Record enrollment expected next fall at MMA

CASTINE – Administrators at Maine Maritime Academy are anticipating a record enrollment next fall despite a hike in tuition rates.

Applications have increased overall from last year and the number of deposits is up significantly from this time last year. As of Friday, the college has received deposits from 256 potential students. That’s about 40 more than this time last year, according to President Leonard Tyler.

“Last year, we picked up another 20 or 30 deposits before classes started,” Tyler said. “We’re expecting to start the year with a class of about 270 students. That would be the largest ever at the school.”

Last year’s freshman class was 239 students.

That would boost total enrollment well over the 800 mark, to about 820 students, a record enrollment for the academy.

Part of that increase in interest in the college has been because of efforts to promote the marine science and biology and international business and logistics programs which have seen significant increase, according to MMA Admissions Director Jeff Wright.

Enrollment in both programs for next year is at about 27 students each, an increase of 70 percent for marine sciences and 80 percent for the business program. Both programs are designed for small numbers, Wright said, and are reaching their maximum enrollment of 30 students each.

“We’ve made a significant effort in those areas,” Wright said. “And the departments themselves have worked hard hosting open houses and developing newsletters for potential students. It has paid off.”

There also have been more modest increases in each of the other programs at the college, he said. Enrollment of female students also has increased. Deposits for the fall are up by about 40 percent, he said.

The steady increase in enrollment comes at a time when rising costs have forced the trustees to increase tuition rates. Trustee Susan Clark, head of the trustee finance committee, reported Friday that the college had increased tuition rates by 6.6 percent for in-state students and 6.5 percent for out-of state students. That increase brings the tuition to $3,400 per semester and $6,555 per semester respectively.

The increase, Clark noted, is less than the 7 percent maximum the trustees had established earlier this year. The increase will allow the college to maintain existing programs and add faculty in some areas, Tyler said.

Enrollment fluctuates throughout the school year, according Tyler, and the current levels will make the average enrollment around 800 through the year. As enrollment has grown steadily over the past several years, the trustees have been looking at different options to increase available housing for students on or near the campus.

Although new construction remains an option, Tyler said there are some renovations the college could make to existing campus housing to increase the number of beds available.

“There are some things we can do in the dorms to find between 30 and 50 beds on campus,” he said.

Those beds won’t be available until the next year, and the college will have to rely on the training ship to house some students, according to Jeff Loustaunau, the vice president for enrollment management.

“We’ll use the ship for housing in the fall,” he said.

The college regularly rotates between 30 and 40 students throughout the ship as part of the academic program in order to familiarize them with the vessel.