motivation for Enrollment

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

To change careers 28%

To advance in your current career 26

To enter a first career 16

Personal reasons unrelated to job/career 13

Seeking a specific degree/level of schooling 10

To keep up-to-date in your current career 7

Method(s) of Course Payment

Personal funds 57%

Student loans 40

Grants (federal/state/local financial aid) 28

Tuition reimbursement 17

Personal loans 13

Private scholarships 13

Assistantships/Tuition waivers 6

Military/Veterans benefits 5

Other 3

7


Gender

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Female 76%

Male 24

Ethnicity

Caucasian 94%

Asian or Pacific Islander 3

African American 2

Hispanic 1

Age When Last Enrolled

25-29 31%

30-34 18

35-39 6

40-44 12

45-49 9

50-54 7

55-59 10

60-64 4

65 or older 3

Married

Yes 52%

No 47

Prefer not to answer 1

Children Under 18 Years of Age

No 69%

Yes 30

Prefer not 1

State of Residency

Massachusetts 36%

New Hampshire 14

Maine 50

Zip codes of graduate adult students are available upon request.

8

Employment Status

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Employed full time 73%

Employed part time 11

Not employed and not seeking employment 11

Not employed, but seeking employment 1

Retired 4

Income

Under $25,000 4%

$25,000 - $39,999 12

$40,000 - $54,999 14

$55,000 - $69,999 14

$70,000 - $84,999 18

$85,000 - $99,999 9

$100,000 - $114,999 11

$115,000 - $129,000 5

$130,000 - $149,000 6

More than $150,000 8

Highest Level of Schooling Completed

High school diploma/GED 3%

One or two years of college, but no

associate’s degree 1

Associate’s degree 5

Three or four years of college, but no

bachelor’s degree --

Bachelor’s degree 51

Some graduate courses but no master’s

degree 8

Master’s degree 21

Some graduate courses beyond a master’s

degree, but no doctorate 9

Doctorate 2

Primary Motivation for Enrollment

To advance in your current career 54%

To change careers 16

To keep up-to-date in your current career 15

Personal reasons unrelated to job/career 8

To enter a first career 7

Seeking a specific degree/level of schooling --

9

Method(s) of Course Payment

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Personal funds 63%

Tuition reimbursement 35

Student loans 29

Grants (federal/state/local financial aid) 17

Personal loans 10

Private scholarships 9

Assistantships/tuition waivers 8

Military/Veterans benefits 2

Other 1

10


Degree and Nondegree Study Among

Undergraduate Adult Students

Degree and Nondegree Study in the Market

Fifty-five percent of the undergraduate adult students we interviewed were studying for a

degree (33 percent of whom were enrolled in a degree program while 22 percent were taking

individual undergraduate courses for transfer to a bachelor’s degree program).

Among the 45 percent of undergraduate adult students who were not enrolled in a degree

program, 20 percent were taking individual courses, 15 percent were taking courses for an

occupational/career diploma or certificate (most often in business and health professions), and

ten percent were taking courses toward a license in a professional area (most often in health

professions):

Enrollment Status

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Enrolled in a degree program 33%

Taking individual undergraduate courses for

transfer to a bachelor’s degree program 22

Taking individual courses for other reasons 20

Taking courses for an occupational/career

diploma or certificate 15

Taking courses toward a license in a

professional area 10

Degree Level

Among students studying for a degree, about 95 percent are seeking bachelor’s degrees, while

about five percent are seeking associate’s degrees.

11

Degree Study

As previously mentioned, in our market studies we examine the most popular degrees

currently/recently taken by undergraduate adult students, because we believe that the degrees

that they have actually worked toward in the past are the best predictors of what others will study

in the future.

Subject Field of Degree Program

Therefore, we asked only those respondents directly in the degree market (55%) to name the

subject field in which they were majoring. Here is what they told us:

General Subject Field of Degree

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Business 33%

Social Sciences 20

Computer & Information Science 7

Health Professions 7

Law 5

Communications 4

Education 4

Language and Literature 4

Physical Sciences 4

Public Affairs/Social Work 4

Arts- Visual/Performing 2

Engineering 2

Foreign Languages 2

Other- Not Listed 4

Business commands the greatest share of the market, with 33 percent, followed by social

sciences with 20 percent. Together, these two areas comprise about 55 percent of the

undergraduate adult student degree market.

Following are the specific fields of the degrees respondents are studying, organized into topics

most frequently cited to those least frequently cited:

12

BUSINESS

Business Administration (7 citations)

Business Management (5 citations)

Accounting (3 citations)

Accounting & Finance

Administrative Assistant

Sports Management

Organizational Leadership

Business Management: Computer Applications

SOCIAL SCIENCES

Psychology (6 citations)

Sociology (2 citations)

Behavioral Sciences

Early American History

Government

Law Enforcement

History

PUBLIC AFFAIRS/SOCIAL WORK

Criminal Justice (4 citations)

Forensics

Human Services

COMPUTER & INFORMATION

SCIENCES

Computer Science (two citations)

Computer Applications

IT

HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Nursing (3 citations)

Medical Assistant

Nutrition Science

COMMUNICATIONS

Communication degree in Hospitality

Journalism

EDUCATION

Elementary Education

Special Education-Behavioral

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE

English Literature

Professional Writing

PHYSICAL SCIENCES

Biology

Biology with a Marine concentration

ARTS: VISUAL/PERFORMING

Theatre Arts - Lighting Design

ENGINEERING

Electrical

FOREIGN LANGUAGES

Interpreter Services

LAW

Law

OTHER

Liberal Arts (two citations)

13

Nondegree Study

Among the 45 percent of undergraduate adult students who were not enrolled in a degree

program, 20 percent were taking individual courses for other reasons, 15 percent were taking

courses for an occupational/career diploma or certificate (most often in business and health

professions), and ten percent were taking courses toward a license in a professional area (most

often in health professions). Below we present data on each of these nondegree options.

Subject Field of License The data that follow explain that 60 percent of respondents who are studying for a license studied

health professions, followed by 20 percent who study education, and ten percent who study

business:

General Subject Field of License

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Health Professions 60%

Education 20

Business 10

Other- Not Listed 10

Following are the specific fields of the licenses respondents are studying, organized into topics


HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Nursing (three citations)

Medical Coding

Pharmacy Tech

RN Degree

EDUCATION

Early Childhood

K-12 Education

BUSINESS

Insurance

OTHER

Emergency Management

14

Subject Field of Certificate Thirty-three percent of respondents who are studying for a certificate study business, while 27

percent are studying for a certificate in health professions:

General Subject Field of Certificate

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Business 33%


Education 7

Technology 7

Engineering 7

Law 7

Physical Sciences 7

Social Sciences 7

Following are the specific fields of the certificates respondents are studying, organized into

topics most frequently cited to those least frequently cited:

BUSINESS

Business Management (four citations)

Sports & Recreation Management

HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Coding

Medical Coding

Medical Coding and Billing

Medical Office Management

EDUCATION

Music Education

ENGINEERING

Auto Cad Technology- Mechanical Engineering

LAW

Law Enforcement

PHYSICAL SCIENCES

Horticulture

SOCIAL SCIENCES

History

TECHNOLOGY

Electrical

15

Enrollment in Noncredit or Professional Development Study

We continued by asking respondents if they have enrolled in any noncredit or professional

development courses, seminars, webinars, or workshops related to their current career or in order

to change career in the last five years. About 35 percent have indeed.

Topic of Noncredit or Professional Development Study

Staying only with those who have enrolled in any noncredit or professional development courses,

seminars, webinars, or workshops, we then asked them to tell us the topic of that study. Business

was cited most frequently:

BUSINESS

Business Analyst

Business Development

Customer Service

Insurance - Benefits

Labor Relations

Leadership

Project Management

Project Management Applications

Real Estate

Sales

Supervising Difficult Employees

HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Alzheimer's Disease with Down Syndrome

CRMA Certified Residential Medical Aid

Health Education

Health Enrollment Benefits

Nursing continuing education requirements

Presently working as an electrologist

COMPUTER AND INFORMATION

SCIENCES

c++ programming, algorithms and techniques

Database Management

Excel

Web Design, Programming

SOCIAL SCIENCES

Bullying

Early Child Development

Psychology

EDUCATION

Continuing Education unit

Creativity in the classroom


Emergency Management and Homeland

Security Preparedness

Social Work Ethics, Mental Health Disorders in

Children

LAW

Legal Continuing Education classes

OTHER

Construction

Dodd Frank Act

Instrumental

Job Search

Library Science

Logistics

NCCER accreditation

Skin Care

16

Type of Organization Providing Noncredit or Professional Development Study

Continuing with this pool of respondents, we then asked what type of organization

provided their noncredit or professional development course. The largest proportion—

about 45 percent—studied at a training company:

Type of Organization Providing Course

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Training company 46%

Professional Association 18

College or university 14

School district 8

Other* 14

Course Delivery of Noncredit or Professional Development Study

The majority—about 60 percent—took that noncredit or professional development course

in a classroom:

Course Delivery

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

In a classroom 62%

Online 24

Other 14

Course Payment of Noncredit or Professional Development Study The largest proportion of this pool—about 55 percent—took a noncredit or professional

development course that was paid for by their employer:

Course Payment

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Employer 54%

Self 19

Free 24

Other 3

Satisfaction with Noncredit or Professional Development Study Finally on this topic, we asked respondents to rate their satisfaction with their noncredit

or professional development course using a 5-point scale of 1 not at all satisfied to 5

extremely satisfied. Respondents gave a 3.8 average rating, with 65 percent giving 4 or 5

ratings.

17

Schedules of Courses for Undergraduate Adult Students

Patterns of Undergraduate Course Study

Number of Courses Taken

We began this section of our interview by asking all of the undergraduate adult students

how many courses they took the last time they were enrolled:

Number of Courses Taken When Last

Enrolled

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

1 course 28%

2 courses 30

3 courses 16

4 courses 9

5 or more courses 17

While about 75 percent of the undergraduate adult students were taking just one, two, or

three courses at a time (typically a part-time course load), the other approximately 25

percent were taking four or more courses (typically a full-time course load).

When we followed up with only the 55 percent of respondents pursing a degree, by

specifically asking them whether they were studying full or part time the last time they

were enrolled, the results revealed that about 65 percent of undergraduate adult students

enrolled in part-time study and about 35 percent enrolled in full-time study.

Times of Day for Course Meetings

Next, we asked all respondents who had enrolled in any classroom-based courses when

they had taken their classes and when they would prefer to take their classes:

Percent of Undergraduate

Adult Students

Time of Day Majority of Classroom

Courses Met

Actual

Preferred

Weekday early mornings

(finished by 9:00 a.m.)

6% 8%

Weekday mornings

(between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon)

15 17

Weekday afternoons

(between 12:00 noon and 4:30 p.m.)

11 6

Weekday evenings

(4:30 p.m. or later)

66 63

Weekends 2 6

18

About two-thirds took their classes on weekday evenings, while about one-third took

courses during the day.

But were these class times the preferences of the demanders or were they driven by the

suppliers? The data show that, for the most part, undergraduate adult students study when

they want to study.

Actual and Preferred Length of Course

Changing topics, we asked all undergraduate adult respondents who engaged in any

classroom-based courses (those who did not take all of their courses online) how many

weeks their most recent course lasted. We then asked all respondents to tell us how many

weeks they prefer a course last:

Number of Weeks of Most Recent Course

Actual

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Preferred

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

1 week -- --

2 weeks -- --

3 weeks 1% 2%

4 weeks 3 3

5 weeks -- 1

6 weeks 3 6

7 weeks -- 2

8 weeks 19 26

9 weeks -- 1

10 weeks 9 15

11 weeks 3 2

12 weeks 1 16

13 weeks -- --

14 weeks 6 5

15 weeks or more 56 21

The majority—about 60 percent—most recently enrolled in courses of 14 or more weeks

– respresting traditional semester length study, while 35 percent enrolled in courses of

between six and 12 weeks (representing moderately accelerated study.

In comparing what these respondents actually did with what they would prefer to do, it’s

apparent that there is a vast difference between what undergraduate adult students are

doing and what they would prefer to do – almost surely governed by what course

schedules are currently available to them. Just 26 percent prefer to enroll in courses of 14

or more weeks, while nearly 70 percent would prefer to enroll in moderately accelerated

courses of between six and twelve week. In fact, the median preference is 10 weeks.

19

Preferred Months of Study

While we did not query the respondents specifically about their preferred months of

study, based on numerous studies conducted nationwide, the pattern of responses has

shown that most undergraduate adult students prefer the fall months (September,

October, and November) and the winter months (January, February, and March). While

classes typically start for undergraduate adult students in late August, the University of

Southern Maine would do better to start them after Labor Day and in January after the

holiday season.

Maximum Number of Miles Willing to Travel to Attend Class

What is the maximum number of minutes respondents are willing to drive one way to an

institution to attend a class? The largest proportion, 55 percent, is willing to drive 16-30

minutes one way to attend class, while another 25 percent is willing to drive 31-45

minutes one way:

Maximum Number of Minutes Willing to

Drive to Attend Class

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Less than 15 minutes 11%

16-30 minutes 55

31-45 minutes 25

More than 45 minutes 9

Convenience of Location for Future Course

Finally on this topic, we asked respondents to rate the convenience of several locations as

a place for they themselves to take a course, using a 5-point scale of 1 not at all

convenient to 5 very convenient. None of the locations were rated particularly highly, and

this is not surprising given the broad geography from which the respondents were drawn,

but the highest average rating (2.9) was given to both Portland, Maine:

Convenience of Location for Future

Course

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Responding

4 or 5

Average

Rating

Portland, ME 3% 2.9

Portsmouth, NH 19 2.3

Saco, ME 14 1.8

Gorham, ME 13 1.8

Brunswick, ME 12 1.8

Augusta, ME 11 1.7

Lewiston, ME 11 1.7

20

Study Formats for Undergraduate Adult Students

Course Format in Which Enrolled

We asked respondents what types of courses they had been enrolled in during the last

term in which they were enrolled. The following data show that about 60 percent were

enrolled in semester-length courses in a classroom. Nearly 35 percent had enrolled in

fully online courses, another 23 percent each were enrolled in hybrid courses or

accelerated classroom courses of approximately eight weeks. It is important to note that

among these undergraduate adult students, nearly 40 percent have not recently engaged in

any traditional, semester length classroom study.


Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Semester length courses (about 15 weeks) in

a classroom 61%

Fully online 34

Accelerated classroom courses of

approximately 8 weeks 23

Hybrid (with some required instruction in a

classroom and some required instruction

online)

23

Satisfaction With Course Format in Which Enrolled

We continued with respondents by asking them to rate their satisfaction with the course

format in which they were most recently enrolled, using a 5-point scale of 1 not at all

satisfied to 5 extremely satisfied. The data show that respondents were very satisfied with

all of the course formats, but they were most satisfied with hybrid courses:

Satisfaction of Course Format

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Responding

4 or 5

Average

Rating



online)

72%

4.2


a classroom

80

4.1


approximately 8 weeks

78

4.1

Fully online 70 4.1

21

Preferred Future Course Format

We then asked respondents which format they prefer to enroll in next: entirely in a

classroom, partly online and partly in a classroom, or entirely online. Forty-two percent

prefer a fully online course, while 36 percent prefer a course conducted partly online.

Therefore, almost 80 percent of respondents would most likely enroll in a course that has

at least some online component:

Preferred Course Format

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Entirely online 42%

Hybrid (partly online/partly in the

classroom) 36

Entirely in the classroom 22

Preferred Frequency of Hybrid Course In-person Meetings

We continued with respondents who took at least one of their courses in hybrid format by

asking them when they would most prefer to visit the college’s campus if they were to

take another hybrid course. The largest proportion—about 55 percent—prefer to visit

campus once every other week:

Preferred Frequency of Hybrid Course In

Person Meetings

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Once every other week 56%

Once a week 28

2-3 times total during term 11

Once per term 6

Technology Used in Hybrid or Fully Online Courses

Next, we asked respondents who have enrolled in a hybrid and/or fully online course by

asking them if their course made significant use of any of the given technologies. The

largest proportion—about 35 percent—enrolled in a course that did not make use of any

of these technologies. But among those whose course did utilize the technologies, the

largest proportion—30 percent—took a course that used video streaming:

Technology Used in Hybrid or Fully

Online Courses

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Video streaming 30%

Social media/networks 21

Virtual worlds/avatars 4

Other 9

None of these 36

22

Preferred Online Course Delivery

We also asked respondents which kind of online course delivery they prefer:

asynchronous or synchronous. The large majority—about 85 percent—prefer

asynchronous.

Low Residency Programs

We continued by asking all respondents about their attraction to low residency programs

– programs that are largely completed online or through independent study, and only

require brief, periodic visits to campus for interaction with other students and faculty. We

explained that such visits are typically offered either once a year or once each

term/semester, and often occur on weekends or a full week in the summer. Respondents

gave a 3.4 average rating of attractiveness to such programs, with half giving 4 or 5

ratings.

Number of Times Per Year Able to Attend Residencies We then asked only those who gave a three or higher rating of attraction to such a

program how many times per year they could attend one of those residencies. The largest

proportions—43 and 41 percent respectively—could attend once or twice per semester:

Number of Times Per Year Able to

Attend Residencies

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Once per semester 43%

Twice per semester 41

Once per year 12

Once during the program 4

Number of Days Able to Dedicate to Visiting the Campus

And how many days could this pool of respondents dedicate to visiting the campus of an

institution that offered a low residency program?

Number of Days Able to Dedicate to the

Visit to the Campus

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

1 36%

2 30

3 12

4 8

5+ 13

23

Maximum Number of Miles Willing to Travel to a Residency

Finally among this pool, we asked them the maximum number of miles they are willing

to travel to get to such a residency if a program was set up to meet their needs. About

three-quarters would be willing to travel less than 50 miles from their home:

Maximum Number of Miles Willing to

Travel to a Residency

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Less than 50 miles from my home 76%

50-100 miles from my home 8

Within my home state 4

Within the region of the country I live 9

Anywhere in the country 3

24

The Position and Image of the University of Southern Maine

in the Undergraduate Adult Student Market

University Providing Current/Recent Course

To determine the current position of the University of Southern Maine in the

undergraduate adult student market in the area surveyed, we asked respondents we

interviewed in each study area where they were currently/recently studying and where

they would prefer to study in the future:

Institution

Actual

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Preferred

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

the University of Southern Maine 8% 13%

University of Maine at Augusta 6 4

Kaplan Career Institute 5 4

Salem State College 5 3

Southern New Hampshire University 4 8

North Shore Community College 4 4

Northern Essex Community College 4 3

Hesser College 4 1

Middlesex Community College 4 --

University of New Hampshire-Durham 3 6

Central Maine Community College 3 4

NHTI-Concord's Community College 3 4

University of Maine 3 2

Nashua Community College 3 1

Harvard University 1 3

Manchester Community College 1 3

Plymouth State University - Plymouth, NH 1 2

Suffolk University 1 2

University of Massachusetts-Boston 1 2

University of Massachusetts-Lowell 1 2

University of New Hampshire-Manchester 1 2

Boston College -- 3

Southern Maine Community College -- 3

Other college* 32 21

*No institution was named by more than one percent of the respondents.

There are many noteworthy points in the table above. Here are the most important points

based on the institutions cited by the undergraduate adult students:

25

Actual Enrollment Patterns

Respondents most often study at the University of Southern Maine (8%), followed

by University of Maine at Augusta (6%), Kaplan Career Institute (5%) and Salem

State College (5%).

Among the institutions that respondents have actually enrolled in for their most

recent study, public institutions dominate: about 65 percent study at public

institutions, while about 25 percent study at private institutions (about five percent

of which have religious affiliations), and about ten percent study at proprietary

institutions.

About 70 percent study at four-year institutions, while about 30 percent study at

two-year institutions.

Preferred Enrollment Patterns

Respondents most often prefer to study at the University of Southern Maine

(13%), followed by Southern New Hampshire University (8%), and University of

New Hampshire-Durham (6%).

Among the cited institutions that respondents prefer to enroll in, public

institutions also dominate: 60 percent prefer public institutions, while 30 percent

prefer private institutions (five percent of which have religious affiliations), and

ten percent prefer proprietary institutions.

About 75 percent prefer to study at four-year institutions, while about 25 percent

prefer to study at two-year institutions.

Comparison of Actual and Preferred Data

In comparing the actual and preferred data for respondents, a few notable disparities

exist between a specific institution’s actual share of the actual undergraduate adult

student market and its preferred share of this market. The largest discrepancy exists

for the University of Southern Maine, where eight percent of the undergraduate adult

students currently study, but 13 percent would prefer to (a five percent increase),

followed by Southern New Hampshire University, where four percent of the

undergraduate adult students currently study, but eight percent would prefer to (a four

percent increase), and Middlesex Community College, where four percent of the

undergraduate adult students currently study, but none of the market would prefer to

(a four percent decrease).

About the University of Southern Maine

the University of Southern Maine has eight percent of the undergraduate adult student

market and 13 percent of the preferred undergraduate adult student market—the

largest shares of both the actual and preferred undergraduate markets.

26

General Familiarity with the University of Southern Maine

Moving on, we asked all respondents how they would characterize their familiarity with

the University of Southern Maine. The largest proportion—almost 40 percent—has heard

of the University of Southern Maine, but didn’t know anything about it until we

interviewed them:

General Familiarity with the University

of Southern Maine

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

I have heard of it, but didn't know anything

about it until now 38%

I know of it and know some programs and

services they offer before today 28

I have never heard of it until today 19

I know it and the programs it offers well 15

Familiarity with Specific Programs at the University of Southern Maine

We then asked all respondents to describe how familiar they are with the specific

programs at the University of Southern Maine. The largest proportions—40 percent and

37 percent respectively—knew of it and some programs and services it offers before we

interviewed them or have heard of it, but didn’t know anything about it until we

interviewed them:

Familiarity with the Specific Programs at


Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students


services it offers before today 40%


about it until now 37



27

Consideration of Enrolling at the University of Southern Maine

Next, we asked only the respondents who did not attend the University of Southern

Maine if they considered enrolling at the University. About 40 percent did indeed.

Reason for Not Considering the University of Southern Maine

Why did approximately 60 percent not consider the University of Southern Maine? The

largest proportion of this pool, about 70 percent, told us the University of Southern Maine

is not conveniently located:

Reason For Not Considering the


Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Not a convenient location to my home or

work 72%

Lack of information 11

Didn't offer the program I wanted 6

Schedule of courses didn't fit my needs 3

Cost - It was not affordable 3

Length of time to complete the program --

Reputation of the institution or program I

wanted --

Other 6

Opinion of and Familiarity with Nominated Institutions

We then asked all respondents to rate six institutions (nominated by the University of

Southern Maine staff) as places for they themselves to study at the undergraduate level,

using a 5-point scale of 1 low to 5 high. Respondents who did not know an institution

well enough were asked not to rate it.

Institution

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Responding

4 or 5

Average

Rating

Knew It Well

Enough to

Rate

the University of Southern Maine 46% 3.1 72%

University of New England 42 3.1 68

St. Joseph's College 29 2.6 67

Southern Maine Community College 23 2.3 67

Kaplan University 20 2.2 75

University of Phoenix 18 2.1 77

The best profile for an institution is to be both widely known and well regarded as a place

to study. The data show that the University of Southern Maine and University of New

England achieve the highest average rating, both with 3.1, but University of Phoenix

28

achieves the greatest visibility, 77 percent, followed by Kaplan University – two for-

profit institutions operating in the region and spending significantly to raise their

visibility in the region.

Note that although University of Phoenix has the greatest visibility at 77 percent, it has

the lowest average rating of 2.1. Such data prove that a high average rating does not

necessarily correspond with greater visibility—data confirmed in past studies as well.

Moreover, familiarity alone does not draw students to an institution. Institutions such as

the University of Southern Maine and University of New England—which have the

highest average ratings—have done more than the others to make a positive impression

on this market beyond just increasing its visibility.

Ideas/Associations About the University of Southern Maine

When respondents think of the University of Southern Maine, what comes to mind first?

The largest proportions, about 25 percent of respondents, could not think of anything.

Among those who could think of something, the largest proportion commented on

USM’s location, or the convenience (or lack there of) of its campuses:

LOCATION Local (two citations)

Local, affordable,

Local, convenient well known in the area

Local, inexpensive, easy to access via public transportation

Located not far from where I live and my son attends there

Convenience

Close to home, bigger university than the local community colleges

Close to home and affordable

Commuter, local, reasonable course difficulty, respectable enough

Availability, proximity, small town

Convenient location, good facilities, split campus, which I was not a fan of, but the Portland

campus was very good.

It is nearby.

Too far away (five citations)

Far away (four citations)

A long drive, I know I can attend classes closer.

It is far and not conveniently located for me.

Small and far

Not interested in traveling to Maine; nothing against this university

There would never be a reason for me to even research information on the University of Maine. It

is simply too far, and being from the north of Boston, there are a ton of excellent schools here for

me to choose from.

It offers campuses in Maine in Northern New Hampshire.

Portland

Urban setting

The coastline

Small town

Portland; it's kind of close by.

29

GOOD EDUCATION/REPUTATION Good community college

Good education, affordable

Good reputation

Good school with good athletic program

Good school, good reputation and good area

Good university

Great education

Great school, split campus can present tough travel logistics

It seems like they educate people well.

High standards

Success

Rigorous education, but classes are not always offered when it is convenient for me to take them.

COST Expensive, caters to traditional and non-traditional students

Pricey

Value: not priced competitively with other colleges/universities in the area that offer the same

programs, and not the same quality of education as other area opportunities

Probably too expensive

I actively considered attending. It seemed like a good university and I would have applied, except

that out of state tuition made it too expensive compared to my Massachusetts options.

SPECIFIC COURSES/PROGRAMS Teaching school

Diversity of classes

It seems to have a lot of students that go there. It has a broad spectrum of available degree

programs

They have a good criminal justice program and a good education program.

Maybe a college that teaches agriculture

ALUMNI OR KNOWS AN ALUMNI Alma mater; quality courses in k-12 education

Friend who went there right after high school

My friend went there for criminal justice.

BAD REPUTATION Party school, binge drinking, etc.

Confusing

Boring

SPORTS Baseball

Their mascots the Bears; I haven’t had that much exposure to Southern Maine.

OTHER Community college

I just want to get done.

It's old.

Sustainability

The Dr. John Wise lab

30

Type of Institutions Ever Attended

We closed this section of our interview by asking respondents to tell us at what types of

institutions have they ever studied? As the following table indicates, the largest

proportions, 36 percent and 35 percent respectively, studied at both two- and four-year

institutions or four-year institutions only. Note that a comparable 27 percent studied at

community colleges or other two-year institutions:

Types of Institutions Previously Attended

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Both two-year and four-year institutions 36%

Four-year institutions only 35

Community college or other two-year

institutions only 27

No college yet (future students only) 2

Time of Attendance at Two-year Institutions

We continued with just those respondents who indicated that they have attended both

two- and four-year institutions by asking them when they attended a two-year institution.

The largest proportion, about 55 percent, studied at a two-year institution before

attending a four-year institution:

Time of Two-Year College Attendance

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Before attending four-year institution 53%

After attending four-year institution 33

At the same time as attending four-year

institution 14

Number of Years Between Attendance at Two-year and Four-year University

Next, we asked only those respondents who had attended a two-year institution before

attending a four-year institution to tell us the number of years that elapsed between their

attendance at a two-year institution and their attendance at a four-year institution. About

55 percent enrolled at a four-year institution within one year of attending a two-year

institution:

Number of Years After Attending a Two-

Year College Before Attending a Four-

Year College

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

1 year 53%

2 years 33

3 years 14

31

Number of Credits Accumulated Prior to Enrolling In Most Recent Institution

Staying with just those respondents who attended a two-year institution before attending

a four-year institution, we then asked how many credits they accumulated at the two-year

institution before they attended the four-year institution. The data show that the largest

proportion, about 30 percent, accumulated between one and 30 credits, while 20 percent

accumulated 75 credits or more:

Number of Undergraduate Credits

Accumulated Prior to Enrolling at Recent

College

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

1-30 29%

31-45 7

46-59 6

60-74 8

75+ 27

Don’t know 23

32

Promotion of the University of Southern Maine

to Undergraduate Adult Students

Most Important Factor in Enrollment Decision

In order to find out how the University of Southern Maine should promote itself, we

began by asking respondents what factor was most important to them in their decision to

enroll at the college they most recently attended. The largest proportions, 23 percent and

22 percent respectively, told us the cost of tuition and fees or the proximity of college to

home or work were the most important factors:

Most Important Factor In Decision to

Enroll at the College Last Attended

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Cost of tuition and fees 23%

Proximity of college to home or work 22

Reputation of the college or program 12

Availability of online instruction 11

Accreditation of a specific program of

interest 10

Day and time courses meet 5

Transferability of previously earned credits 5

Length of time to complete my studies 4

Accreditation of the college 4

Other 5

Visibility of Courses and Programs at the University of Southern Maine

We finished this section of our interview by asking them to compare the visibility of the

University of Southern Maine to the visibility of other area institutions. The largest

proportion of respondents—45 percent—report that the University of Southern Maine’s

courses and programs are less visible than courses and programs at other area institutions:

Visibility of the the University of

Southern Maine in the Community as

Compared to Other Colleges

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Less visible 45%

About the same 36

More visible 19

33

The University of Southern Maine Features

Next, we asked respondents to tell us whether features of the University of Southern

Maine would increase, decrease, or have no effect on their interest in considering the

University as a place to study. Resulting data show that the largest proportion of

respondents would be more likely to consider the University of Southern Maine because

USM Online offers over 500 courses year-round that are fully online or a blend of online

and on-campus. Note that none of the features cause more than a few percent of

respondents to be less likely to consider the University of Southern Maine:

the University of Southern

Maine Feature


Adult Students

Increase

Consideration

Make No

Difference

Decrease

Consideration

USM Online offers over 500

courses year-round that are

fully online or a blend of

online and on-campus.

67% 32% 1%

USM offers many methods to

award academic credit for prior

learning and life experience

including credit by exam,

portfolio assessment, and

profession

58 41 1

USM offers degree completion

programs for students who

have earned some college

credits but who haven't

finished their bachelor's

degree. These programs are

offered in alternative times and

formats to meet the needs of

busy adults.

53 46 1

USM offers four-week winter

session courses meeting in late

December-January that award

3 credits per class.

52 44 4

USM has the single largest set of

undergraduate and graduate

degree programs available in

the state of Maine.

34 64 2

USM has over 2,000 graduate

students enrolled in a wide

array of master's degree and

graduate certificate programs.

30 69 1

34

Likeliness of Considering the University of Southern Maine for Future Study

After respondents received this additional information about the University of Southern

Maine, we asked them how likely they would be to consider it for future study. Using a

5-point scale of 1 not at all likely to 5 very likely, respondents gave a 3.0 average rating,

with about 40 percent giving 4 or 5 ratings.

Statements About the University of Southern Maine

Respondents were then asked to rate their level of agreement with several statements

about the University of Southern Maine, using a 5-point scale of 1 do not agree to 5

strongly agree. Those who were not familiar with a statement were asked not to rate it.

Respondents rated highest, both at 4.0, that the University of Southern Maine offers

flexible formats of instruction and has a good overall reputation.

Notice also that significant proportions—between 42 and 53 percent—did not know

many of these statements about the University of Southern Maine, reflecting earlier data

showing undergraduate adult students’ lack of familiarity with the University:

The University of Southern Maine

Statement

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Responding

4 or 5

Average

Rating

Didn’t Know

It offers flexible formats of instruction

(online and classroom).

71% 4.0 46%

USM has a good overall reputation. 70 4.0 44

It is known to offer quality education. 67 3.9 45

It costs are reasonable for the value of

education you receive.

55 3.7 53

Its programs prepare students well for their

careers.

54 3.7 52

It is highly visible throughout the

community.

52 3.3 42

Its campuses are conveniently located. 51 3.4 45

35

College Services That Should be Available

Next in the interview came a couple of questions related to college services. First, we

asked undergraduate adult students how often they used certain services the last time they

enrolled. The following data indicate that the largest proportion of respondents frequently

used Computer labs, academic advising and/or online library and research services.

However, the majority did not use many of the services at all:

Service Used


Adult Students

Not At All Sometimes Frequently

Computer lab 46% 20% 33%

Academic advising 37 35 28

Online library & research services 32 42 27

24/7 technical help 61 12 27

Fitness center 66 8 26

Career placement services 64 12 26

Food services 53 22 25

Financial aid advising 50 26 24

Cultural events on campus 63 14 23

Writing assistance 71 8 21

Math assistance 71 8 21

Library facility 52 33 15

Student clubs/activities 76 7 13

Child care center 78 21 1

Preferred Access to Services

Moving on, we then asked only those who used the aforementioned college services

either sometimes or frequently how they would prefer these specific services be offered:

Service


Adult Students

Preferred Method of Access

By Telephone In Person Online

24/7 technical help 46% -- 54%

Financial aid advising 24 41% 34




Math assistance -- 88 13

36

College Characteristics

Next, we asked respondents to rate whether certain college characteristics of some

colleges that serve adult students would increase, decrease, or make no difference in

considering them as a place for they themselves to study. The largest proportion of

respondents—88 percent—would be more likely to consider a college if students are able

to take any mix of day, evening, weekend, accelerated, and online courses based on what

meets their scheduling needs:

College Characteristic


Adult Students

Increase

Consideration

Make No

Difference

Decrease

Consideration

Students are able to take any mix

of day, evening, weekend,

accelerated and online courses

based on what meets their

scheduling needs

88% 11% 1%

Students can complete all courses

for their degree or certificate at

one location

77 22 1

Full degree/certificate programs

are offered online 67 29 4

Many faculty are practitioners in

their field who teach part-time 58 42 --

Most faculty teach full-time and

hold a PhD

29 70 1

Students, faculty and staff

represent a diversity of racial

and ethnic backgrounds

24 74 2

37

Media to Advertise to Undergraduate Adult Students

Advertising Methods Likely to Attract Attention

We began this section of our interview by asking respondents to rate various ways for

raising awareness about a college as very likely, somewhat likely, or not likely:

Advertising Method


Adult Students

Very Likely

Somewhat

Likely

Not Likely

Internet search engines -

Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. 34% 54% 12%

Direct mail to you at home 31 58 11

Internet-based college search

sites 28

48 24

Television ads 11 52 37

Ads on websites 9 38 53

Radio ads 6 41 53

Newspaper ads 3 36 61

Billboards 3 27 70

Bus/train ads 2 21 77

According to the undergraduate adult students we spoke with, the best method to get

useful information to a prospective student is Internet search engines such as Google,

Yahoo, or Bing, revealing that it is important that the University of Southern Maine has a

strong, well-optimized presence online.

Direct mail to students at home is also very likely to attract their attention. Unlike many

of the other methods, direct mail is an effective way of reaching prospective students who

are not already predisposed to find out something about the University, and therefore

could play a key role in increasing the University of Southern Maine’s visibility among

this population.

Finally, Internet-based college search sites are very likely to attract them. We hypothesize

that undergraduate adult students find Internet-based college search sites effective

because they allow institutions to be compared easily.

Websites Visited Most Often

We continued only with respondents who rated ads on websites as somewhat likely or

very likely to attract their attention by asking them which three websites they visit most

often. The first website most often visited by the largest proportion is Google, which

about 90 percent visit daily, followed by Facebook, which about 85 percent visited daily:

38

Website Most Often Visited

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Google 29%

Facebook 21

Yahoo 17

Comcast 4

Gmail 4

Hotmail.com 4

Bitchypoo.com 2

Dartmouth.edu 2

Drudgereport.com 2

ESPN 2

Kjonline 2

Linkedin.com 2

MSN 2

Mymsn.com 2

New York Times 2

Portland press herald 2

The Onion 2

YCCC 2

Visited College Websites During College Search

Turning next to the Internet, we asked respondents if they used the Internet to gather

information about colleges and universities during their search for undergraduate course

providers and whether the Internet was their only source of information about the

institution. The largest proportion of the respondents, about 60 percent, used the Internet

in addition to other types of research, while 25 percent only used the Internet to research

providers. Therefore, about 85 percent of undergraduate adult students used the Internet

in some capacity during their most recent college search:

Visited College Websites During College

Search

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Yes, that was one of my sources of

information 61%

Yes, that was my ONLY source of

information 25

No 14

Other Methods of Information Gathering in College Search

We asked those respondents who had not relied entirely on the internet for information

what other methods they used to gather information about the colleges in which they

39

were interested. Data show they used various methods, but the largest proportion, 24

percent, visited the institution, while 19 percent read printed college materials:

Method of Information Gathering in

College Search

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Visited the institution 24%

Printed college materials 19

Phone calls to the institution 14

Book(s) about colleges 10

Someone I know provided information 10

I attended an open house 5

Other 19

Contact with College

About 70 percent of respondents made direct contact with the college they eventually

enrolled in prior to submitting their application.

Method of Contact with College

We stayed with this pool—those who made direct contact with the college they

eventually enrolled in prior to submitting their application—by asking them how they

made direct contact with the college. The largest proportion, 35 percent, called the

college, while other substantial proportions visited or emailed:


Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Telephone 35%

I visited the college 23

Email 21

I requested more information directly on its

website 12

I attended an open house or other event

hosted by the college on campus or

elsewhere

7

Other 3

Likeliness of Accessing or Participating in Media

Next, we asked respondents to tell us how likely they would be to participate in or access

each of the following media from a college in which they were considering enrolling.

Respondents are most likely to participate in or access open houses and faculty/student

chats/online open houses:

40

Media


Adult Students

Likeliness of Using Media to Access

Information

Very Likely

Somewhat

Likely

Not Likely

Open house 15% 59% 26%

Faculty/student chats/online

open houses 13

48 39

Social media fan pages 9 31 60

Blogs 5 31 64

Podcasts 5 18 77

Acceptable Methods of Contacting Potential Students

We continued by asking respondents to tell us which method they deem acceptable for an

institution to use when following up with potential students who have inquired. Email to

students was deemed acceptable by the largest proportions of respondents (32%),

followed by mail to them at home (28%):

Acceptable Method of Contact From

College

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Email 32%

Mail to you at home 28

Phone calls to you at home 15

Phone calls to you on your mobile phone 11

Online social networks - Facebook,

LinkedIn, Twitter… 7

Text messages 3

Phone calls to you at work 3

Preferred Months for University Mailings

As to the timing of direct mail, although we did not ask respondents to tell us the best

months for receiving college advertising at home, generally over a number of studies

conducted nationwide, the pattern of responses has shown that undergraduate adult

students prefer the spring and summer months (April, May, June, July, and August) and

January for advertising. Since the fall months are usually more popular for undergraduate

adult students to study, it stands to reason that receiving advertising in April, May, June,

July, and August enables them to make their plans on a timely basis, get their lives in

order, and prepare for attending classes in September. Similarly, receiving University

mailings in January allows students time to prepare for the spring semester and perhaps

plan the entire year to come.

41

Social Network Profiles

We next asked respondents if they had any social networking profiles. The largest

proportion had a profile on Facebook:

Social Networking Profile

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Facebook 47%

LinkedIn 21

Twitter 15

MySpace 9

Other 1

No social networking profiles 7

Smart Phone Ownership

About 55 percent of respondents have a ―smart phone,‖ such as an iPhone or Blackberry.

Review of College Websites on Smart Phone

We continued only with those who have a smart phone by asking them to rate how likely

they would be to access the websites of the colleges that interest them on their smart

phone. Using a 5-point scale of 1 not at all likely to 5 very likely, respondents gave a 3.3

average rating, with about half giving 4 or 5 ratings.

42

Cost of Courses for Undergraduate Adult Students

Maximum Increased Tuition Willing to Pay for Online Course

We began our questions about cost of courses by asking respondents the maximum

amount of increased tuition they would be willing to pay for the convenience of enrolling

in an online course rather than a classroom-based course. The largest proportion by far—

about 70 percent—would not pay more:

Maximum Increased Tuition Willing to

Pay for Online Course

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Less than 10 percent 19%

10-20 percent 10

21-40 percent --

More than 40 percent --

I would not pay more 71

Importance of Price in Decision on Where to Enroll

We continued by asking respondents to rate the importance price had on their decision on

where to enroll, using a 5-point scale of 1 not at all important to 5 extremely important.

Undergraduate adult students responded with an average rating of 3.7, with about 60

percent giving 4 or 5 ratings.

Importance of Availability of Financial Aid

How important was the availability of financial aid in respondents’ decision to enroll in a

given institution? Undergraduate adult students gave an average rating of 3.3, on a 5-

point scale of 1 not at all important to 5 extremely important, with about 55 percent

giving 4 or 5 ratings.

Three-credit Course Cost of $725 Compared to Cost of Most Recent Institution

How does $725 for a three-credit undergraduate course compare to the course costs of the

institution at which respondents most recently studied? Resulting data show respondents

are rather split on this topic:

Three Credit Course Cost of $725 as

Compared to Cost of Institution Most

Recently Attended

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult Students

Higher 36%

Lower 35

About the same 29

43

Viability of Current Course Cost

In order to determine just how sensitive the undergraduate adult student market is to cost,

we quoted undergraduate adult students three proposed prices for courses at the

University of Southern Maine. Using the results in the following table, the University of

Southern Maine can find out the relative total revenue that it would collect at each of the

different prices we quoted. This can be done by assuming an imaginary market of 100

undergraduate adult students. Based on such a market, an index of total revenue can be

determined at each price by multiplying that price by the number of people out of 100

who would be willing to pay it. For example, during the interviews, 69 percent of the

undergraduate adult students said they would be willing to pay $725 per course.

Multiplying a price of $725 per course by 69 (69 percent of an imaginary 100-person

market) creates an index of total revenue of $50,025. Doing the same with the other

prices quoted allows us to compare the three:

Willing to Pay

Percent of

Undergraduate

Adult

Students

Index of Total

Revenue

$725 per course 69% $50,025

$1,000 per course 36 $36,000

$2,000 per course 9 $18,000

As the tables show, the increase from $725 per course to $2,000 per course

simultaneously drives down prospective enrollment and revenue. The data show that the

optimum revenue-producing price is $725 per course—comparable to a three-credit

course at the University of Southern Maine’s current tuition of $253 per credit for

residents.

At the jump in tuition price from $1,000 per course to $2,000 per course, an additional 27

percent of the undergraduate adult student market would chose not to enroll at the

University of Southern Maine because they consider this cost too high. Keeping in mind

that the median undergraduate adult student has an income of about $55,000 and about 65

percent attend public institutions, these data appear reasonable.

Paid Full Price or Less than Full Price When Last Enrolled

Finally on the topic of cost, we asked respondents whether they paid the full ―sticker

price‖ of the cost of courses the last time they were enrolled or if they paid less through

the award of financial aid, a scholarship, work study, or some other reduction. Slightly

more than half—53 percent—paid the full price.

44


Degree and Nondegree Study Among

Graduate Adult Students

Degree and Nondegree Study in the Market

About 45 percent of the graduate adult students we interviewed were studying for a degree.

Among the approximately 55 percent of graduate adult students who were not enrolled in a

degree program, 21 percent were taking individual courses for other reasons, 17 percent were

taking courses toward a license in a professional area (most often in education), and 15 percent

were taking courses for an occupational/career diploma or certificate (also most often in

education):

Enrollment Status

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Enrolled in a degree program 47%

Taking individual courses for other reasons 21

Taking courses toward a license in a

professional area 17

Taking courses for an occupational/career

diploma or certificate 15

Degree Level

Among students studying for a degree, about 70 percent are seeking master’s degrees, while

about 30 percent are seeking doctorate degrees.

45

Degree Study

As previously mentioned, in our market studies we examine the most popular degrees

currently/recently taken by graduate adult students, because we believe that the degrees that they

have actually worked toward in the past are the best predictors of what others will study in the

future. To put it a different way, we have found, as a result of many studies, that examining

demand is far more reliable than examining a prospective interest.

Subject Field of Degree Program

Therefore, we asked only those respondents directly in the degree market (about 45%) to name

the subject field in which they were majoring. Here is what they told us:

General Subject Field of Degree

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Business 21%


Education 13


Communications 9

Physical Sciences 7

Social Sciences 7

Law 6

Public Affairs/Social Work 6

Counseling 1

Language and Literature 1

Other- Not Listed 1

Business commands the greatest share of the market, with about 20 percent, followed by health

professions and education, each with about 15 percent. Together, these three areas comprise half

of the graduate adult student degree market. Following are the specific fields of the degrees

respondents are studying, organized into topics most frequently cited to those least frequently

cited:

46

BUSINESS

Accounting (3 citations)

Business Administration (3 citations)

Business Management (2 citations)

Marketing (2 citations)

MBA – Technology

HR

Organizational Leadership

HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Health Care Administration (4 citations)

Nursing (2 citations)

Health Care Administration/Health Policy

Pharmacy

Physical Therapy

Public Health

EDUCATION

Higher Education Administration (2 citations)

Adult Education

Curriculum and Instruction: Literacy

Literacy Education

Literacy Specialist

Music Education

COMPUTER & INFORMATION

SCIENCES

Computer Information Technology

Computer Science

Instructional Technology and Distance

Education

Management Information Systems

Programming and Web Design

COMMUNICATIONS

Marketing Communications (two citations)

Integrated Marketing Communications

Interactive Communications (Web Design,

Social Media, Mobile Technologies)

SOCIAL SCIENCES

Counseling Psychology

Leadership Studies

M.S.E.D. Abilities and Disabilities

Psychology

PHYSICAL SCIENCES

Cellular and Molecular Biology

Condensed Matter Experimental Physics

Microbiology

Biology


Public Policy

Social and Community Development

Urban Education

LAW

Law (two citations)

Law and Policy

COUNSELING (one citation)

High School Counseling

LANGUAGE AND LITERATURE (one

citation)

English Language and Literature; Cinema

Studies

OTHER (one citation)

Catholic Systematic Theology

47

Nondegree Study

Among the approximately 55 percent of graduate adult students who were not enrolled in a

degree program, 21 percent were taking individual courses for other reasons, 17 percent were

taking courses toward a license in a professional area (most often in education), and 15 percent

were taking courses for an occupational/career diploma or certificate (also most often in

education). Below we present data on each of these nondegree options.

Subject Field of License The data that follow explain that 35 percent of respondents who are studying for a license studied

education, followed by 18 percent who study health professions, and proportions of 12 percent

each who study business or social sciences:

General Subject Field of License

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Education 35%


Business 12

Social Sciences 12


Law 6

Mathematics/Statistics 6

Other- Not Listed 6

Following are the specific fields of the licenses respondents are studying, organized into topics


EDUCATION

Curriculum and Education K-12


English - Secondary School

ESL Endorsement

Gifted and Talented Teacher in High School and

Middle School

Grades 6-12 Mathematics Teacher

HEALTH

CMC Medical Coding

Physician Assistant

Speech-Language Pathology

BUSINESS

Business Administration

Real Estate

SOCIAL SCIENCES

Psychology

Social Worker

COMPUTER & INFORMATION SCIENCE

Security

LAW

J. D., Attorney

MATHEMATICS/STATISTICS

Accounting

OTHER

Professional Status History License

48

Subject Field of Certificate Forty percent of respondents who are studying for a certificate study education, while 27 percent

are studying for a certificate in business and 20 percent are studying for a certificate in health

professions:

General Subject Field of Certificate

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Education 40

Business 27


Technology 7

Other- Not listed 7

Following are the specific fields of the certificates respondents are studying, organized into

topics most frequently cited to those least frequently cited:

EDUCATION

Behavioral Disabilities

Correctional Ministries

Developmental

Developmental Education


Special Education

BUSINESS

Business


Insurance - CPCU

Telecommunications

HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Medical Billing and Coding

Medical Coding

Pharmacy

TECHNOLOGY

Instructional Technology

OTHER

Occupational Safety

Patterns of Study

Number of Courses Taken

Moving on, we asked all of the graduate adult students we interviewed how many courses they

took the last time they were enrolled. While 65 percent of the graduate adult students were taking

just one or two courses (typically a part-time graduate level course load), 35 percent were taking

three or more course (typically a full time course load).

49

Number of Courses Taken When Last

Enrolled

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

1 course 42%

2 courses 23

3 courses 13

4 courses 10

5 courses 6

6 or more courses 6

When we followed up with only those respondents who were pursuing a degree by asking them

whether they were studying full or part time the last time they were enrolled, the results revealed

that about 65 percent of graduate adult students enrolled in part-time study and about 35 percent

enrolled in full-time study.

50

Noncredit or Professional Development Study

We continued by asking respondents if they have enrolled in any noncredit or professional

development courses, seminars, webinars, or workshops related to their current career or in order

to change career in the last five years. Slightly more than half—51 percent—have indeed.

Topic of Noncredit or Professional Development Study

Staying only with those who have enrolled in any noncredit or professional development courses,

seminars, webinars, or workshops, we then asked them to tell us the topic of that study. Business

and education were cited most frequently, followed by computer and information sciences:

BUSINESS

Real Estate (two citations)

Event Planning, Merchandising and Brand

Excelling as a Manager or a Supervisor

Human Resources Management and the

Analysis of Personality

Project Management PMP

Resource Management

Risk Management

Sales

Social Media and Business

Software Related to Business

Whether one should file a 51a

EDUCATION

Brain-Based Learning

Differentiating Instruction

Gifted Education

Education - Writing

Online Urban Education

Orff Education

Response to Intervention, Tier 3 Reading

Strategies

Schools in need of improvement

Special Education

Teaching Reading in Chemistry

Teaching Training

Using Technology in the Classroom

COMPUTER AND INFORMATION

SCIENCES

Advanced Use of Excel Spreadsheets

Computer System Administration

Data Collection

IT Forensics and Security

Linux OS

Online Copywriting

Search Engine Optimization, Insurance, OSHA

Training

Technical certifications (Oracle, IBM, NetApp,

etc.), Sales, Leadership

Upgrade computer programs at work

HEALTH PROFESSIONS

Health Leadership development

Medical Coding

Neurological Emergencies

Wound Healing


Conflict Resolution

Correctional Ministry and Ex-Offender

Aftercare

Public Policy Development

Substance Abuse Counseling

COMMUNICATIONS

Interpersonal Communications

Telecommunications

SOCIAL SCIENCES

Human Growth and Development (Psychology)

Mindfulness and Anxiety Management

Strategies

ARTS: VISUAL AND PERFORMING

Digital Photography, Tour Directing

OTHER

ELL

HBDI certification

Mine-Hunting Techniques

Patristic Studies

Safety-related courses

51

Type of Organization Providing Noncredit or Professional Development Study

Continuing with this pool of respondents, we then asked what type of organization provided their

noncredit or professional development course. The largest proportion—about 45 percent—

studied at a training company:

Type of Organization Providing Course

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Training company 47%

College or university 22

School district 10

Union --

Other 22

Course Delivery of Noncredit or Professional Development Study

Nearly two-thirds took that noncredit or professional development course in a classroom:

Course Delivery

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

In a classroom setting 71%

Online 29

Course Payment of Noncredit or Professional Development Study The largest proportion of this pool—about 60 percent—took a noncredit or professional

development course that was paid for by their employer:

Course Payment

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Employer 61%

Self 27

Free 10

Other 2

Satisfaction with Noncredit or Professional Development Study Finally on this topic, we asked respondents to rate their satisfaction with their noncredit or

professional development course using a 5-point scale of 1 not at all satisfied to 5 extremely

satisfied. Respondents gave a 3.9 average rating, with 70 percent giving 4 or 5 ratings.

52

Schedules of Courses for Graduate Adult Students

Times of Day for Course Meetings

We began this section of our interview by asking respondents when they had taken their classes

and when they would prefer to take their classes:

Time of Day Majority of Classroom

Courses Met

Actual

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Preferred

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Weekday early mornings

(finished by 9:00 a.m.)

5% 5%

Weekday mornings

(between 9:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon)

14 19

Weekday afternoons

(between 12:00 noon and 4:30 p.m.)

23 15

Weekday evenings

(4:30 p.m. or later)

47 51

Weekends 11 11

About 45 percent took their classes on weekday evenings, while about 42 percent took courses

during the day.

But were these class times the preferences of the demanders or were they driven by the

suppliers? The data show that, for the most part, graduate adult students study when they want to

study.

Actual and Preferred Length of Course

Changing topics, we asked all graduate adult respondents who engaged in any classroom-based

courses (those who did not take all of their courses online) how many weeks their most recent

course lasted. We then asked all respondents to tell us how many weeks they prefer a course last:

53

Number of Weeks of Most Recent Course

Actual

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Preferred

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

1 week 4% 4%

2 weeks -- --

3 weeks -- 1

4 weeks 3 4

5 weeks 7 3

6 weeks 7 9

7 weeks -- --

8 weeks 16 25

9 weeks 3 3

10 weeks 5 9

11 weeks 3 2

12 weeks 12 19

13 weeks 5 3

14 weeks 9 1

15 weeks or more 27 17

Nearly as many graduate students were recently enrolled in courses of 13 or more weeks –

representing traditional semester length, as were enrolled in moderately accelerated courses of

six to 12 weeks. This indicates a fairly large number of accelerated courses being available in the

region.

Just 20 percent of graduate students would prefer to enroll in traditional length courses of 13 or

more weeks, while nearly three times that many (67%) prefer to enroll in moderately accelerated

courses of six to 12 weeks. In fact, the median preference is 10 weeks.

Preferred Months of Study

While we did not query the respondents specifically about their preferred months of study, based

on numerous studies conducted nationwide, the pattern of responses has shown that most

graduate adult students prefer the fall months (September, October, and November) and the

winter months (January, February, and March). While classes typically start for graduate adult

students in late August, the University of Southern Maine would do better to start them after

Labor Day and in January after the holiday season.

54

Maximum Number of Miles Willing to Travel to Attend Class

What is the maximum number of minutes respondents are willing to drive one way to an

institution to attend a class? The largest proportion, 38 percent, is willing to drive 16-30 minutes

one way to attend class, while 35 percent is willing to drive 31-45 minutes one way:

Maximum Number of Minutes Willing to

Drive to Attend Class

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Less than 15 minutes 3%

16-30 minutes 38

31-45 minutes 35

More than 45 minutes 24

Convenience of Location for Future Course

Finally on this topic, we asked respondents to rate the convenience of several locations as a place

for they themselves to take a course, using a 5-point scale of 1 not at all convenient to 5 very

convenient. None of the locations were rated particularly highly, and this is not surprising given

the large geography covered in our study area; but the highest average rating (2.7) was given to

Portland, Maine:

Convenience of Location for Future

Course

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Responding

4 or 5

Average

Rating

Portland, ME 30% 2.7

Portsmouth, NH 20 2.1

Lewiston, ME 16 1.8

Saco, ME 13 1.9

Augusta, ME 12 1.6

Gorham, ME 9 1.7

Brunswick, ME 9 1.6

55

Study Formats for Graduate Adult Students


We asked respondents if they were enrolled in certain types of courses during the last

term in which they were enrolled. The following data show that about half were enrolled

in semester-length courses in a classroom. However, proportions of 29 percent each were

enrolled in fully online courses or accelerated classroom courses of approximately eight

weeks, and another 24 percent were enrolled in hybrid courses. Such data show that

almost 55 percent were enrolled in a course that had at least some online component:


Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students


a classroom 52%

Fully online 29





online)

24

Satisfaction With Course Format in Which Enrolled

We continued with respondents by asking them to rate their satisfaction with the course

format in which they were most recently enrolled, using a 5-point scale of 1 not at all

satisfied to 5 extremely satisfied. The data show that respondents were very satisfied with

all of the course formats, but they were most satisfied with hybrid courses:

Satisfaction of Course Format

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Responding

4 or 5

Average

Rating



online)

84

4.3


a classroom 82

4.2

Fully online 82 4.2



4.2

56

Preferred Future Course Format

We then asked respondents which format they prefer to enroll in next: entirely in a

classroom with a professor present, partly online and partly in a classroom, or entirely

online. Equal proportions of 39 percent prefer either a fully online course or a course

conducted partly online. Therefore, almost 80 percent of respondents would most likely

enroll in a course that has at least some online component:

Preferred Course Format

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Entirely online 39%

Partly online/partly in the classroom

(hybrid) 39

Entirely in the classroom 22

Preferred Frequency of Hybrid Course In-person Meetings

We continued with respondents who took at least one of their courses in hybrid format by

asking them when they would most prefer to visit the college’s campus if they were to

take another hybrid course. The largest proportion—about 45 percent—prefer to visit

campus once every other week:

Preferred Frequency of Hybrid Course In

Person Meetings

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Once every other week 44%

2-3 times total during term 28

Once a week 22

Once per term 6

Technology Used in Hybrid or Fully Online Courses

Next, we asked respondents who have enrolled in a hybrid and/or fully online course by

asking them if their course made significant use of any of the given technologies. The

largest proportion—25 percent—took a course that used video streaming, while 22

percent took a course that used social media/networks. However, note that 24 percent

enrolled in a course that did not make use of any of these technologies:

Technology Used in Hybrid or Fully

Online Courses

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Video streaming 25%

Social media/networks 22

Virtual worlds/avatars 11

Other 18

None of these 24

57

Preferred Online Course Delivery

We also asked respondents which kind of online course delivery they prefer:

asynchronous or synchronous. The large majority—about 70 percent—prefer

asynchronous.

Low Residency Program

We continued by asking all respondents about their attraction to low residency programs.

First we explained that some colleges are offering programs that are largely completed

online or through independent study, and only require brief, periodic visits to campus for

interaction with other students and faculty, and that these visits are typically offered

either once a year or once each term/semester, and sometimes occur on a weekend and

sometimes a full week in the summer. Then we asked them to rate their attraction to such

a program, using a 5-point scale of 1 not at all attractive to 5 very attractive.

Respondents gave a 3.4 average rating, with half giving 4 or 5 ratings.

Number of Times Per Year Able to Attend Residencies We then asked only those who gave a three or higher rating to their attraction to a low

residency program by asking them how many times per year they could attend one of

those residencies. The largest proportions—36 and 39 percent respectively—could attend

once or twice per semester:

Number of Times Per Year Able to

Attend Residencies

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Once per semester 36%

Twice per semester 39

Once per year 21

Once during the program 4

Number of Days Able to Dedicate to Visiting the Campus

And how many days could this pool of respondents dedicate to visiting the campus of an

institution that offered a low residency program? The largest proportion—37 percent—

could dedicate two days, while 22 percent could dedicate one day:

Number of Days Able to Dedicate to the

Visit to the Campus

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

1 22%

2 37

3 16

4 7

5+ 19

58

Maximum Number of Miles Willing to Travel to a Residency

Finally among this pool, we asked them the maximum number of miles they are willing

to travel to get to such a residency if a program was set up to meet their needs. About 60

percent would be willing to travel less than 50 miles from their home:

Maximum Number of Miles Willing to

Travel to a Residency

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Less than 50 miles from my home 62%

50-100 miles from my home 24

Within my home state 4

Within the region of the country I live 4

Anywhere in the country 7

59

The Position and Image of the University of Southern Maine

in the Graduate Adult Student Market

University Providing Current/Recent Course

To determine the current position of the University of Southern Maine in the graduate

adult student market in the area surveyed, we asked respondents we interviewed in each

study area where they were currently/recently studying and where they would prefer to

study in the future:

Institution

Actual

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Preferred

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

the University of Southern Maine 8% 8%

Harvard University 5 9

Northeastern University 4 4

Lesley University 4 2

Boston University 3 8

University of New Hampshire-Durham 3 8

Boston College 3 5

Salem State College 3 4

University of New Hampshire at Manchester 3 3

Rivier College 3 2

Southern New Hampshire University 3 2

Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and

Health Sciences

3 1

Bentley University 1 2

Merrimack College 1 2

University of Phoenix- Online -- 4

Massachusetts Institute of Technology -- 3

University of Maine -- 3

Other college* 49 30

*No institution was named by more than one percent of the respondents.

There are many noteworthy points in the table above. Here are the most important points

based on the institutions cited by the graduate adult students:

60

Actual Enrollment Patterns

Respondents most often study at the University of Southern Maine (8%), followed

by Harvard University (5%), Northeastern University (4%) and Lesley University

(4%).

Among the institutions that respondents have actually enrolled in for their most

recent study, private institutions dominate: about 60 percent study at private

institutions (about 15 percent of which have religious affiliations), while 35

percent study at public institutions, and about five percent study at proprietary

institutions.

Preferred Enrollment Patterns

Respondents most often prefer to study at Harvard University (9%), followed by

the University of Southern Maine (8%), Boston University (8%), and University

of New Hampshire-Durham (8%).

Among the cited institutions that respondents prefer to enroll in, private

institutions also dominate: 60 percent prefer private institutions (ten percent of

which have religious affiliations), while 35 percent prefer public institutions, and

five percent prefer proprietary institutions.

Comparison of Actual and Preferred Data

In comparing the actual and preferred data for respondents, a few notable disparities exist

between a specific institution’s actual share of the actual graduate adult student market

and its preferred share of this market. The largest discrepancies exist for Boston

University and University of New Hampshire-Durham, where in both cases three percent

of the graduate adult students currently study, but eight percent would prefer to (a five

percent increase), followed by Harvard University, where five percent of the graduate

adult students currently study, but nine percent would prefer to (a four percent increase),

and University of Phoenix, where none of the graduate adult students currently study, but

four percent of the market would prefer to (a four percent increase).

About the University of Southern Maine

the University of Southern Maine has eight percent of the graduate adult student market

and eight percent of the preferred graduate adult student market—the largest share of the

actual graduate market and one of the largest shares of the preferred graduate market.

But, with changes, would not be in a position to increase its market share.

61

General Familiarity with the University of Southern Maine

Moving on, we asked all respondents how they would characterize their familiarity with

the University of Southern Maine. The largest proportion—about 45 percent—have heard

of the University of Southern Maine, but didn’t know anything about it until we

interviewed them:

General Familiarity with the University

of Southern Maine

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students







Familiarity with Specific Programs at the University of Southern Maine

We then asked all respondents to describe how familiar they are with the specific

programs at the University of Southern Maine. The largest proportion—about 45

percent—has heard of it, but didn’t know anything about it until we interviewed them:

Familiarity with the Specific Programs at

the the University of Southern Maine

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students







Consideration of Enrolling at the University of Southern Maine

Next, we asked only the respondents who did not attend the University of Southern

Maine if they considered enrolling at the University. About 20 percent did indeed.

62

Reason for Not Considering the University of Southern Maine

Why did approximately 80 percent not consider the University of Southern Maine? The

largest proportion of this pool, about 60 percent, told us the University of Southern Maine

is not conveniently located:

Reason For Not Considering the the


Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Not a convenient location to my home or

work 61%

Didn't offer the program I wanted 22

Lack of information 5

Reputation of the institution or program I

wanted 3

Schedule of courses didn't fit my needs 3

Length of time to complete the program 2

Cost - It was not affordable --

Other 3

Opinion of and Familiarity with Nominated Institutions

We then asked all respondents to rate six institutions (nominated by the University of

Southern Maine staff) as places for they themselves to study at the graduate level, using a

5-point scale of 1 low to 5 high. Respondents who did not know an institution well

enough were asked not to rate it.

Institution

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Responding

4 or 5

Average

Rating

Knew It Well

Enough To

Rate

University of New Hampshire 50% 3.3 86%

University of New England 31 2.6 72

the University of Southern Maine 26 2.6 80

Southern New Hampshire University 22 2.5 81

St. Joseph's College 17 2.3 67

University of Maine-Orono 15 2.0 79

The best profile for an institution is to be both widely known and well regarded as a place

to study. The data show that University of New Hampshire achieves both the highest

average rating, 3.3, and the greatest visibility, 86 percent. the University of Southern

Maine achieves the next highest average rating (2.6, which it shares with University of

New England) and the third greatest visibility of 80 percent.

63

Note that although University of Maine-Orono has the fourth greatest visibility at 79

percent, it has the lowest average rating of 2.0. Such data prove that a high average rating

does not necessarily correspond with greater visibility—data confirmed in the

undergraduate analysis and in past studies as well. Moreover, familiarity alone does not

draw students to an institution. Institutions such as University of New Hampshire—which

has the highest average rating—has done more than the others to make a positive

impression on this market beyond just increasing its visibility.


When respondents think of the University of Southern Maine, what comes to mind first?

The largest share (about 35 percent) could not think of anything. Among those that could,

the largest proportions commented on its location, followed by its quality:

Location

Near Portland

Near the coast

Near the ocean

It’s in Portland, Maine, smaller than UMO

Location, reputation

Location, popular

Down east

I think of Maine, so I think of the beach.

Somewhere around Portland? I do not know its offerings for programs.Far away (three citations)

Distance

Far away from Massachusetts; where is it exactly? Never heard of it

Not close by

Not near me

It is in a different state.

It sounds far away because it’s in Maine.

Pretty far from my house

That it’s too far from our house

Too far

Too far away, but good school

Too far away. Very rural

Decent school but far from me.

It's in Maine. I live in NH. It would be at least an hour drive to any location they might have.

Nice college, not convenient

Access and availability

Convenience is the first thing that comes to mind.

Convenient

Convenient, quality education

Ease of getting there and cost

Local, two distinct campuses, commuter school

Many programs and close to home

Near home

GOOD SCHOOL

A good developed school

Course working closely with practice, practice opportunities, beautiful university

Decent university

Fine

Good local college

64

Good place; lots of programs

Good quality school, primarily liberal arts, not offering any programs that I am interested in.

Good school, part of university system

Good school with focus on real world research and practical experiences, nationally known for

rural research

Good school. I am familiar mostly with the graduate program in education. The professors were

excellent.

Good state school but not many science degrees

It's a good school for jazz music.

Interesting.

I heard it was a great college. Unfortunately the job I am taking is in Malta, NY. I will be coming

home once or twice a month.

Professional staff, good reputation, good courses, and a convenient schedule

That it is a good school and relatively close by

CAMPUS SETTING

Beautiful campus setting

Beautiful location, but not convenient as I live in Massachusetts.

College in the woods

Trees

Very nice

Very pretty up on the hill

Wonderful campus! Diversity of subjects

ALUMNI OR KNOWS AN ALUMNI

I know someone who used to teach there.

Know people that go there

My undergraduate school

My summer nanny is a student there.

BAD REPUTATION

I went to some great parties there.

Lesser tier college

Party school

Unfairness of teacher

SMALL

Probably small, since it's in Maine; not sure of the quality of the faculty, may be limited in the

degrees they offer.

Small

Small Maine college

STATE/PUBLIC COLLEGE

Public college

State school, general education, nothing special

State university

OTHER

Regional interests

Accessibly and lower costs

Overpriced, stuck-up, inconvenient

Safe school

Split campus; part of a large system of public universities in Maine; wide variety of subjects to

study

65

Promotion of the University of Southern Maine

to Graduate Adult Students

Most Important Factor in Enrollment Decision

In order to find out how the University of Southern Maine should promote itself, we

began by asking respondents what factor was most important to them in their decision to

enroll at the college they most recently attended. The largest proportion, 20 percent, told

us the reputation of the college or program was the most important factor:

Most Important Factor In Decision to

Enroll at the College Last Attended

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Reputation of the college or program 20%

Accreditation of a specific program of

interest 16

Proximity of college to home or work 16

Cost of tuition and fees 15

Accreditation of the college 8

Availability of online instruction 7

Day and time courses meet 7

Length of time to complete my studies 5

Transferability of previously earned credits 2

Other 4

the University of Southern Maine Features

Next, we asked respondents to tell us whether features of the University of Southern

Maine would increase, decrease, or have no effect on their interest in considering the

University as a place to study. Resulting data show that the largest proportion of

respondents would be more likely to consider the University of Southern Maine because

USM Online offers over 500 courses year-round that are fully online or a blend of online

and on-campus. Note that none of the features cause more than a handful of respondents

to be less likely to consider the University of Southern Maine:

66

the University of Southern

Maine Feature

Percent of Graduate

Adult Students

Increase

Consideration

Make No

Difference

Decrease

Consideration

USM Online offers over 500

courses year-round that are

fully online or a blend of

online and on-campus.

57% 40% 3%

USM offers many methods to

award academic credit for prior

learning and life experience

including credit by exam,

portfolio assessment, and

profession

52 44 4

USM offers four-week winter

session courses meeting in late

December-January that award

3 credits per class.

41 57 2

USM has the single largest set of

undergraduate and graduate

degree programs available in

the state of Maine.

29 70 1

USM has over 2,000 graduate

students enrolled in a wide

array of Master's degree and

Graduate Certificate programs.

28 70 2

USM offers degree completion

programs for students who

have earned some college

credits but who haven't

finished their bachelor's

degree. These programs are

offered in alternative times and

formats to meet the needs of

busy adults.

21 71 8

Likeliness of Considering the University of Southern Maine for Future Study

After respondents received this additional information about the University of Southern

Maine, we asked them how likely they would be to consider it for future study. Using a

5-point scale of 1 not at all likely to 5 very likely, respondents gave a 2.7 average rating,

with about 25 percent giving 4 or 5 ratings.

67

Statements About the University of Southern Maine

Respondents were then asked to rate their level of agreement with several statements

about the University of Southern Maine, using a 5-point scale of 1 do not agree to 5

strongly agree. Those who were not familiar with a statement were asked not to rate it.

Respondents rated highest, at 3.9, that the University of Southern Maine has a god overall

reputation, followed by the statement that it offers flexible formats of instruction (online

and in the classroom).

Notice also that significant proportions—between 38 and 48 percent—did not know these

statements about the University of Southern Maine, reflecting earlier data showing

graduate adult students’ lack of familiarity with the University:


Statement

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Responding

4 or 5

Average

Rating

Didn’t Know

USM has a good overall reputation. 65% 3.9 40%

It offers flexible formats of instruction

(online and classroom).

60 3.8 40

It is known to offer quality education. 53 3.6 41

Its programs prepare students well for their

careers.

46 3.6 48

It costs are reasonable for the value of

education you receive.

43 3.5 44

Its campuses are conveniently located. 39 3.5 46

It is highly visible throughout the

community.

33 3.1 38

68

College Services

Next in the interview came a couple of questions related to college services. First, we

asked graduate adult students how often they used certain services the last time they

enrolled. The following data indicate that the largest proportion of respondents frequently

used online library and research services. However, the majority did not use many of the

services at all:

Service Used

Percent of Graduate

Adult Students

Not At All Sometimes Frequently

Online library & research services 15% 37% 48%

Library facility 52 32 16

Food services 71 20 9

Computer lab 63 29 8



Cultural events on campus 80 13 7

Student clubs/activities 84 11 5


Fitness center 88 8 4


24/7 Technical help 59 40 1

Math assistance 95 4 1

Child care center 100

Preferred Access to Services

Moving on, we then asked only those who used the aforementioned college services

either sometimes or frequently how they would prefer these specific services be offered:

Service

Percent of Graduate

Adult Students

Preferred Method of Access

By Telephone In Person Online

24/7 technical help 32% 13% 55%





Math assistance -- 50 50

69

College Characteristics

Next, we asked respondents to rate whether certain college characteristics of some

colleges that serve adult students would increase, decrease, or make no difference in

considering them as a place for they themselves to study. The largest proportion of

respondents—81 percent—would be more likely to consider a college if students are able

to take any mix of day, evening, weekend, accelerated, and online courses based on what

meets their scheduling needs:

College Characteristic

Percent of Graduate

Adult Students

Increase

Consideration

Make No

Difference

Decrease

Consideration

Students are able to take any mix

of day, evening, weekend,

accelerated and online courses

based on what meets their

scheduling needs

81% 14% 5%

Students can complete all courses

for their degree or certificate at

one location

73 25 2

Full degree/certificate programs

are offered online 68 28 4

Many faculty are practitioners in

their field who teach part-time 67 28 5

Most faculty teach full-time and

hold a PhD

45 55 --

Students, faculty and staff

represent a diversity of racial

and ethnic backgrounds

28 71 1

Visibility of Courses and Programs at the University of Southern Maine

We closed this section by asking them to compare the visibility of the University of

Southern Maine to the visibility of other area institutions. The largest proportion of

respondents—about half—report that the University of Southern Maine’s courses and

programs are about as visible as courses and programs at other area institutions, while

about 40 percent report they are less visible:

Visibility of the the University of

Southern Maine in the Community as

Compared to Other Colleges

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

About the same 48%

Less visible 38

More visible 14

70

Media to Advertise to Graduate Adult Students

Advertising Methods Likely to Attract Attention

What methods of advertising and promotion would be best for the University of Southern

Maine to increase its visibility? We continued our discussion by asking the respondents to

rate various ways for raising awareness about a college as very likely, somewhat likely, or

not likely:

Advertising Method

Percent of Graduate

Adult Students

Likeliness of Attracting Attention

Very Likely

Somewhat

Likely

Not Likely

Direct mail to you at home 36% 50% 14%

Internet search engines -

Google, Yahoo, Bing, etc. 31 58 11

Internet-based college search

sites 28 58 14

Ads on websites 15 37 48

Television ads 11 48 41

Radio ads 6 45 49

Newspaper ads 2 40 58

Bus/Train ads 2 24 74

Billboards 2 23 75

According to the graduate adult students we spoke with, the best method to get useful

information to a prospective student is direct mail to them at home. Unlike many of the

other methods, direct mail is an effective way of reaching prospective students who are

not already predisposed to find out something about the University, and therefore could

play a key role in increasing the University of Southern Maine’s visibility among this

population.

Also very likely to get their attention is Internet search engines such as Google, Yahoo,

or Bing, revealing that it is important that the University of Southern Maine has a strong,

well-optimized presence online.

Finally, Internet-based college search sites are very likely to attract them. We hypothesize

that graduate adult students find Internet-based college search sites effective because they

allow institutions to be compared easily.

Websites Visited Most Often

We continued only with respondents who rated ads on websites as somewhat likely or

very likely to attract their attention by asking them which three websites they visit most

71

often. The first website most often visited by the largest proportion is Google, which

about 90 percent visit daily, followed by Facebook, which abourt 85 percent visit daily.

1st Website Most Often Visited

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Google 38%

Facebook 17

Yahoo 12

Aol.com 6

MSN 4

Bing 2

Bnet 2

Boston.com 2

Cnn.com 2

Fox business 2

Gmail 2

Googlefinance 2

Hotmail.com 2

Linkedin.com 2

Nhawlt.org 2

Usm.maine.edu 2

Visited College Websites During College Search

Turning next to the Internet, we asked respondents if they used the Internet to gather

information about colleges and universities during their search for graduate course

providers and whether the Internet was their only source of information about the

institution. The largest proportion of the respondents, 68 percent, used the Internet in

addition to other types of research, while 23 percent only used the Internet to research

providers. Therefore, about 90 percent of graduate adult students used the Internet in

some capacity during their most recent college search:

Visited College Websites During College

Search

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Yes, that was one of my sources of

information 68%

Yes, that was my ONLY source of

information 23

No 9

72

Other Methods of Information Gathering in College Search

We continued by asking all of the respondents who indicated that they did not rely

entirely on the internet to identify what other methods they used to gather information

about the colleges in which they were interested. Data show they used various methods,

but the largest proportion, about 35 percent, read printed college materials, while 20

percent got the information from someone they know:

Method of Information Gathering in

College Search

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Printed college materials 33%

Someone I know provided information 20

Book(s) about colleges 13

Visited the institution 7

Phone calls to the institution 7

I attended an open house 7

Other 13

Direct Contact with College

About 65 percent of respondents made direct contact with the college they eventually

enrolled in prior to submitting their application.


We stayed with this pool—those who made direct contact with the college they

eventually enrolled in prior to submitting their application—by asking them how they

made direct contact with the college. The largest proportion, about 30 percent, called the

college, while other substantial proportions emailed or requested information directly on

its website:


Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Telephone 31%

Email 25

I requested more information directly on its

website 20

I visited the college 16

I attended an open house or other event

hosted by the college on campus or

elsewhere

8

73

Likeliness of Accessing or Participating in Media

Next, we asked respondents to tell us how likely they would be to participate in or access

each of the following media from a college in which they were considering enrolling.

Respondents are most likely to participate in or access faculty/student chats/online open

houses or traditional open houses:

Media

Percent of Graduate

Adult Students

Likeliness of Using Media to Access

Information

Very Likely

Somewhat

Likely

Not Likely

Faculty/student chats/online

open houses

20%

56%

24%

Open house 17 61 22

Social media fan pages 11 28 61

Blogs 8 33 59

Podcasts 6 28 66

Acceptable Methods of Contacting Potential Students

We continued by asking respondents to tell us which method they deem acceptable for an

institution to use when following up with potential students who have inquired. Email to

students was deemed acceptable by the largest proportions of respondents (34%),

followed by mail to them at home (29%):

Acceptable Method of Contact From

College

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Email 34%

Mail to you at home 29

Phone calls to you at home 14

Online social networks - Facebook,

LinkedIn, Twitter… 11

Phone calls to you on your mobile phone 9

Phone calls to you at work 2

Text messages 1

DIRECT MAIL

Preferred Months for University Mailings

As to the timing of direct mail, although we did not ask respondents to tell us the best

months for receiving college advertising at home, generally over a number of studies

conducted nationwide, the pattern of responses has shown that graduate adult students

prefer the spring and summer months (April, May, June, July, and August) and January

74

for advertising. Since the fall months are usually more popular for graduate adult students

to study, it stands to reason that receiving advertising in April, May, June, July, and

August enables them to make their plans on a timely basis, get their lives in order, and

prepare for attending classes in September. Similarly, receiving University mailings in

January allows students time to prepare for the spring semester and perhaps plan the

entire year to come.

Social Network Profiles

We next asked respondents if they had any social networking profiles. The largest

proportion—about half—had a profile on Facebook:

Social Networking Profile

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Facebook 49%

LinkedIn 24

Twitter 12

MySpace 6

Other --

No social Networking profiles 8

Smart Phone Ownership

Fifty-five percent of respondents have a ―smart phone,‖ such as an iPhone or Blackberry.

Review of College Websites on Smart Phone

We continued only with those who have a smart phone by asking them to rate how likely

they would be to access the websites of the colleges that interest them on their smart

phone. Using a 5-point scale of 1 not at all likely to 5 very likely, respondents gave a 3.0

average rating, with about 35 percent giving 4 or 5 ratings.

75

Cost of Courses for Graduate Adult Students

Maximum Increased Tuition Willing to Pay for Online Course

We began our questions about cost of courses by asking respondents the maximum

amount of increased tuition they would be willing to pay for the convenience of enrolling

in an online course rather than a classroom-based course. The largest proportion by far—

about 60 percent—would not pay more:

Maximum Increased Tuition Willing to

Pay for Online Course

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Less than 10 percent 21%

10-20 percent 8

21-40 percent 10

More than 40 percent --

I would not pay more 62

Importance of Price in Decision on Where to Enroll

We continued by asking respondents to rate the importance price had on their decision on

where to enroll, using a 5-point scale of 1 not at all important to 5 extremely important.

Graduate adult students responded with an average rating of 3.8, with about 65 percent

giving 4 or 5 ratings.

Importance of Availability of Financial Aid

How important was the availability of financial aid in respondents’ decision to enroll in a

given institution? Graduate adult students gave an average rating of 2.8, on a 5-point

scale of 1 not at all important to 5 extremely important, with about 40 percent giving 4 or

5 ratings.

Three-credit Course Cost of $1,100 Compared to Cost of Most Recent Institution

How does $1,100 for a three-credit graduate course compare to the course costs of the

institution at which respondents most recently studied? Resulting data show about half

thinks it is lower than the tuition at their most recent institution:

Three Credit Course Cost of $1,100 as

Compared to Cost of Institution Most

Recently Attended

Percent of

Graduate

Adult Students

Lower 48%

Higher 32

About the same 20

76

Viability of Current Course Cost

In order to determine just how sensitive the graduate adult student market is to cost, we

quoted graduate adult students three proposed prices for courses at the University of

Southern Maine. Using the results in the following table, the University of Southern

Maine can find out the relative total revenue that it would collect at each of the different

prices we quoted. This can be done by assuming an imaginary market of 100 graduate

adult students. Based on such a market, an index of total revenue can be determined at

each price by multiplying that price by the number of people out of 100 who would be

willing to pay it. For example, during the interviews, 68 percent of the graduate adult

students said they would be willing to pay $1,100 per course. Multiplying a price of

$1,100 per course by 68 (68 percent of an imaginary 100-person market) creates an index

of total revenue of $74,800. Doing the same with the other prices quoted allows us to

compare the three:

Willing to Pay

Percent of

Graduate Adult

Students

Index of Total

Revenue

$1,100 per course 68% $74,800

$1,650 per course 41 $67,650

$3,300 per course 9 $29,700

As the tables show, the increase from $1,100 per course to $3,300 per course

simultaneously drives down prospective enrollment and revenue. The data show that the

optimum revenue-producing price is $1,100 per course—comparable to a three-credit

course at the University of Southern Maine’s current tuition of $380 per credit for

residents.

At the jump in tuition price from $1,650 per course to $3,300 per course, an additional 32

percent of the graduate adult student market would chose not to enroll at the University

of Southern Maine because they consider this cost too high.

Currently Paying Off Loans Incurred During Undergraduate Study

About 30 percent of respondents are currently paying off loans they incurred during their

undergraduate study.

Outstanding Undergraduate Debt Influenced Graduate Study Decisions

Among this approximately 30 percent who are currently paying off undergraduate bills,

35 percent said their remaining undergraduate student debt played a role in their decision-

making about their graduate studies. Here are their verbatim responses, which elaborate

on its influence:

Don't want more debt

Finances in general

Hard to pay off loans

I am hesitant to incur additional debt.

I cannot afford to add to my debt.

77

I can't afford to take out more loans until my current loans are paid down a bit

more.

I don’t want to add to my debt.

I want to clear out my debt first.

I worry about putting myself further in debt.

It limits the amount of money I can spend for graduate classes.

Needed a less expensive school

Paid Full Price or Less than Full Price When Last Enrolled

Finally on the topic of cost, we asked respondents whether they paid the full ―sticker

price‖ of the cost of courses the last time they were enrolled or if they paid less through

the award of financial aid, a scholarship, work study, or some other reduction. About 60

percent paid less than the full price.

78

Study 3: Employer/Organization Demand

A substantial proportion of individuals in both the undergraduate adult student market

and graduate adult student market are career oriented—shown by their prevalence of

career advancement and career change as motivations for study. Aforementioned data

also show that all but 20 percent of the undergraduate adult students and approximately

15 percent of the graduate students are employed.

Thus, our interviews with organizations focused on certain areas of opportunity for the

University of Southern Maine. First, data show that only about 15 percent of

undergraduate adult students and 35 of the graduate students use tuition reimbursement to

fund their education, the bulk of the balance using personal funds, loans, or grants instead

or as well. Therefore, we investigated the views and practices of area employers in regard

to tuition reimbursement so as to promote greater use among employees seeking further

education and credentials. Second, given the need among many organizations for outside

assistance for the delivery of education and training to their employees, possible

contractual arrangements between the University of Southern Maine and organizations

were pursued.

We interviewed a total of 50 officials responsible for employer education and training at

50 organizations residing within a 50-mile radius of the University of Southern Maine’s

Portland, Maine campus. Results from these interviews are presented below. The primary

objectives of this study are to investigate the following topics:

Familiarity with the University of Southern Maine

Visibility and reputation of the University of Southern Maine

Importance of employees pursuing further education and training

Recent use of outside training providers

Tuition assistance programs

Maximum annual tuition assistance offered

Unmet needs of organizations

Consideration of the University of Southern Maine for education and training

Most important skills for new employees to possess

Changes employers foresee in industry

Interest in future contact

79

Following are the organizations that we interviewed:

Androscoggin HomeCare Hospice

Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield

Arcadis Insurance Co.

Bancroft Contracting

Barber Foods

Barron Center

Bath Iron Works

Bath Savings

Bennoch

Blethen Maine Newspapers Inc.

Central Maine Healthcare

Clover Health Care

Cumberland County Human Resources

Delorme

Diversified Communications

Down East Energy

D'Youville Pavillion

ES Boulos Co.

Fairchild Semiconductor

Funtown Splashtown USA

Geiger Bros.

General Dynamics Weapon Systems

Ground Round Independent

Owners Corp.

Harry C Crooker & Sons

Health Dialog Inc.

Healthreach Homecare & Hospice

(part of Maine General Health)

Iberdrola USA (Central Maine

Power Co.)

Kittery Trading Post

Lincoln County Health (St. Andrews

Hospital Home and Hospice)

Maine Medical Center

Maine Veterans’ Home

MEMIC

Miles Memorial Hospital - Lincoln

County Health Care

New Balance Athletic Shoe

Northeast Bancorp

Norway Savings Bank

Olympia Sports Inc.

Parker-Hannifin Watts Fluid

Parkview Adventist

Pionite Decorative Surfaces

Redlon & Jensen

Sisters of Charity Health Systems

South Portland Nursing Home

SPX (formerly Dielectric

Communications)

Stephens Memorial Hospital

Stonewall Kitchen

Tom's of Maine

Tri-County Mental Health

Tyler Technologies

Wright Express Corp.

80

Number of Employees and Locations

Number of Employees

The following table displays the size of the employers interviewed, with size defined as

the approximate number of employees across all locations:

Number of Employers

Percent of

Employers

51- 100 9%

101- 200 27

201- 300 20

301- 400 16

401- 500 11

501- 600 --

601- 700 2

701- 800 --

801- 900 2

901- 1,000 2

1,001-1,500 --

1,501-2,000 --

2,001-2,500 2

2,501-3,000 --

3,001-3,500 2

3,501-4,000 --

4,001-4,500 --

4,501-5,000 --

5,001-5,500 --

5,501-6,000 4

6,001-6,500 --

6,501-7,000 --

7,001-7,500 --

7,501-8,000 --

8,001-8,500 --

8,501-9,000 --

10,000+ --

Rather not disclose 2

As it turned out, we spoke with officials who had quite a range of employees—from 26-

50 to 5,501-6,000. However, about three quarters of the companies had between 101 and

500 employees across all locations. The median number of employees employed by the

companies we interviewed was 270.

81



To determine how familiar employers are with the University of Southern Maine and its

services and programs, we began by asking officials how familiar they are with the

University of Southern Maine in general. The largest proportion of these employers—

about 55 percent—knows the University of Southern Maine and some of its programs,

while about 30 percent knows the University of Southern Maine well and are very

familiar with its programs. All in all, about 85 percent of the employers we interviewed

are at least somewhat familiar with the University:

Familiarity with


Percent of

Employers

I know it well and are very familiar with its

programs 32%

I know it and know about some of the programs

it offers 54

I’ve heard of it, but didn’t know anything other

than its name until today 14

I’ve never heard of it --


We next asked only the employers who are at least somewhat familiar with the University

of Southern Maine what comes to mind first when they think of the University. The

largest proportions think the University is local/convenient, but several other topics also

come to mind:

LOCAL/CONVENIENT

Local (three citations)

Campus is a stone’s throw away.

Close location

Convenience and availability of wonderful certificate programs right in our backyard

Home town education

I grew up here; good school in Maine

I live in the town; liberal arts

Local; many campuses

Local college

Local college; we have used the facilities there for meetings

Local college and good business courses

Local school, positive opinion

Location, convenient

Local campus

SPECIFIC COURSES/PROGRAMS

Business courses, continuing education classes

Continuing education program

Human Resources certificate

I drive through it; campus and law school where they have encore programs for business

professionals

Law school

82

Liberal arts

Social work and psychology

The business administration program and courses

The occupational therapy program; social work

Variety of degree programs offered as well as the variety of continuing education

Waste water treatment program; my husband took it years ago.

GOOD EDUCATION/REPUTATION

Good college; nothing else

Good local school

Good school

Good school; I’ve taken a weekend course there.

High quality of education

Improved

Kids went there; good school

Reputable

Worked there; great facility, quality

ALUMNI OR KNOWS AN ALUMNI

Classes I took there

I just got my Human Resources certificate there.

I am an alum.

I graduated from there/

I took a class there and liked it.

I went to school there and local education is important.

We have a lot of USM grads that work for us.

COST

Affordable

Reasonable expense

I've been here 40 years. We use the tuition reduction program and it is a good school.

OTHER

Accessible

Struggling to make the mark

It is a little far for us; online is great for us. Husband went there.

A lot of our people take classes there.

I did a job fair there.

Lewiston-Auburn campus

My mom works there.

We do a lot work with USM.

We have tried to have conversation about curriculum.

We recruit there and have summer interns here that have contributed nicely.

83

Visibility of the University of Southern Maine in the Area

We continued by asking employers to assess the level of visibility of the University of

Southern Maine in their area. The largest proportion—about half—said the University of

Southern Maine is somewhat visible, while about 40 percent said it is very visible:

Visibility of the University of Southern

Maine

Percent of

Employers

Very visible 42%

Somewhat visible 48

Not at all visible 8

Reputation of the University of Southern Maine in Preparing an Educated

Workforce

We also asked employers to rate the reputation of the University of Southern Maine in

preparing an educated workforce. The largest proportion by far—almost 65 percent—

deems the University of Southern Maine’s reputation very satisfactory:

Reputation of the University of Southern

Maine

Percent of

Employers

Very satisfactory 64%

Somewhat satisfactory 26

Not satisfactory --

Don’t know 10

the University of Southern Maine Statements

We then read a number of statements about the University of Southern Maine and asked

the officials to rate the statements, using a 5-point scale of 1 do not agree to 5 strongly

agree. Those who did not know a statement were asked not to rate it. The data follow:

Statements About the University of Southern

Maine

Percent

Responding

Strongly

Agree

Percent

Who Knew

Well

Enough to

Rate

Average

Rating

It serves well the needs of commuter students 54% 56% 4.61

Employers respect degrees earned there 80 88 4.34

It is well linked to area community colleges 46 50 4.32

Its costs are reasonable 38 48 4.25

the University of Southern Maine has a good

overall reputation 78 90 4.24

It offers a high quality education 76 88 4.20

It is responsive to the educational needs of the

community 50 60 4.20

84

All of the seven statements were very highly rated by employers. Rated highest, at 4.61,

is that the University of Southern Maine serves well the needs of commuter students.

However, note that about 45 percent of employers could not rate this most highly rated

statement and about half could not rate whether the University of Southern Maine’s costs

are reasonable or whether it us well linked to area community colleges. Such

unfamiliarity reveals areas where the University of Southern Maine could improve in its

outreach to area employers.

Employer Details

Importance of Employees Pursuing Further Education and Training

How important is it that employees working in their organization pursue further

education and training while they are employed? For the largest proportion by far—70

percent—it is very important:

Importance of Ongoing Education and

Training

Percent of

Employers

Very important 70%

Somewhat important 24

Not important at all 6

Important Educational Pursuits of Employees

Next, we asked employers to tell us how important each of the following skills are for

some or all of their employees to possess upon joining their organization or to acquire or

strengthen while employed with them. According to officials, customer service and

effective communication skills (written and oral) are very important to almost all of the

employers (89%). However, the majority also found the following skills very important:

proficiency in written and spoken English, specialized (industry-specific) technologies,

personal time management skills, managerial/supervisory, conflict resolution and

negotiation, complex problem-solving/critical thinking, ethical decision making, and

leading teams:

85

Importance of Skill Sets for

Employees

Percent of Employers

Very

Important

Somewhat

Important

Not at all

Important

Not Sure

What This

Is

Customer service 89% 7% 4% --

Effective communication skills

(written and oral)

89 11 -- --

Proficiency in written and spoken

English

70 28 2 --

Specialized (industry-specific)

technologies

70 28 2 --

Personal time management skills 67 33 -- --

Managerial/supervisory 65 33 2 --

Conflict resolution and negotiation 65 35 -- --

Complex problem-solving/critical

thinking

63 37 -- --

Ethical decision-making 63 33 4 --

Leading teams 54 43 2 --

Math, computational, or

quantitative reasoning

37 61 2 --

Creativity and Innovation 37 59 4 --

Intermediate business/office

computing

35 54 9 2%

Information Literacy 22 46 4 28

Advanced computer systems

(programming, design or

management)

15 43 41 --

Inter-cultural knowledge (global

issues)

7 54 39 --

Languages other than English† -- 54 46 --

Other skills* 100 -- -- --

*Other skills:

Intergenerational skills (four citations)

Work ethics (four citations)

Generational skills (two citations)

Following work policy and rules

Interpersonal skills

Sales

Work decorum

† Languages other than English:

Spanish (five citations)

French (four citations)

Mandarin (two citations)

Cambodian

Somalian

Sudanese

86

Human Resources Role in Promoting Education or Training

Moving along, we asked employers what their human resources department is most likely

to do when employees are in need of further education or training. The largest

proportion—about 75 percent—is most likely to have the employee enroll in a course at a

local college, training company, or association and reimburse all or part of employees’

costs, while about 70 percent are most likely to take a different action—most often to

train employees in-house:

Human Resources Directive in Encouraging

Further Education or Training

Percent of

Employers

Have the employee enroll in a course at a local

college, training company, or association

and reimburse all or part of employees’

costs

77%

Contract with a local college, training company,

association, etc. to provide customized

training at your offices or some other

location selected by you

25

Encourage employees enroll in a program that

meets their needs, and have them pay for it

themselves

21

Have the employee enroll in a course at a local

college, training company or association and

pre-pay all or part of employees’ costs

2

Something else* 69

*Something else:

In-house training (31 citations)

Affiliated with Central Maine Community College and a nursing program onsite

Union provides training and we partner with National Electric Contractors

Association and they provide a lot of electrical and technology training.

Interest in Gerontology among Healthcare Employers

Workforce Care for Older Adults

We next asked only those employers within the healthcare sector a set of questions

relating to the study of gerontology – an area of particular interest to USM staff. We

began by asking if each employer’s workforce cares for older adults to some degree.

About 90 percent do indeed have a workforce that cares for older adults.

Need for Employees to Have Better Understanding of Working with Older Adults

Among the healthcare employers who have a workforce that cares for older adults, do

any find their employees need to have a better understanding of the

competencies/expertise (knowledge, attitudes, and skills) to work with older adults?

About 85 percent of this pool do indeed.

87

Encouragement of Employees to Register for Gerontology Certificate at USM

We next asked this pool if they would encourage their employees to enroll in a 15-credit

online post-baccalaureate gerontology certificate program in the next year if the

University of Southern Maine offered it. Sixty-five percent of respondents would indeed

encourage their employees to enroll, while about 25 percent said they might encourage

them to enroll, just 10 percent indicated they would not.

Desired Outcome of Gerontology Certificate

Among those who would or might encourage their employees to enroll in such a

gerontology certificate program at the University of Southern Maine, what would they

hope their employees would gain from the program? The resulting data show that the

majority hopes their employees would gain all of the given outcomes:

Desired Outcome of Gerontology Certificate

Percent of

Employers

Increased knowledge about aging 100%

Meet the needs of the consumers/clients/patients

better 100

Personal satisfaction and growth 100

Opportunity to fulfill licensure or certification

continuing education requirements 94

Networking opportunities with other

professionals 94

Professional status or recognition 94

Job security 88

Opportunities for job promotion/career

advancement 81

Reason for Lack of Interest in Gerontology Certificate

Among the three employers who would not encourage their employees to enroll in such a

post-baccalaureate gerontology certificate program at the University of Southern , why

wouldn’t they encourage such enrollment? Each of these respondents told us the

gerontology certificate is not helpful for the consumers/clients/patients they serve and

their employees do not need advanced training/education in gerontology/geriatrics.

88

Recent Use of Outside Training Providers

Contracting with Organizations in the Past Three Years

Now, returning to all respondents, we asked all organization officials if they have

contracted with any organization (association, training company, colleges or universities,

etc.) in the past three years to provide education and training programs to employees.

Forty-eight percent had indeed contracted with an organization in the past three years for

such needs.

Contracting with Colleges or Universities in the Past Three Years

We followed up with this pool by asking them if that organization was a college or

university. About 65 percent of this group did indeed contract with a college or university

in the past three years.

Education and/or Training Provided by Colleges or Universities

Who provided such training and what training did they provide? Education and/or

training through the University of Southern Maine was the institution contracted most

often by employers:

89

Institution

Education and/or Training Provided

the University of Southern Maine College courses

the University of Southern Maine Ethics

the University of Southern Maine Insurance and safety program

the University of Southern Maine Nursing degrees and courses

the University of Southern Maine Marine design

Central Maine Community College Nursing clinical rotation

Central Maine Community College Partner; nursing degree program

Central Maine Community College Quality training for welding inspectors; soft skills for

new hires; technical training for manufacturing

Central Maine Community College Supervisors training

Southern Maine Community College Business communication

Southern Maine Community College Work placement training, pathways; we did this with

five other businesses in Maine. It was a college

degree program for our associates to get a degree

while they work. Some classes were held here and

some at schools.

University of Maine Business courses, MBA program

University of Maine Partnered a grant for actual business development; we

are an engineering company

New England College Core classes, master’s program as well

Saint Joseph’s College of Maine Customized program

University of New England Accelerated Master’s of Business Administration

Prefer not to say Master’s degree program in business

Prefer not to say Nursing

Don't know, each department sets ups

training

Physicians training, medical students, nurses

Satisfaction with Education and/or Training Provided

How satisfied were employers with the education and/or training the college or university

provided for their organization? The large majority was very satisfied:

Satisfaction with Training Provided

by College


Not

Satisfied

Somewhat

Satisfied

Very

Satisfied

Not Sure

Satisfaction 8% 8% 77% 8%

90

Change in Hiring Practices Due to General Economic Situation

We continued by asking the officials if their organization has experienced any significant

changes to its hiring practices due to recent changes in the general economic situation.

Twenty-five percent did indeed experience such changes; the largest proportion cited a

decrease in hiring:

Slowed down hiring

Reduction in workforce; slow down in work

Less hiring

Instead of hiring full time employees, we bring out part-time temps.

Layoffs

Cannot afford to hire new professionals

Right size staffing, dip in employment

Last year no recruiting; this year a lot of new hires.

Hiring again

Increase in applicants

Closely tied with construction; nothing

Doing more online interviewing and scheduling; using the computer more

Rather not disclose

Tuition Assistance Programs

Recruiting prospective students from organizations with tuition assistance programs is

one important way to put the University of Southern Maine’s costs within the reach of

many more students who might otherwise be unable to attend the University of Southern

Maine. Remember that only about 15 percent of undergraduate adult students and 35

percent of graduate students take advantage of their employer’s tuition assistance

program by using it to pay for courses (the largest proportions instead using personal

funds). By increasing ties with area employers, it’s likely that the number of students who

use tuition assistance would increase, thereby making study at the University of Southern

Maine less taxing on personal finances. Thus, we investigated the tuition assistance

programs of the organizations interviewed.

Tuition Assistance Offered

About 80 percent of the organizations we interviewed have tuition assistance programs.

Courses and Programs Covered by Tuition Assistance We followed up only with the employers that offer tuition assistance by asking them what

courses and/or programs are covered specifically. Here are the results:

Undergraduate Courses and Programs

All of the employers that have tuition assistance programs cover undergraduate

courses and programs, but for 85 percent of this population, those courses and/or

programs must be job-related.

91

Graduate Courses and Programs

Ninety-eight percent of the employers that have tuition assistance programs also

cover graduate courses and programs, but for 90 percent of this population, those

courses and/or programs must be job-related.

Noncredit Courses and Programs

Eighty-five percent of the employers that have tuition assistance programs cover

noncredit continuing education or training, but for 92 percent of this population,

those courses and/or programs must be job-related.

Education Programs Eligible for Tuition Assistance

Among employers who offer tuition assistance, the largest proportion—98 percent—offer it for

degree program study, but the large majority offer it for all types of study:

Education Programs Eligible for

Tuition Assistance

Percent of

Employers

Degree program 98%

Certificate or licensure program 95

Individual courses not part of any program 85

Online and Distance Learning Tuition Assistance

Ninety-five percent of employers offer tuition assistance for online and distance learning

courses.

Maximum Annual Tuition Assistance Offered to Each Employee We followed up with employers that offer tuition reimbursement by asking them to tell us

the maximum annual tuition assistance benefit offered to each employee for

undergraduate, graduate, and noncredit study. Their responses varied widely from $750

to an unlimited amount. The median maximum annual tuition for undergraduate and

graduate study is $3,000 and for noncredit study it is $875:

92

UNDERGRADUATE

Number

of

Employers

Maximum

Annual

Tuition

3 $750

1 $1,000

1 $1,500

4 $2,000

2 $2,500

2 $3,000

1 $3,300

3 $3,500

1 $5,000

4 $5,250

1 $5,725

Other:

18 credits per year

Two courses per year

As employees of the city of

Portland, they pay 50 percent of

tuition; we don’t pay the city

does.

Depends on need of department

and length of service

Discretionary, approved,

variable, no set amount

All case by case

Never formalized amount; case

by case

No maximum, all departments

have budgets

No written policy

Unlimited

USM rate; case by case

Varies with time employed

GRADUATE

Number of

Employers

Maximum Annual

Tuition

3 $750

1 $1,000

1 $1,500

3 $2,000

1 $2,500

1 $3,000

2 $3,500

2 $5,000

6 $5,250

1 $10,000

Other:

Two courses per year

All case by case




by case

No limit

No maximum; all departments

have budgets

Unlimited

Up to full tuition; case by case


93

NONCREDIT

Number of

Employers

Maximum Annual

Tuition

3 $750

1 $1,000

1 $2,000

1 $3,000

Other:

Case by case basis (12 citations)

Managers’ discretion

(two citations)

All noncredit courses are case by

case; they are not covered by

tuition assistance but by

supervisors’ budgets.

Case by case; managers’ decision

to budget next year for tuition

reimbursement

Case by case at managers’

discretion

Case by case; managers’ budgets

Managers’ budget

Depends on department budgets

and discretion

Depends on length of service:

three to 12 months full time is

$1,000, part time is $500; one to

five years full time is $2,500 part

time is $1250; five or more years

full time is $3,500 part time is

$1,750




by case


Restrictions/Qualification for Receiving Reimbursement

Staying with this same pool of respondents—those that offer tuition reimbursement—we

then asked what the restrictions or qualifications are for receiving reimbursement. The

largest proportion—82 percent—told us they only reimburse for tuition if the employee

achieves a certain grade on a course, while a comparable proportion—80 percent—said

the employee is eligible only after a specified length of time:

94

Restrictions to Tuition Assistance

Percent of

Employers

Employee must achieve above a certain grade

on course 82%

Employee is eligible only after a specified

length of employment 80

Employee must continue to work for the

organization for a specified time after

receiving the benefit, otherwise must return

funds

33

95

Unmet Needs of Organizations

Anticipation of Contracting with Educational Institutions in Near Future

Moving along, we next asked employers a series of questions about unmet needs at their

organization. We began by asking if their organization will contract with any educational

institutions (colleges or universities) in the next year or so to conduct education and

training programs for their employees. About five percent will indeed, while about 25

percent might:

Anticipation of Contracting with Education

Institution in the Next Year or So

Percent of

Employers

Yes 6%

Maybe 27

No 67

Types of Training Sought from Educational Institutions in Near Future

We followed up with this pool of employers by asking them for which types of programs

they are likely to seek a contract or partnership. All are likely to seek degree programs or

certificate or licensure programs, while two-thirds are likely to seek individual credit

courses and one-third are likely to seek noncredit courses:

Contracts for Training Types Sought


Credit

Noncredit

Degree program 100% n/a

Certificate or licensure program 100 --

Individual courses not part of any program 67 33%

Subject of Interest for Education and Training in the Near Future

Staying with this pool—those who will or might contract with educational institutions in

the next year or so—we next asked what three to five subjects they would most likely

choose for their contracted education and training. The following data show a large range

of needs for future college and university providers:

Communication (three citations)

Leadership (three citations)

Customer service (two citations)

Geriatrics (two citations)

Information technology (two citations)

Aging

Business acumen for technical skills

Business management

Computer

Cultural competency

Dementia

96

Finance

Geriatric nursing

Gerontology

Health care, advanced certificate

Health care education, master’s program

Supervisor (how to become one)

Interpersonal skills

Leadership for teams

Management

Marketing and customer service

Math skills

Nursing bachelor’s degree program

Nursing, skill training

Personal financial management

Supervisor 101

Technology training

Technology (basic)

Technical training for manufacturing

Therapies: physical and occupational and speech

We are engineering firm; we need very technical subjects and maybe for other less technical

subjects (nothing specific comes to mind)

Whole team approach

Consideration of the University of Southern Maine as Provider in the Near Future

Staying with this pool (those who will or might contract with educational institutions in

the next year), we next asked if they would consider using the University of Southern

Maine to provide courses or programs in the near future. All of this pool of respondents

would indeed.

Changes Employers Foresee in Industry

Moving along, we asked employers what changes they foresee in their industry that might

relate to the University of Southern Maine’s efforts to educate professionals working in

their industry, taking into account recent changes to the economic climate. The largest

proportion told us certain skills or courses are likely to be needed in the future, most

often those in health professions. Their responses follow, organized into topics most

frequently cited to topics least frequently cited:

SUBJECTS/COURSES NEEDED

Health Professions

Additional clinical rotations especially in a geriatric setting

More clinical onsite practical training

Teach people about case management and in nursing, MDS min data set

We are nursing facility; we can always use good nursing students.

We need better clinical preparation, better core skills, more concentration critical thinking skills.

We need more geriatric courses.

Health care is the place to work; wise for USM to do more training for specific programs

The nursing program needs to move away from task orientation to community prevention

orientation.

Patient satisfaction

Business (six citations)

More business courses, sales training

Advancement in business skills

97

We need general business skills.

The future needs business skills

Everything they provide is adequate for what we need. Maybe courses about economic change?

Love that they offer the risk management program

Computer and Information Science

More technical skills and knowledge

We could use more technical skills; practical computer courses and presentation skills

We need technical programs and USM doesn't have them. We need service technicians. Wouldn't

be worth it for USM to do any programs.

When we go to recruit, we need computer science degrees; there are not enough.

Technical and computer skills

Engineering

Offer more engineering courses

We are lacking depth of science, engineering, and math.

Engineering program; we need interns working here. We used to have a lot; this summer I think

we have one.

Social Work

The social workers needs to explore/expand care navigators and case management.

Other

We send our marketing executive to USM for certain courses. We need more hospitality classes.

What my employees need are craft specific training, on schedules that comply with our business

needs.

Have more offering for GED

In 2009 we were bought out. The newspaper industry is shifting from print to online; more classes

based on that.

I am in corporate office in Michigan. Our employees need discipline, work ethics, following rules,

and policy.

LOCATION

Another satellite campus closer

Bottom line is we need to find ways to connect students to local in-state companies so we don't

lose them to out of state.

Better accessibility; online is great but it’s much more work, need discipline

OTHER

York has offered us business courses and sends us catalogues and stuff all the time.

Offer more affordable online continuing education health care courses

Be more proactive in telling us what is offered. We have to call them; it’s important that we have

information.

Increased accountability

Instead of training in solos, train in teams

It is on the other side; the changes need to come from the employment; turnover problem

Need to reach out to smaller businesses (100 employees); that is why we are partnering with

business organizations.

We need friendly outgoing personable people, engaging personalities who can work with

strategies.

USM is respected.

98

Future Contact

Future Contact Desired to Discuss Education and Training for Their Employees

Toward the end of the interview, we asked the employers whether they would be

interested in having someone from the University of Southern Maine contact them to

discuss providing education and training for their employees. About 15 percent of the

organizations said, ―Yes,‖ they would like a representative from the University of

Southern Maine to contact them. Please see the last page of this section for their contact

information.

We suggest that the University of Southern Maine increase its outreach to organizations

in the surveyed area so that when opportunities do arise among these and other

employers, the University of Southern Maine will be approachable to those who arrange

such contracts and who seek stronger ties on behalf of their employees. Increasing the

University of Southern Maine’s visibility and building relationships with the area

organizations are key to its success in this market.

Discussion Topic of Interest in Contact from the University of Southern Maine

We followed up with just these officials by having them tell us their primary focus of

interest in contact from the University of Southern Maine. The largest proportions of

employers are interested in learning more about the University of Southern Maine in

general and in making arrangements to facilitate the use of tuition reimbursement to their

employees. Note that almost 15 percent is interested in contract or partnership

educational opportunities:

Discussion Topic of Interest

Percent of

Employers

General interest in learning more about the

University of Southern Maine 43%

Arrangements to facilitate the use of tuition

reimbursement to your employees 43

Contract or partnership educational

opportunities 14

99

Employers Desiring Contact with


Name Company Title Contact Information

Liz Bennoch Stephens Memorial

Hospital

Director of HR [email protected]

Julie Clement Arcadis Insurance

Co

HR Associate 207-772-4300

Keith Gamache Kittery Trading

Post

HR Director [email protected]

Susan LaChance Pionite Decorative

Surfaces

HR Manager [email protected]

Sandy Morrell Rooney Down East Energy VP [email protected]

Tory Ryden Parkview Adventist Director of

Marketing

Community

Relations &

Development

[email protected]

Michele Whidden SPX - formerly

Dielectric

Communications

HR Director [email protected]

Elizabeth Winslow Iberdrola USA

(Central Maine

Power Co.)

Associate -

Training

[email protected]

100

Study 4: School District Demand

We interviewed representatives of ten school districts residing within a 50-mile radius of

the University of Southern Maine’s Portland, Maine campus. Results from these

interviews are presented below. The primary objectives of this study are to investigate the

following topics:


Recent use of outside training providers

Unmet needs of school districts

Consideration of the University of Southern Maine for education and training

Interest in future contact

Following are the school districts that we interviewed:

Berwick Academy

Cheverus High School

Falmouth High School

Jordan Small School

Lebanon Elementary School

Lewiston High School

Marshwood High School

Pond Cove Elementary School

Westbrook Middle School



To determine how familiar school districts are with the University of Southern Maine, we

began by asking representatives how familiar they are with the University of Southern

Maine in general. The largest proportion of these school districts—half—is very familiar

with the University:

Familiarity with


Percent of

School

Districts

Very familiar 50%

Somewhat familiar 40

Not at all familiar 10

College of Education Programs with Which Most Familiar

We next asked only those who are at least somewhat familiar with the University of

Southern Maine to tell us which two programs they are most familiar with at the College

of Education. Respondents mentioned the Extended Teacher’s program and the regular

Education program most often:

101

Extended Teachers program (three citations)

Regular Education program (two citations)

Assist Principal certificate

Counseling

Education - Teaching Secondary Education

Music

College/University That Educates the Largest Number of Teachers

Then we asked all respondents what colleges or universities educated the largest number

of their teachers. the University of Southern Maine was cited most often:

the University of Southern Maine (six citations)

University of Maine (three citations)

University New Hampshire (two citations)

Do not know

the University of Southern Maine Statements

Next, we read a number of statements about the University of Southern Maine and asked

the representatives to rate the statements, using a 5-point scale of 1 do not agree to 5

strongly agree. Those who did not know a statement were asked not to rate it. The data

follow:

Statements About the University of Southern

Maine

Percent/Rating of Faculty

Strongly

Agree

Average

Rating

Knew Well

Enough to

Rate

It offers a high quality education 100% 4.60 100%

the University of Southern Maine has a good

overall reputation 90 4.60 100

Employers respect degrees earned there 90 4.50 100

It well serves the needs of commuter students 80 4.44 90

It costs are reasonable 70 4.43 70

It is responsive to the educational needs of the

community 90 4.30 100

All of the seven statements were very highly rated by school districts. Rated highest, at

4.60, are that the University of Southern Maine offers a high quality education and has a

good overall reputation. School districts are least familiar with the University of Southern

Maine’s costs.

102

Recent Use of Outside Training Providers

Contracting with Organizations in the Past Three Years

We asked all school district representatives if they have contracted with any organization

(association, training company, colleges or universities, etc.) in the past three years to

provide education and training programs to faculty or staff. Thirty percent had indeed

contracted with an organization in the past three years for such needs.

Contracting with Colleges or Universities in the Past Three Years

We followed up with this pool by asking them if that organization was a college or

university. None of this group contracted with a college or university in the past three

years.

Unmet Needs of Organizations

Anticipation of Contracting with Provider in the Next Year

Moving along, we next asked school districts a series of questions about unmet needs at

their organization. We began by asking if their organization will contract with any

college, training company, association, or other provider in the next year to conduct

education and training programs for their faculty or staff. Ten percent will indeed, while

another ten percent might:

Anticipation of Contracting with Provider in

Next Year

Percent of

School

Districts

Yes 10%

Maybe 10

No 80

Likelihood of Contracting with College or University in the Next Year

Among school districts that will or might contract with a provider in the next year, all of

them are likely to do so with a college or university.

Subject of Interest for Education and Training in the Next Year

Staying with this pool—those who will or might contract with educational institutions in

the next year—we next asked what subjects they would most likely need for their

education and training. The following data show a range of needs for future college and

university providers:

Reading

Outreach work

Strengthen our relationship with the university to offer us professional

development courses

103

Credit or Noncredit Needs for Education and Training in the Next Year

All of the representatives who will or might contract with educational institutions in the

next year are looking for credit study as opposed to noncredit study.

Consideration of the University of Southern Maine as Provider in the Next Year

Staying with this pool (those who will or might contract with educational institutions in

the next year), we next asked if they would consider using the University of Southern

Maine to provide courses or programs in the near future. Half of this pool of respondents

would indeed. The representative who would not consider the University of Southern

Maine told us it is because they feel ―Columbia University staff is more state of the art.‖

Future Contact

Methods of Contact with Faculty or Staff

Moving on, we asked all school district representatives to rate several ways for the

University of Southern Maine to let them know more about what it could offer their

faculty or staff using a 5-point scale of 1 not a good way to 5 an extremely good way.

Printed publications mailed to them or others at the school district received the highest

average rating, 3.60, followed by periodic emails to them or others directing them to

content on the College of Education’s web pages:

Methods of Contact with Faculty or Staff

Percent of

School

Districts

Responding

Very Good

Average

Rating

Printed publications mailed to you or others at

the district 50% 3.60

Periodic emails to you or others directing you to

content on the College of Education’s web

pages

60 3.50

Meetings on campus between people from your

district and staff at the College of Education 30 2.80

Visits by College of Education staff to the

district 30 2.70

Meetings hosted at USM for representatives

from many districts 10 2.20

Future Contact Desired to Discuss Education and Training for Their Faculty/Staff

Toward the end of the interview, we asked the school districts whether they would be

interested in having someone from the University of Southern Maine contact them to

discuss providing education and training for their faculty or staff. Four of the school

districts said, ―Yes,‖ they would like a representative from the University of Southern

Maine to contact them. Please see the last page of this section for their contact

information.

104

We suggest that the University of Southern Maine increase its outreach to organizations

in the surveyed area so that when opportunities do arise among these and other school

districts, the University of Southern Maine will be approachable to those who arrange

such contracts and who seek stronger ties on behalf of their faculty and staff. Increasing

the University of Southern Maine’s visibility and building relationships with the area

school districts are key to its success in this market.

Discussion Topic of Interest in Contact from the University of Southern Maine

Finally, we followed up with just these representatives by having them tell us their

primary focus of interest in contact from the University of Southern Maine. Half of the

school districts are interested in learning more about the University of Southern Maine in

general:

Discussion Topic of Interest

Number of

School

Districts

General interest in learning more about the

University of Southern Maine 1

Contract training opportunities (where the

University of Southern Maine would

provide onsite courses)

--

Arrangements to facilitate the use of tuition

reimbursement by your employees --

Other; Future for next year 1

105

School Districts Desiring Contact with


Name

School District

Preferred Method of Contact

Sandy Alexander Lebanon Elementary School 207-457-1126

Tom Eismeier Cheverus High School [email protected]

Jack Hardy Marshwood High School

[email protected]

or 207-781-7429

Peter Lancia Westbrook Middle School [email protected]

106

Study 5: Competitor Analysis

the University of Southern Maine officials commissioned EducationDynamics to conduct

a competitor analysis of other postsecondary institutions offering undergraduate and

graduate degree and certificate programs for students who study days, evenings,

weekends, and/or through distance learning. This is a report of that study, conducted in

June and July 2011.

Competitor College Analysis Procedures

EducationDynamics studied undergraduate and graduate degree and certificate programs

across several institutions, including the University of Southern Maine.

Undergraduate degree and certificate analysis was conducted for the following

institutions on the basis of their rating among the recent undergraduate adult students we

surveyed and the University of Southern Maine staff’s knowledge regarding the

competitive marketplace in its vicinity:







Graduate student degree and certificate analysis was conducted for the following

institutions on the basis of their rating among the recent graduate adult students we

surveyed and the University of Southern Maine staff’s knowledge regarding the

competitive marketplace in its vicinity:



University of Maine



In conducting the analysis, degree and certificate offerings for fall 2011 were reviewed.

For each institution in the study, we gathered information about what, where, when, and

how undergraduate and graduate degrees and/or certificates are offered. The data sources

included the institution’s website, as well as telephone contact and virtual chat when

necessary.

Specifically we emphasized in the review the following features for each institution

offering undergraduate and graduate degree and/or certificate programs:

107

Units administering study

Degrees and/or certificates offered

Type of institution

Course location(s)

Enrollment (NCES fall 2009)

Course schedules

Course fees

Programs offered through distance learning study

Transfer credit policy

Entrance testing requirements

Website analysis (from the perspective of prospective student)

Major Patterns: Undergraduate

Of the six competitor institutions analyzed, three are public institutions—University of

Maine at Augusta, the University of Southern Maine, and Southern Maine Community

College (the latter being the only two-year institution)—two are proprietary, four-year

institutions—University of Phoenix and Kaplan University-South Portland—and one is a

private, four-year institution—Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick.

Degree and Certificate Offerings: Undergraduate

Southern Maine Community College offers the greatest number of degree offerings for

undergraduate students—about 45—while the University of Southern Maine offers the

fewest—four. All institutions offer study at the bachelor- and associate-level except the

University of Southern Maine, which offers study at the bachelor-level only and Southern

Maine Community College, which offers study at the associate-level only.

All the institutions offer certificate study. Southern Maine Community College offers the

greatest quantity of certificates—ten.

Enrollment: Undergraduate

Based on NCES data for fall 2009 (the most recent year for which enrollment data are

available), enrollments of undergraduate adult student ages 25 years and above varied

from a total of 2,142 at Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick to a total of

3,240 at University of Maine at Augusta. (Note: Enrollment data for Kaplan University’s

South Portland campus were not available, and because University of Phoenix does not

have a campus in Maine, enrollment data for the institution was not retrieved.)

Schedules: Undergraduate

the University of Southern Maine, Southern Maine Community College, and Kaplan

University-South Portland offers undergraduate study days, evenings, and weekends,

while University of Maine at Augusta offers courses days and evenings, Southern New

Hampshire University-Brunswick offers courses evenings and weekends, and University

of Phoenix offers courses online only.

108

The schedules of study among the competitor institutions vary: University of Maine at

Augusta, Southern Maine Community College, and the University of Southern Maine

offer courses during approximately 15-week spring and fall terms, with accelerated study

during the summer; Kaplan University-South Portland offers study during ten-week year

round terms, Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick offers study during seven-

week year round terms, and University of Phoenix offers study during five-to-nine-week

terms.

All of the institutions that offer distance learning study offer it on the same academic

calendar as classroom-based study.

Costs: Undergraduate

Putting aside non-resident tuition among the institutions, the course costs among the

competitor institutions range from $86 per credit for residents at Southern Maine

Community College to $365-$550 per credit at University of Phoenix.

All of the institutions that offer distance learning study charge the same rate as

classroom-based study, except for Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick,

which charges residents $311 per credit for distance learning (an additional $68 per credit

more than classroom-based study).

Distance Learning Programs: Undergraduate

All of the institutions offer distance learning study at the undergraduate level: the

University of Southern Maine, University of Phoenix, Kaplan University-South Portland,

and Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick offer online courses, certificates,

and degrees; University of Maine at Augusta offers online, web streaming, and

interactive television courses, certificates, and degrees; and Southern Mine Community

College offers online courses.

Transfer Credit Policy: Undergraduate

Transfer credit policies vary among the competitor institutions: Kaplan University-South

Portland requires that a minimum of half the credits of a major be earned at the

institution; University of Maine at Augusta requires that a minimum of 30 credits in a

major be earned at the institution; University of Phoenix requires that a minimum of 30

credits toward core education be earned at the institution; the University of Southern

Maine requires that a minimum of 30 credits be earned at the institution; Southern Maine

Community College requires that a minimum of 15 credits be earned at the institution;

and Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick accepts a maximum of 30 credits

toward an associate’s degree and a maximum of 90 credits toward a bachelor’s degree.

Entrance Testing Required: Undergraduate

None of the institutions require applicants to submit entrance testing for admission into

its undergraduate degree programs, except Southern Maine Community College, which

requires students to submit Accuplacer test scores if they have no previous college credit

or scored lower than a certain point on various standardized tests.

109

How the University of Southern Maine Compares: Undergraduate

The University of Southern Maine Degree and Certificate Offerings: Undergraduate

The University of Southern Maine offers four undergraduate degree programs, the least

among its competitors, and two certificate programs, also the least among its competitors.

The University of Southern Maine Enrollment: Undergraduate

With 2,338 undergraduate students ages 25 and above enrolled in fall 2009, the

University of Southern Maine’s enrollment was the second greatest among its

competitors.

The University of Southern Maine Costs: Undergraduate

At $253 per credit for residents, the University of Southern Maine’s course costs are in

the general range of all its competitors except Southern Maine Community College,

which charges residents $86 per credit, and University of Phoenix, which charges $365-

$550 per credit.

Major Patterns: Graduate

Of the five competitor institutions analyzed, three are private, four-year institutions—

Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick, University of New England-Portland,

and Saint Joseph’s College of Maine (the latter being religiously affiliated)—and two are

public, four-year institutions—University of Maine-Orono and the University of Southern

Maine.

Degree and Certificate Offerings: Graduate

University of Maine-Orono offers the greatest number of degree offerings for graduate

students by far—about 125—while Saint Joseph’s College of Maine offers the fewest—

six. All institutions offer both master’s and doctoral programs except Saint Joseph’s

College of Maine and Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick, which offer

master’s programs only. the University of Southern Maine is the only institution to offer

joint degrees (two graduate degrees that can be earned simultaneously).

All the institutions offer certificate study. the University of Southern Maine offers the

greatest number of certificate programs—about 30.

Enrollment: Graduate

Based on NCES data for fall 2009 (the most recent year for which enrollment data are

available), enrollments of graduate students ages 25 and older varied from a total of 807

at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine to 1,975 at University of Maine-Orono.

Schedules: Graduate

All institutions offer study days, evenings, and weekends but Saint Joseph’s College of

Maine, which offers study online only. University of Maine-Orono, University of New

England-Portland, and the University of Southern Maine offer study during

approximately 15-week fall and spring terms, as well as accelerated study during the

110

summer. Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick offers study during 11-week

year round terms, while Saint Joseph’s College of Maine offers study (online only)

during 15-week year round, flexible terms.

All of the institutions that offer distance learning study offer it on the same academic

calendar as classroom-based study except for University of New England-Portland,

which offers distance learning study during two eight-week terms (within each 16-week

fall and spring term for classroom-based study), as well as accelerated summertime study,

and Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick, which offers distance learning

study during seven-week year round terms.

Costs: Graduate

Putting aside non-resident tuition among the institutions, course costs among the

competitor institutions range from $315-$600 per credit for at Saint Joseph’s College of

Maine to $440-$715 per credit at University of New England-Portland.

All of the institutions that offer distance learning study charge the same rate as

classroom-based study.

Distance Learning Programs: Graduate

All of the institutions offer distance learning study. Saint Joseph’s College of Maine and

Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick offer online courses, certificates, and

degrees; University of Maine-Orono offers interactive television, compressed video,

intranet, video streaming, and online courses, certificates, and degrees; University of

New England-Portland offers online courses, certificates, and degrees and hybrid

degrees; and the University of Southern Maine offers online courses and online and

hybrid degrees.

Transfer Credit Policy: Graduate

Transfer credits among the institutions vary: Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, Southern

New Hampshire University-Brunswick, and University of Maine-Orono accept a

maximum of six credits from another institution; the University of Southern Maine

accepts a maximum of six to 12 credits, depending on the program; and University of

New England-Portland has a variety of policies, depending on the program, from

accepting no credits at all, accepting them on a case-by-case basis, accepting a maximum

of six credits, to requiring that a minimum of 32 credits be earned at the institution.

Entrance Testing Required: Graduate

University of Maine-Orono requires applicants to submit entrance testing for admission

into its graduate programs, while the University of Southern Maine requires it for most

programs and University of New England-Portland requires it for some programs. Saint

Joseph’s College of Maine and Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick do not

require entrance testing.

111

How the University of Southern Maine Compares: Graduate

The University of Southern Maine Degree and Certificate Offerings: Graduate

The University of Southern Maine offers about 35 graduate degree programs, the second

greatest quantity among its competitors, and about 30 certificates, the greatest quantity

among its competitors.

The University of Southern Maine Enrollment: Graduate

With 1,740 graduate students enrolled in fall 2009, the University of Southern Maine’s

enrollment is the third greatest among its competitors—with 807 enrolled at Saint

Joseph’s College of Maine and 1,975 enrolled at University of Maine.

The University of Southern Maine Costs: Graduate

At $380 per credit for residents, the University of Southern Maine’s course costs are in

the lesser expensive range among its competitors—the least expensive potentially being

$315-$600 per credit for at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine and the most expensive

potentially being $440-$715 per credit at University of New England-Portland.

What Follows

In the following section, we begin with a summary profile for the individual competitor

institutions offering undergraduate and graduate education that highlights key

characteristics.

Following the summary profiles, each institution is profiled separately for undergraduate

and graduate degree and certificate programs. In these individual profiles, a description is

presented of what, where, when, and how these programs are offered.

In conducting this portion of the study, however, we want to point out the difficulty we

encountered in acquiring comprehensive, accurate, and clear information from each

institution. Information gathered online or via telephone were sometimes contradictory.

Most institutions prefer to direct you to their website rather than converse.

112

Summary Profile: Undergraduate Programs All programs and course offerings appear in the individual college and university profiles that follow

College/University

Enrollment* Cost Scheduling Distance

Learning

Offerings

Transfer Credit

Policy

Entrance

Testing

Requirement

Kaplan University-

South Portland

http://portland.kaplanu

niversity.edu/Pages/Ho

mepage.aspx

Campus: South

Portland, ME

n/a

$230/quarter

credit

(equivalent to

$345/semester

credit)

Days, evenings, and

weekends

Ten-week year round

terms

Yes, online

courses,

certificates, and

degrees

Minimum of half

of major

requirement must

be earned at the

University

No

Southern Maine

Community College

http://www.smccme.ed

u/

Campus: South

Portland, ME

Full-time:

635

Part-time:

1,690

TOTAL:

2,325

Residents:

$86/credit

Non-residents:

$172/credit

Days, evenings, and

weekends

15-week fall and spring

terms

One ten-week summer

term

Yes, online

courses

Minimum of 15

credits must be

earned at the

College

Yes

* Fall 2009 enrollment of undergraduate students ages 25 and above

http://portland.kaplanuniversity.edu/Pages/Homepage.aspx



http://www.smccme.edu/


113


College/University


Learning

Offerings

Transfer Credit

Policy

Entrance

Testing

Requirement

Southern New

Hampshire

University-Brunswick

http://www.snhu.edu/in

dex.aspx

Campus: Brunswick,

ME

Full-time:

879

Part-time:

1,263

TOTAL:

2,142

(data for all

SNHU

campuses)

Classroom

$243/credit

Distance

Learning:

$311/credit

Evenings and weekends

Seven-week year round

terms

Yes, online

courses,

certificates, and

degrees

Associate’s:

max. 30 credits

Bachelor’s:

max. 90 credits

No

University of Maine at

Augusta

http://www.uma.edu/

Campus: Augusta, ME

Full-time:

792

Part-time:

2,448

TOTAL:

3,240

Residents:

$208/credit

Non-residents:

$504/credit

Days and evenings


terms

Two six-week and one

12-week summer terms

Yes, online, web

streaming, and

interactive

television

courses,

certificates, and

degrees

Minimum of 30

credits in major

must be earned at

the University

No


http://www.snhu.edu/index.aspx


http://www.uma.edu/

114


College/University


Learning

Offerings

Transfer Credit

Policy

Entrance

Testing

Requirement


http://www.phoenix.ed

u/

Campus: Virtual

n/a Associate’s

$365-

$405/credit

Bachelor’s:

$385-

$550/credit

Online only

Between five- and nine-

week year round terms

Yes, online

courses,

certificates, and

degrees

Minimum of 30

credits toward

core education

must be earned at

the University

No

the University of

Southern Maine

http://usm.maine.edu/

Campuses: Portland

and Lewiston-Auburn,

ME

Full-time:

842

Part-time:

1,496

TOTAL:

2,338

Residents:

$253/credit

Non-residents:

$665/credit

Days, evenings, and

weekends


terms

One four-week and one

seven-week summer

terms

Yes, online

courses,

certificates, and

degrees

Minimum of 30

credits must be

earned at the

University

No


http://www.phoenix.edu/



115

Summary Profile: Graduate Programs All programs and course offerings appear in the individual college and university profiles that follow

College/University


Learning

Offerings

Transfer Credit

Policy

Entrance

Testing

Requirement

Saint Joseph’s College

of Maine

http://www.sjcme.edu/

Campus: Standish, ME

Full-time:

95

Part-time:

712

TOTAL:

807

$315-

$600/credit

Online only

15-week year round

terms (with flexible

scheduling)

Yes, online

courses,

certificates, and

degrees

Maximum of six

credits

No

Southern New

Hampshire

University-Brunswick

http://www.snhu.edu/in

dex.aspx

Campuses: Brunswick,

ME

Full-time:

819

Part-time:

1,057

TOTAL:

1,876

(data for all

SNHU

campuses)

$375/credit Days, evenings, and

weekends

Classroom: 11-week

year round terms

Online: seven-week

year round terms

Yes, online

courses,

certificates, and

degrees

Maximum of six

credits

No

* Fall 2009 enrollment of graduate students ages 25 and above




116


College/University


Learning

Offerings

Transfer Credit

Policy

Entrance

Testing

Requirement

University of Maine-

Orono

http://www.umaine.edu

/

Campus: Orono, ME

Full-time:

882

Part-time:

1,093

TOTAL:

1,975

Residents:

$418/credit

Non-residents:

$1,202/credit

Days, evenings, and

weekends


terms

Seven three-week, two

five-week, two six-

week, two seven-week,

and three eight-week

summer terms

Yes, interactive

television,

compressed

video, intranet,

video streaming,

and online

courses,

certificates, and

degrees

Maximum of six

credits

Yes

University of New

England-Portland

http://www.une.edu/

Campuses: Portland,

ME

Full-time:

1,359

Part-time:

250

TOTAL:

1,609

(data for all

UNE

campuses)

$440-

$715/credit Days, evenings, and

weekends

Classroom: 16-week

fall and spring terms

and a 12-week summer

term

Online: two eight-week

terms (within each 16-

week term) and two

six-week summer terms

Yes, online

courses,

certificates, and

degrees and

hybrid degrees

Dependent on

program: none

accepted, six

credits accepted,

accepted on case-

by-case basis, or a

minimum of 32

credits must be

earned at the

University

Yes, for some

of its programs


http://www.umaine.edu/


http://www.une.edu/

117


College/University


Learning

Offerings

Transfer Credit

Policy

Entrance

Testing

Requirement

the University of

Southern Maine


Campuses: Gorham,

Portland, and

Lewiston-Auburn, ME

Full-time:

594

Part-time:

1,146

TOTAL:

1,740

Residents:

$380/credit

Non-residents:

$1,026/credit

Days, evenings, and

weekends


terms

One four-week and one

seven-week summer

terms

Yes, online

courses and

online and

hybrid degrees

Maximum of six

to 12 credits,

depending on

program

Yes, for most

of its programs



118

UNDERGRADUATE


SOURCE OF INFORMATION: Kaplan University website

UNITS ADMINISTERING STUDY: Kaplan University-South Portland

OFFERINGS: Kaplan University-South Portland offers the following undergraduate

degree and certificate programs:

Degrees

Associate of Applied Science

Accounting C/O

Applied Science in Early Childhood

Development O

Business Administration C/O

Criminal Justice C/O

Educational Paraprofessional C/O

Fire Science O

Health Information Technology O

Human Services O

Information Technology O

Medical Assisting C/O

Medical Office Management O

Medical Transcription O

Paralegal Studies C/O

Public Administration O

Bachelor of Science

Accounting O

Business Administration*/C/O

Communication O

Criminal Justice*/C/O

Criminal Justice Administration and

Management O

Early Childhood Development*/C/O

Environmental Policy and

Management O

Fire and Emergency Management O

Fire Science O

Health and Wellness O

Health Care Administration O

Health Science O

Human Services O

Information Technology O

International and Comparative Criminal

Justice O

Legal Studies O

Liberal Studies O

Nursing O

Nutrition Science O

Paralegal Studies O

Political Science O

Psychology O

Public Health O

Public Administration and Policy O

Certificates

Adult Nurse Practitioner O

Corrections O

Crime Scene Technician O

Family Nurse Practitioner O

Legal Secretary O

Management and Supervision Certificate

in Criminal Justice O

Private Security O

* Also offered as a degree completion program

O Offered online

C/O Offered in the classroom as well as online

ABOUT: Kaplan University is a proprietary, four-year institution that is located in a

suburban setting.

119

LOCATION: Offerings analyzed in this report pertain to Kaplan University’s South

Portland, Maine campus.

ENROLLMENT: NCES enrollment data for Kaplan University in South Portland are not

available.

SCHEDULING: Courses at Kaplan University-South Portland are offered days, evenings,

weekends, and/or online during ten-week year round terms.

COST: Kaplan University-South Portland charges students $230 per quarter credit

(equivalent to $345 per semester credit). Distance learning courses cost the same as

classroom-based courses.

DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS: Kaplan University-South Portland offers distance

learning via online courses, certificates, and degrees.

TRANSFER CREDIT POLICY: Kaplan University-South Portland requires that students

earn a minimum of half of the major requirement for their program at the University.

ENTRANCE TESTING REQUIRED: Kaplan University-South Portland does not require

applicants to submit entrance testing scores for admission.

WEBSITE ANALYSIS: Kaplan University-South Portland can be found at

http://portland.kaplanuniversity.edu/Pages/Homepage.aspx. When users input the words

Kaplan University South Portland into the search engine Google, this is the first web

address that results, giving Kaplan University-South Portland excellent visibility. The

institution’s tagline is: A different school of thought.

The homepage is simple and streamlined. It has one main image, as well as one main list

of links to choose from, in addition to general topics at the bottom of the homepage. The

homepage is mostly white and blue. See screen shot 1.

Users can utilize the website by topics specific to the Portland campus (about Portland

campus, academic programs, paying for school, admissions, and career services), as well

as by general topics pertaining to Kaplan University.

Based on our experience using the website, the most efficient way users can access

information about undergraduate courses and programs geared toward adult students is

by clicking on ―academic programs‖ on the homepage. See screen shot 2. Thus, users can

access information about undergraduate study in just one click.

Most, if not all, of the information prospective undergraduate students search for is

available on Kaplan University’s website. We were able to complete this analysis without

having to contact University staff.


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UNDERGRADUATE


SOURCE OF INFORMATION: Southern Maine Community College website

UNITS ADMINISTERING STUDY: Southern Maine Community College

OFFERINGS: Southern Maine Community College offers the following undergraduate

degree and certificate programs:

Degrees

Associate of Applied Science

Architectural & Engineering Design

Automotive Technology

Behavioral Health and Human Services

Cardiovascular Technology

Communications and New Media

Composite Technology

Computer Technology

Construction Technology

Criminal Justice

Culinary Arts

Early Childhood Education

Electrical Engineering Technologies

Fire Science

Heating, Air Conditioning &

Refrigeration

Heating and Plumbing

Heavy Equipment Maintenance

Horticulture

Integrated Manufacturing Precision

Lodging and Restaurant Management

Medical Assisting

Paramedicine

Surgical Technology

Trade and Technical Occupations

Associate of Arts

Art

Biology



English

History

Liberal Studies

Mathematics

Psychology

Science

Secondary Education

Social Work

Sociology

Associate of Science

Applied Marine Biology and

Oceanography

Biotechnology


Dietetic Technology

Nursing

Political Science

Pre-engineering

Radiation Therapy

Radiography

Respiratory Theory

Certificates

Advanced Certificate in Multi-axis

Machining

Early Childhood Education

Electrician Technology

Fire Science

Heating

Heavy Equipment Operations

Plumbing

Refrigeration & Air Conditioning

Residential Framing

Welding Technology

ABOUT: Southern Maine Community College is a public, two-year institution that is

located in a suburban setting.

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LOCATION: Offerings analyzed in this report pertain to Southern Maine Community

College’s South Portland, Maine campus.

ENROLLMENT: In fall 2009, Southern Maine Community College enrolled a total of

2,325 undergraduate students ages 25 and above, 635 of which were enrolled full time

and 1,690 of which were enrolled part time.

SCHEDULING: Courses at Southern Maine Community College are offered days,

evenings, weekends, and/or online during 15-week fall and spring terms and a ten-week

summer term.

COST: Southern Maine Community College charges residents $86 per credit and non-

residents $172 per credit. Distance learning courses cost the same as classroom-based

courses.

DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS: Southern Maine Community College offers distance

learning via online courses.

TRANSFER CREDIT POLICY: Southern Maine Community College requires that students

earn a minimum of 15 credits at the College.

ENTRANCE TESTING REQUIRED: Southern Maine Community College requires

applicants to submit entrance testing for admission if they have no previous college credit

or scored lower than a certain point on various standardized tests.

WEBSITE ANALYSIS: Southern Maine Community College can be found at

http://www.smccme.edu/. When users input the words Southern Maine Community

College into the search engine Google, this is the first web address that results, giving

Southern Maine Community College excellent visibility. The institution’s tagline is:

Envision a future.

The homepage is quite busy. It has one main image that rotates, as well as two main lists

of links to choose from, in addition to the latest news. The homepage is mostly white. See

screen shot 1.

Users can utilize the website by identity (future students, current students, alumni and

foundation, business and community, and faculty and staff), as well as by quick links and

general topics (about, campuses and locations, academics, admissions, student life,

athletics, bookstore, among others).



by clicking on ―academics‖ on the homepage and then either ―career and technical

programs‖ or ―liberal studies.‖ See screen shot 2. Thus, users can access information

about undergraduate study in two clicks.


available on Southern Maine Community College’s website. We were able to complete

this analysis without having to contact College staff.


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124

UNDERGRADUATE


SOURCE OF INFORMATION: Southern New Hampshire University website

UNITS ADMINISTERING STUDY: Southern New Hampshire University, Undergraduate

Division and SNHU Online

OFFERINGS: Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick offers the following

undergraduate degree and certificate programs:

Degrees

Associate of Arts

Liberal Arts C/O


Accounting C/O


Computer Information Technology O

Fashion Merchandising O

Justice Studies O

Marketing O

Bachelor of Arts

Communication O

Community Sociology C/O

Creative Writing O

English Language and Literature C/O

General Studies O

History O

Law and Politics O

Psychology C/O

Bachelor of Science

Accounting C/O

Accounting Finance O

Accounting Information Systems O

Advertising O


Business Studies C/O

Computer Information Technology O

Finance Economics O

International Business O

Justice Studies O

Marketing O

Retail Management O

Technical Management C/O

Certificates

Accounting C/O

Business Information Systems O

Human Resource Management O

Justice Studies-Crime and Criminology O

Justice Studies-Law and Legal Process O

Justice Studies-Police and Law

Enforcement O

Justice Studies-Terrorism and Homeland

Security O

O Offered online


ABOUT: Southern New Hampshire University is a private, four-year institution that is


LOCATION: Offerings analyzed in this report pertain to Southern New Hampshire

University’s Brunswick, Maine campus.

ENROLLMENT: In fall 2009, Southern New Hampshire University enrolled a total of

2,142 undergraduate students ages 25 and above, 879 of which were enrolled full time

125

and 1,263 of which were enrolled part time. (Enrollment data for the Brunswick campus

are not available.)

SCHEDULING: Courses at Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick are offered

evenings, weekends, and/or online during seven-week year round terms.

COST: Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick charges students $729 per course

or $243 per credit. Distance learning courses cost $933 per course or $311 per credit.

DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS: Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick

offers distance learning via online courses, certificates, and degrees.

TRANSFER CREDIT POLICY: Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick accepts a

maximum of 30 credits toward an associate’s degree and a maximum of 90 credits toward

a bachelor’s degree.

ENTRANCE TESTING REQUIRED: Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick does

not requires applicants to submit entrance testing for admission.

WEBSITE ANALYSIS: Southern New Hampshire University can be found at

http://www.snhu.edu/index.aspx. When users input the words Southern New Hampshire

University into the search engine Google, this is the first web address that results, giving

Southern New Hampshire University excellent visibility. The institution does not appear

to have a tagline.

The homepage is quite busy. It has one main image that rotates, as well as three main lists

of links to choose from, in addition to the latest news, featured programs, and ―Why

SNHU?‖. The homepage is white with yellow and blue. See screen shot 1.

Users can utilize the website by topic (information for…, admission, financial aid,

academics and programs, online education, student success, campus life, athletics and

recreation, and about SNHU), as well as by identity (adult learner, high school student,

transfer student, military student, and international student), and by method of learning

(online, on campus, or both, plus regional locations).



by clicking on ―adult learner‖ on the homepage and then ―Maine‖ under ―SNHU

locations.‖ See screen shot 2. Thus, users can access information about undergraduate

study in two clicks.


available on Southern New Hampshire University’s website. We were able to complete

this analysis without having to contact University staff.


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127

UNDERGRADUATE


SOURCE OF INFORMATION: University of Maine at Augusta website

UNITS ADMINISTERING STUDY: University of Maine at Augusta, University of Maine

Undergraduate Division

OFFERINGS: University of Maine at Augusta offers the following undergraduate degree

and certificate programs:

Degrees

Associate of Arts

Liberal Studies O


Business Administration O

Computer Information Systems O

Information and Library Services O

Jazz and Contemporary Music

Justice Studies O

Medical Laboratory Technology O

Mental Health and Human Services O

Nursing

Public Administration

Bachelor of Arts

Architecture

Art

Biology

English

Liberal Studies O

Social Science

Bachelor of Music

Jazz and Contemporary Music

Bachelor of Science

Applied Science O

Business Administration O

Computer Information Systems O

Financial Services


Interdisciplinary Studies

Justice Studies O


Nursing

Public Administration

Certificates

Dental Assisting



Paralegal Studies O

O Offered online

ABOUT: University of Maine at Augusta is a public, four-year institution that is located in

a suburban setting.

LOCATION: Offerings analyzed in this report pertain to University of Maine’s Augusta,

Maine campus.

ENROLLMENT: In fall 2009, University of Maine at Augusta enrolled a total of 3,240

undergraduate students ages 25 and above, 792 of which were enrolled full time and

2,448 of which were enrolled part time.

SCHEDULING: Courses at University of Maine at Augusta are offered days, evenings,

and/or online during 15-week fall and spring terms and two six-week and one 12-week

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summer terms.

COST: University of Maine at Augusta charges residents $208 per credit and non-


courses and are according to residential status.

DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS: University of Maine at Augusta offers distance

learning via online, web streaming, and interactive television courses, certificates, and

degrees.

TRANSFER CREDIT POLICY: University of Maine at Augusta requires that students earn a

minimum of 30 credits in their major at the University.

ENTRANCE TESTING REQUIRED: University of Maine at Augusta does not require

applicants to submit entrance test scores for admission.

WEBSITE ANALYSIS: University of Maine at Augusta can be found at

http://www.uma.edu/. When users input the words University of Maine at Augusta into

the search engine Google, this is the first web address that results, giving University of

Maine at Augusta excellent visibility. The institution’s tagline is: Stay close. Go far.

The homepage is organized and simple. It has one main image that rotates, as well as two

main lists of links to choose from, in addition to the latest news and events, highlights,

and featured staff. The homepage is mostly white, with blue and green. See screen shot 1.

Users can utilize the website by topic (about UMA, academics, admission, student life,

campus and community, news and events, a-z directory), as well as by identity

(prospective students, alumni, senior college, friends and visitors).



by rolling over ―admission‖ on the homepage and clicking on ―adult students‖ and then

―programs and degrees‖ under ―related links.‖ See screen shot 2. Thus, users can access

information about undergraduate study in two clicks.


available on University of Maine at Augusta’s website. We were able to complete this

analysis without having to contact University staff.

http://www.uma.edu/

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130

UNDERGRADUATE


SOURCE OF INFORMATION: University of Phoenix website and virtual chat

UNITS ADMINISTERING STUDY: University of Phoenix

OFFERINGS: University of Phoenix offers the following undergraduate degree and

certificate programs:

Degrees O

Associate of Arts

Accounting

Communications

Criminal Justice


Foundations of Business

General Studies

Health Care Administration

Hospitality, Travel, and Tourism

Human Services Management

Information Technology

Psychology

Bachelor of Arts

English

Bachelor of Science

Accounting

Business

Communication

Criminal Justice Administration

Education

Environmental Science

Health Administration

Human Services


Liberal Studies

Management

Nursing

Organizational Security and

Management

Psychology

Certificates O

A+ Fundamentals

Human Resource Management

Information Systems Security

Network+ Technologies

Project Management

Visual Communication

O Offered online

ABOUT: University of Phoenix is a proprietary, four-year virtual institution.

LOCATION: Offerings analyzed in this report pertain to University of Phoenix’s virtual

campus (there are no campuses in the state of Maine).

ENROLLMENT: Because University of Phoenix does not have a campus in Maine, NCES

enrollment data were not gathered.

SCHEDULING: Courses at University of Phoenix are offered online during year round

terms ranging between five and nine weeks long.

COST: University of Phoenix charges students $365-$405 per credit for associate-level

online study and $385-$550 per credit for bachelor-level online study.

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DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS: University of Phoenix offers distance learning via

online courses, certificates, and degrees.

TRANSFER CREDIT POLICY: University of Phoenix requires that a minimum of 30 credits

toward core education requirements be earned at the institution.

ENTRANCE TESTING REQUIRED: University of Phoenix does not require applicants to

submit standardized test scores for admission into its undergraduate programs.

WEBSITE ANALYSIS: University of Phoenix can be found at http://www.phoenix.edu/.

When users input the words University of Phoenix into the search engine Google, this is

the first web address that results, giving University of Phoenix excellent visibility. The

institution doesn’t appear to have a tagline.

The homepage is quite busy. It has one main image that rotates and four main lists of

links to choose from, as well as the University’s featured faculty, articles, and programs.

The homepage is primarily white. See screen shot 1.

Users can utilize the website according to general topics (academics, how it works, about

us, and community), study area of interest (business, doctoral/PhD, education,

technology, nursing, and others), by other topics (research tuition and finance info, find a

campus near you, see how the university works, among others), as well as by more—

albeit sometimes redundant—topics (how it works, inside University of Phoenix, and

campus near you).


information about online undergraduate courses and programs is by clicking ―explore

online program‖ under ―find a campus near you‖ on the homepage, and then clicking on

―view online programs.‖ See screen shot 2. Thus, users can access information about

online undergraduate study in two clicks.

Most of the information prospective undergraduate students search for is available on

University of Phoenix’s website, if one is willing to dig for it. We had to conduct a

virtual chat with the University to determine its transfer credit policy information, but

they were not terribly forthcoming with this information, preferring instead you talk to an

advisor on the telephone.


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133

UNDERGRADUATE


SOURCE OF INFORMATION: the University of Southern Maine website and telephone

contact

UNITS ADMINISTERING STUDY: the University of Southern Maine, Professional and

Continuing Education and USM Online

OFFERINGS: the University of Southern Maine offers the following undergraduate degree


Degrees

Bachelor of Arts

Communication*/O

Bachelor of Science

Applied Technical Leadership */†

Business Administration */†

Leadership and Organizational

Studies*/O

Certificates Creative Leadership and Global

Strategy O

Leadership Studies O

* Degree completion program

O Offered online

† Evening courses and some online courses

ABOUT: the University of Southern Maine is a public, four-year institution that is located

in suburban settings.

LOCATION: Offerings analyzed in this report pertain to the University of Southern

Maine’s Portland and Lewiston-Auburn, Maine campuses.

ENROLLMENT: In fall 2009, the University of Southern Maine enrolled a total of 2,338

undergraduate students ages 25 and above, 842 of which were enrolled full time and

1,496 of which were enrolled part time.

SCHEDULING: Courses at the University of Southern Maine are offered days, evenings,

weekends, and/or online during 15-week fall and spring terms, as well as during a four-

week and seven-week summer terms.

COST: the University of Southern Maine charges residents $253 per credit and non-


courses.

DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS: the University of Southern Maine offers distance


134

TRANSFER CREDIT POLICY: the University of Southern Maine requires that students earn

a minimum of 30 credits at the University.

ENTRANCE TESTING REQUIRED: the University of Southern Maine does not require

applicants to submit entrance testing scores if their high school graduation date was three

or more years ago and/or they have earned 30 or more college credits.

WEBSITE ANALYSIS: the University of Southern Maine can be found at

http://usm.maine.edu/. When users input the words the University of Southern Maine into

the search engine Google, this is the first web address that results, giving the University

of Southern Maine excellent visibility. The institution’s tagline is: Connecting You With

Tomorrow.

The homepage is clean and streamlined. It has one main image that rotates, as well as two

main lists of links to choose from, in addition to campus news and events. The homepage

is mostly white and blue. See screen shot 1.

Users can utilize the website by general topic (academics, admission, campus life,

research, news and events, about USM, libraries and technology, give to USM), as well

as by ―quick links‖ (pioneers, MaineStreet, Blackboard, student email, academic

departments, administrative offices, current students, faculty and staff, alumni, and job

opportunities).



by rolling over ―academics‖ on the homepage, and clicking ―professional and continuing

education‖ followed by ―programs.‖ See screen shot 2. Thus, users can access

information about undergraduate study in two clicks.

Most of the information prospective undergraduate students search for is available on the

University of Southern Maine’s website. We had to contact the University only to

confirm its certificate programs offered by the Professional and Continuing Development

division comprise continuing education units.


135

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136

GRADUATE


SOURCE OF INFORMATION: Saint Joseph’s College of Maine website and telephone

contact

UNITS ADMINISTERING STUDY: Saint Joseph’s College of Maine, Graduate &

Professional Studies Division

OFFERINGS: Saint Joseph’s College of Maine offers the following graduate degree and


Degrees O

Master of Accountancy

Master of Arts

Pastoral Theology

Master of Business Administration

Master of Science

Education

Nursing

Master of Health Administration

Certificates O

Advanced Graduate Study

(post-graduate)

Catholic Health Care Leadership

Catholic School Leadership

Nursing & Health Care Education

Nursing Administration/Leadership

School Leadership

O Offered online

ABOUT: Saint Joseph’s College of Maine is a private, four-year institution that is

religiously affiliated and located in a rural setting.

LOCATION: Offerings analyzed in this report pertain to Saint Joseph’s College of

Maine’s Standish, Maine campus.

ENROLLMENT: In fall 2009, Saint Joseph’s College of Maine enrolled a total of 807

graduate students ages 25 and above, 95 of which were enrolled full time and 712 of

which were enrolled part time.

SCHEDULING: Courses at Saint Joseph’s College of Maine are offered only through

distance learning during 15-week year round terms. However, these terms do not have set

dates. Students can enroll in a course at anytime throughout the year and can complete a

course in fewer than 15 weeks and immediately enroll in another course, if desired.

COST: Saint Joseph’s College of Maine charges $315-$600 per credit, depending on the

program.

DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS: Saint Joseph’s College of Maine offers distance


TRANSFER CREDIT POLICY: Saint Joseph’s College of Maine accepts a maximum of six

137

credits from another institution.

ENTRANCE TESTING REQUIRED: Saint Joseph’s College of Maine does not require

applicants to submit standardized test scores for admission into its graduate programs.

WEBSITE ANALYSIS: Saint Joseph’s College of Maine can be found at

http://www.sjcme.edu/. When users input the words Saint Joseph’s College of Maine into

the search engine Google, this is the first web address that results, giving Saint Joseph’s

College of Maine excellent visibility. The institution does not appear to have a tagline.


main lists of links to choose from, in addition to the latest news. The homepage is mostly

white with blue. See screen shot 1.

Users can utilize the website by general topic (about SJC, admissions, academics, student

life, athletics, news and events, resources, departments, jobs at SJC), as well as by

identity (prospective students, current students, alumni and parents, guests, faculty and

staff).


information about graduate courses and programs is by rolling over ―academics‖ on the

homepage and then clicking on ―online degrees.‖ However, this webpage shows

undergraduate degrees offered online as well. The College offers graduate study only

through distance learning, something users must gather while perusing the website,

making things less straightforward than is ideal. See screen shot 2. Thus, users can access

information about graduate study in just one click.

Most of the information prospective graduate students search for is available on Saint

Joseph’s College of Maine’s website. However, we had to contact College staff to

determine its academic calendar and to verify that graduate study is only offered online.


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Screen Shot 2

139

GRADUATE


SOURCE OF INFORMATION: Southern New Hampshire University website

UNITS ADMINISTERING STUDY: Southern New Hampshire University, Graduate Division

and SNHU Online

OFFERINGS: Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick offers the following

graduate degree and certificate programs:

Degrees


Accounting C/O

Athletic Administration O

Corporate Social Responsibility C/O

Entrepreneurship C/O

Finance C/O

Forensic Accounting C/O

Global O

Health Care Informatics O

Health Care Management O


Management C/O

International Hospitality

Management C/O

Justice Studies C/O

Marketing C/O

Operations & Supply Chain

Management C/O

Project Management C/O

Six Sigma O

Social Media Marketing C/O

Sport Management C/O

Sustainability & Environmental

Compliance C/O

Workplace Conflict Management C/O

Master of Education

Curriculum and Instruction O

Educational Leadership O

Finance O

International Business O

Justice Studies O

Marketing O

Master of Science

Accounting O

Community Economic Development O

Community Mental Health

Community Mental Health Counseling

Operations and Project Management O

Organizational Leadership C/O

Sport Management O

Certificates

Athletic Administration O

Community Mental Health

Finance

Leadership of Non-profit Organizations

O Offered online


ABOUT: Southern New Hampshire University is a private, four-year institution that is


LOCATION: Offerings analyzed in this report pertain to Southern New Hampshire

University’s Brunswick, Maine campus.

140

ENROLLMENT: In fall 2009, Southern New Hampshire University enrolled a total of

1,876 graduate students ages 25 and above, 819 of which were enrolled full time and

1,057 of which were enrolled part time. (Enrollment data for the Brunswick campus

specifically are not available.)

SCHEDULING: Classroom-based courses at Southern New Hampshire University-

Brunswick are offered days, evenings, weekends during 11-week year round terms;

distance learning courses are offered online during seven-week year round terms.

COST: Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick charges students $1,125 per

course or $375 per credit for all programs but community mental health, which costs

$445 per credit. Distance learning courses cost $1,827 per course or $609 per credit.

DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS: Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick

offers distance learning via online courses, certificates, and degrees.

TRANSFER CREDIT POLICY: Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick accepts a

maximum of six credits from another institution.

ENTRANCE TESTING REQUIRED: Southern New Hampshire University-Brunswick does

not require applicants to submit standardized test scores for admission into its graduate

programs.

WEBSITE ANALYSIS: Southern New Hampshire University can be found at

http://www.snhu.edu/index.aspx. When users input the words Southern New Hampshire

University into the search engine Google, this is the first web address that results, giving

Southern New Hampshire University excellent visibility. The institution does not appear

to have a tagline.

The homepage is quite busy. It has one main image that rotates, as well as three main lists

of links to choose from, in addition to the latest news, featured programs, and ―Why

SNHU?‖. The homepage is white with yellow and blue. See screen shot 1.

Users can utilize the website by topic (information for…, admission, financial aid,

academics and programs, online education, student success, campus life, athletics and

recreation, and about SNHU), as well as by identity (adult learner, high school student,

transfer student, military student, and international student), and by method of learning

(online, on campus, or both, plus regional locations).


information about graduate courses and programs is by rolling over ―academics and

programs‖ on the homepage, clicking on ―graduate programs,‖ and then clicking on

―graduate programs by location‖ to view the offerings in Brunswick. See screen shot 2.

Thus, users can access information about graduate study in two clicks.

Most, if not all, of the information prospective graduate students search for is available

on Southern New Hampshire University’s website. We were able to complete this

analysis without having to contact University staff.


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142

GRADUATE

University of Maine-Orono

SOURCE OF INFORMATION: University of Maine-Orono website

UNITS ADMINISTERING STUDY: University of Maine-Orono, Graduate School and

Continuing and Distance Education

OFFERINGS: University of Maine-Orono offers the following graduate degree and


Degrees

Doctor of Education

Educational Leadership (pre K-12)

Higher Education

History

Literacy Education

Doctor of Philosophy

Anthropology and Environmental Policy

Biochemistry & Molecular Biology

Biological Sciences

Biomedical Sciences

Chemical Engineering

Chemistry

Civil Engineering

Communication & Mass

Communication

Computer Science

Clinical Psychology

Curriculum and Instruction

Developmental Psychology

Earth Sciences

Ecology & Environmental Sciences

Electrical & Computer Engineering

Food & Nutrition Sciences

Forest Resources

Functional Genomics

Higher Education

Interdisciplinary

Marine Biology

Marine Bio-resources

Microbiology

Mechanical Engineering

Ocean Engineering

Oceanography

Physics

Plant Science

Psychological Sciences

Spatial Information Science &

Engineering

Wildlife Ecology

Zoology

Master of Arts

Communication

Communication Sciences & Disorders

Counselor Education

Developmental Psychology

Economics

English

Financial Economics

French

Global Policy

Higher Education

History

Interdisciplinary O

Liberal Studies

Literacy Education

Mathematics

Psychological Sciences

Social Studies Education

Master of Arts in Teaching


French C/O

Secondary Education

Spanish

Master of Business Administration C/O

Master of Education

Counselor Education

Educational Leadership (pre K-12)

Elementary Education O

Higher Education

143

Individualized Program in Education

Instructional Technology

Kinesiology & Physical Education

Literacy Education

Science Education

Secondary Education O


Special Education

Master of Engineering

Biological Engineering

Engineering Physics

Master of Fine Arts

Intermedia

Master of Forestry

Forestry

Master of Music

Music Conducting

Music Education

Music Performance

Master of Professional Studies

Animal Sciences

Biochemistry

Microbiology

Master of Science

Animal Sciences

Biochemistry

Biological Engineering

Botany & Plant Pathology

Chemical Engineering

Chemistry

Civil Engineering

Computer Science

Computer Engineering O

Counselor Education

Earth Sciences

Ecology & Environmental Sciences

Education Data Specialist

Electrical Engineering O


Engineering Physics

Entomology

Food Science & Human Nutrition

Forest Resources

Higher Education

Horticulture

Human Development

Information Systems

Kinesiology & Physical Education

Literacy Education

Marine Biology

Marine Bio-resources

Marine Policy

Mechanical Engineering

Microbiology

Nursing

Oceanography

Plant, Soil & Environmental Studies

Quaternary & Climate Studies

Resource Economics & Policy

Science Education

Secondary Education


Spatial Information Science &

Engineering

Sustainable Agriculture

Teaching

Wildlife Ecology

Zoology

Master of Public Administration C/O

Master of Social Work C/O

Master of Wildlife Conservation

Certificates

Advanced Engineered Wood

Composites

Advanced Study in Counselor Education

Advanced Study in Education Data

Specialist

Advanced Study in Educational

Leadership (pre K-12)

Advanced Study in Elementary

Education

Advanced Study in Individualized

Program in Education

Advanced Study in Kinesiology &

Physical Education

Advanced Study in Literacy Education

Advanced Study in Nursing

Advanced Study in Science Education

Advanced Study in Secondary Education

Advanced Study in Social Studies

Education

144

Education Data Specialist

Foods and Nutrition C/O

Geographic Information Systems

Health Care Administration O

Information Systems O

O Offered online


ABOUT: University of Maine-Orono is a public, four-year institution that is located in a

rural setting.

LOCATION: Offerings analyzed in this report pertain to University of Maine’s Orono,

Maine campus.

ENROLLMENT: In fall 2009, University of Maine-Orono enrolled a total of 1,975

graduate students ages 25 and above, 882 of which were enrolled full time and 1,093 of


SCHEDULING: Classroom-based courses at University of Maine-Orono are offered days,

evenings, weekends and/or online during 15-week fall and spring terms, as well as during

seven three-week, two five-week, two six-week, two seven-week, and three eight-week

summer terms.

COST: University of Maine-Orono charges residents $418 per credit and non-residents

$1,202. Distance learning courses cost an additional $18 per credit.

DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS: University of Maine-Orono offers distance learning

via interactive television, compressed video, intranet, video streaming, and online

courses, certificates, and degrees.

TRANSFER CREDIT POLICY: University of Maine-Orono accepts a maximum of six

credits from another institution.

ENTRANCE TESTING REQUIRED: University of Maine-Orono requires applicants to

submit standardized test scores for admission into its graduate programs.

WEBSITE ANALYSIS: University of Maine-Orono can be found at

http://www.umaine.edu/. When users input the words University of Maine into the search

engine Google, this is the first web address that results, giving University of Maine

excellent visibility. The institution does not appear to have a tagline.


main lists of links to choose from. The homepage is primarily blue. See screen shot 1.

Users can utilize the website by topic (About UMaine, academics, admissions, campus

life, and news), as well as by more general topic (text only, home, a-z directory,

MaineStreet, campus map, calendar, apply to UMaine, give now, emergency).


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information about graduate courses and programs is by clicking on ―graduate school‖ on

the homepage, followed by ―visit the graduate school website here,‖ and then ―graduate

and professional degree programs.‖ See screen shot 2. Thus, users can access information

about graduate study in three clicks.


on University of Maine-Orono’s website. We were able to complete this analysis without


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Screen Shot 1

Screen Shot 2

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GRADUATE


SOURCE OF INFORMATION: University of New England website

UNITS ADMINISTERING STUDY: University of New England, Graduate Division

OFFERINGS: University of New England-Portland offers the following graduate degree


Degrees

Doctor of Pharmacy

Doctor of Physical Therapy

Master of Public Health

Master of Education

Curriculum & Instruction Strategies O

Educational Leadership O

Inclusion Education O

Literacy K-12 O

Medical Education Leadership O

Nurse Anesthesia

Occupational Therapy

Physician Assistant

Teaching Methodology H

Master of Social Work C/O

Certificates

Addictions Counseling

Advanced Study in Advanced

Educational Leadership

Advanced Study in Curriculum &

Instruction Strategies O

Advanced Study in Educational

Leadership O

Advanced Study in Inclusion

Education O

Advanced Study in Leadership, Ethics &

Change O

Advanced Study in Literacy (K-12) O

Gerontology

Leadership Development, Medical

Education Leadership O

Program Development, Medical

Education Leadership O

Project Management

Public Health

O Offered online

H Offered in hybrid format


ABOUT: University of New England is a private, four-year institution that is located in a

suburban setting.

LOCATION: Offerings analyzed in this report pertain to University of New England’s

Portland, Maine campus.

ENROLLMENT: In fall 2009, University of New England enrolled a total of 1,609

graduate students ages 25 and above, 1,359 of which were enrolled full time and 250 of

which were enrolled part time. (Enrollment data for the Portland campus specifically are

not available.)

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SCHEDULING: Classroom-based courses at University of New England-Portland are

offered days, evenings, and/or weekends during 16-week fall and spring terms, as well as

during a 12-week summer term. Distance learning courses are offered during two eight-

week terms (within each classroom-based 16-week fall and spring term), as well as

during two six-week summer terms.

COST: University of New England charges students $440-$715 per credit, depending on

the program. Distance learning courses cost the same as classroom-based courses.

DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS: University of New England-Portland offers distance

learning via online courses, certificates, and degrees and hybrid degrees.

TRANSFER CREDIT POLICY: University of New England-Portland graduate programs

have differing transfer credit policies: Master of Education programs do not accept any

transfer credits; Master of Social Work program requires a minimum of 32 credits be

earned at the institution; Master of Public Health program and all certificate programs

accept a maximum of six transfer credits from another institution; and Doctorate degrees

in Pharmacology and Physical Therapy accept transfer credits on a case-by-vase basis.

ENTRANCE TESTING REQUIRED: University of New England-Portland requires

applicants to submit standardized test scores for admission into some of its graduate

programs.

WEBSITE ANALYSIS: University of New England can be found at http://www.une.edu/.

When users input the words University of New England into the search engine Google,

this is the first web address that results, giving University of New England excellent

visibility. The institution does not appear to have a tagline.

The homepage is simple and organized. It has one main image that rotates, as well as two


is mostly blue. See screen shot 1.

Users can utilize the website by general topic (admissions, academics, student life,

athletics, about UNE, research, alumni and friends), as well as by ―gateways‖

(prospective students, majors and programs, current students, parents and family, faculty

and staff, community resources, visitors and press, emergency preparedness, clinic

information, make a gift, and blogs) and colleges (arts and sciences, dental medicine,

health professions, osteopathic medicine, and pharmacy.


information about graduate courses and programs is by rolling over ―admissions‖ on the

homepage and then clicking on ―graduate and professional studies.‖ See screen shot 2.

Thus, users can access information about graduate study in just one click.


on University of New England’s website. We were able to complete this analysis without


http://www.une.edu/

149

Screen Shot 1

Screen Shot 2

150

GRADUATE


SOURCE OF INFORMATION: the University of Southern Maine website

UNITS ADMINISTERING STUDY: the University of Southern Maine, Office of Graduate

Studies and USM Online

OFFERINGS: the University of Southern Maine offers the following graduate degree and


Degrees

Doctor of Philosophy

Public Policy

Doctor of Psychology

School Psychology

Master of Arts

American and New England Studies

Leadership Studies H


Master of Community Planning and

Development

Master of Fine Arts

Creative Writing

Master of Music

Composition

Conducting

Jazz Studies

Music Education

Performance

Master of Occupational Therapy

Master of Public Policy and

Management

Master of Science

Abilities and Disabilities Studies

Adult and Higher Education O

Applied Medical Sciences

Biology

Computer Science

Counseling

Educational Psychology

Health Policy and Management

School Psychology

Statistics

Master of Science in Education

Applied Literacy

Educational Leadership

Literacy Education

Professional Educator

Teacher Education O

Teaching and Learning

Master of Science in Nursing

Master of Science in Nursing (RN to

MSN)

Master of Social Work

Joint Degrees*

Master of Business

Administration/Master of Science in


Master of Business

Administration/Master of Science in

Nursing

Certificates

Applied Research and Evaluation

Methods

Assistant Principal

Athletic Administration

Child and Family Policy and

Management

Community Planning and Development

Creative Leadership and Global

Strategy H

Culturally Responsive Practices in

Education and Human Development

Early Language and Literacy

English as a Second Language

Gifted and Talented


Leadership Studies

151

Literacy

Mental Health Rehabilitation

Technician/Community

Middle Level Education

Nonprofit Management

Nursing Education

Performance Management and

Measurement

Practice Management

Public Health

Response to Intervention

Statistics

Teaching ALL Students

Post-master’s in Adult Learning

Post-master’s in Applied Behavior

Analysis

Post-master’s in Counseling

Post-master’s in English as a Second

Language

Post-master’s in Literacy Education

* Two degrees that can be earned simultaneously O Offered online

H Offered in hybrid format

ABOUT: the University of Southern Maine is a public, four-year institution that is located

in a suburban setting.

LOCATION: Offerings analyzed in this report pertain to the University of Southern

Maine’s Gorham, Portland, and Lewiston-Auburn, Maine campuses.

ENROLLMENT: In fall 2009, the University of Southern Maine enrolled a total of 1,740

graduate students ages 25 and above, 594 of which were enrolled full time and 1,146 of


SCHEDULING: Courses at the University of Southern Maine are offered days, evenings,

weekends, and/or online during 15-week fall and spring terms, as well as during a four-

week and seven-week summer terms.

COST: the University of Southern Maine charges residents $380 per credit and non-

residents $1,026 per credit. Distance learning courses cost the same as classroom-based

courses.

DISTANCE LEARNING PROGRAMS: the University of Southern Maine offers distance

learning via online courses and online and hybrid degrees.

TRANSFER CREDIT POLICY: the University of Southern Maine graduate programs accept

a maximum of six to 12 credits from another institution, depending on the program.

ENTRANCE TESTING REQUIRED: the University of Southern Maine requires applicants to

submit standardized test scores for admission into most of its graduate programs.

WEBSITE ANALYSIS: the University of Southern Maine can be found at

http://usm.maine.edu/. When users input the words the University of Southern Maine into

the search engine Google, this is the first web address that results, giving the University


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of Southern Maine excellent visibility. The institution’s tagline is: Connecting You With

Tomorrow.

The homepage is clean and streamlined. It has one main image that rotates, as well as two


is mostly white and blue. See screen shot 1.

Users can utilize the website by general topic (academics, admission, campus life,

research, news and events, about USM, libraries and technology, give to USM), as well

as by homepage ―quick links‖ (pioneers, MaineStreet, Blackboard, student email,

academic departments, administrative offices, current students, faculty and staff, alumni,

and job opportunities).


information about graduate courses and programs is by rolling over ―admissions‖ on the

homepage and then clicking on ―graduate studies‖ under ―graduate admissions.‖ See

screen shot 2. Thus, users can access information about graduate study in just one click.


on the University of Southern Maine’s website. We were able to complete this analysis

without having to contact University staff.

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Screen Shot 1

Screen Shot 2

adult student market analysis

Documents