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The latest on the Key Bridge collapse, New York puts forth legislation to get clean energy projects on the grid and Wisconsin and other states join a federal summer food program to help feed kids across the country.

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Republicans float conspiracy theories on the collapse of Baltimore's Key Bridge, South Carolina's congressional elections will use a map ruled unconstitutional, and the Senate schedules an impeachment trial for Homeland Secretary Mayorkas.

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Historic wildfires could create housing and health issues for rural Texans, a Kentucky program helps prison parolees start a new life, and descendants of Nicodemus, Kansas celebrate the Black settlers who journeyed across the 1870s plains seeking self-governance.

Research Opportunities Aim to Reverse Declining Enrollment at U of Maine

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Monday, December 12, 2022   

The University of Maine is hoping a unique program offering students the chance to do real-world research will help reverse a trend of declining student enrollment.

Research Learning Experiences will expose first-year students to both field and lab research opportunities they would normally not take part in until their junior or senior year.

John Volin, executive vice president for academic affairs and provost, said the experiences can be transformative and help ensure students stick around to complete their degree.

"We know that through research, that personal connection makes a large difference for students in their overall well-being, their overall learning experiences," Volin explained.

Volin acknowledged the cost of college and pandemic-related mental health concerns have contributed to the declining number of college students nationwide. But by helping students feel emotionally supported with a sense of purpose, he thinks the trend could be reversed.

Volin noted some students are already publishing papers based on their research on everything from archaeology to offshore wind energy. They begin with a "bridge week" prior to their first semester, a chance to meet other students and begin building mentor relationships with staff.

For first-year environmental science student Eddie Nachamie, opportunities to learn outside of the classroom are what drew him to the University.

"You're in the same spot of entering college, but now you get to have this, like, shared experience together and kind of form, you know, relationships and friendships off of afterward," Nachamie remarked. "It's just really nice to have people that are kind-of like in your corner."

The university predicts Research Learning Experiences will become a national model over the next few years, as schools look for ways to recruit new students. Already, 18% of University of Maine students have signed up for the "experiences" in the first 15 months they have been offered.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.


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