WASHINGTON, D.C.—Senators Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins today announced that the U.S. Department of Education has awarded the Maine Educational Opportunity Center (MEOC) at the University of Maine a grant in the amount of $660,785 to assist adults wishing to enter college.
Educational Opportunity Centers is one of the federal TRIO programs that were established to promote access to post-secondary education for traditionally under-represented adult populations. MEOC’s mission is to assist any adult wishing to re-enter a formal education setting. Funded to serve traditionally under-represented adults, the majority of MEOC participants are of the first generation in their families to go to college.
“The Maine Educational Opportunity Center has helped open the door to higher education for thousands of Mainers for whom college seemed out-of-reach,” said Senators Snowe and Collins in a joint statement. “We are delighted that this funding from the U.S. Department of Education will help even more Maine residents attend college and obtain the education that they need to pursue their dreams.”
According to MEOC, 679 Maine participants enrolled in college during the past year.
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