We’ve heard a great deal about how so few Maine high school graduates go on to college. Those who do go, often go out of state, and don’t come back after they graduate. We lose some of our most valuable assets: our kids.

As faculty at the University of Southern Maine, I’ve met some very bright transfer students who left Maine to go to school, but came back because this is where they want to live. They never really wanted to leave. Often their decision to go to school out of state was based on cost.

Financial aid for Maine students is so shamefully low that even paying out-of-state tuition in another state is less expensive than paying instate tuition in Maine. They get more financial aid from other states. Many of these students were getting assistance from working parents, and simply tried to ease the burden on them by going away. Some returned only after finding a job in Maine to help pay for their education.

Maine received a grade of F for affordability of higher education in a study by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education in 2000. Pathetic financial aid offered students was one of the principal reasons for this poor evaluation.

Another study published by the Margaret Chase Smith Center in 2003 found average instate tuition and fees in Maine were the fourth highest in the country, 50 percent higher than the national average and 10.5 percent higher than the New England average. At the same time, the amount of financial aid per student in Maine was 24 percent below the national average, and 36 percent below the average for New England overall.

Yet, here it is 2004, and what have we done about this? Nothing. Other states have faced the problem of high-school graduate flight and have done something about it. Why not Maine?

In 1993, Georgia created the first HOPE scholarships, giving them to all high-school graduates with a B average attending instate schools. These scholarships transformed the University of Georgia from a party school to a top-flight academic institution. Many smart kids passed over more expensive private schools with attractive financial aid packages and attended instate schools.

In 10 years, more than 700,000 Georgia high-school graduates attended public colleges in Georgia thanks to HOPE scholarships. Since then, merit-based scholarships were established in a dozen other states like New Mexico, Texas, and Louisiana – some of which are no more flush with money than Maine. These scholarships kept smart students from fleeing their home state for college. Yet, there is no HOPE in Maine.

Some state merit-scholarship programs were so popular with voters they were expanded beyond the original intent, and difficulties were experienced containing costs. Maine can learn from their experiences, and avoid those problems while achieving substantial benefits.

A simple merit-based Maine Merit Scholarship covering the cost of tuition should be awarded to all Maine students who graduate high school with a B average, attend Maine public colleges and universities, and whose family income is less than $70,000. The income and grade limits are intended to control costs and reward smart, hard-working students having limited means. Either could be adjusted to control expenditures or increase participation.

An alternative to the requirement for a B average might be to grant scholarships to the top 5 percent or 10 percent of students graduating from each Maine high-school, setting the percentage to control costs or increase participation. In either case, scholarship recipients would have to pay for fees and books, room and board.

Maine Merit Scholarships should be available only to those who attend state schools because students who can afford to attend more expensive private schools don’t need financial assistance. Recipients would have to maintain a B average in college each year to keep the money coming.

Some may think this proposal not sufficiently complicated to work. Perhaps refinements will be needed in future years, but this is enough to make a start. Families, communities, and the economy of Maine need this now, to conserve our most valuable asset, our human resources.

Michael S. Hamilton is associate professor of political science at the University of Southern Maine.