MAINE, Maine — The University of Maine System reported that a program aimed at helping first-year students hit the ground running has been wildly successful.
"Research Learning Experiences" are elective, credit-earning courses offered to first-year students, where they build connections with faculty and peers, and get real-world or lab experiences they might not otherwise get until much later in college.
The program launched at UMaine—the system's flagship campus in Orono—in 2021, before expanding to the rest of the system. Grants from the Harold Alfond Foundation support the curriculum.
Jasper Makowski is a sophomore microbiology major at UMaine and went through an RLE program last year.
"It was absolutely the right decision," he smiled. "I came to school a week early; got to get acclimated to the environment; got to get accustomed to college life—being on your own and all that stuff—but also meet a really tight-knit cohort of peers that I’m still close with, that still all support each other as we continue our academic careers."
Makowski explained how, from his first lecture, his professor encouraged him to answer his own burning questions, rather than sit quietly and wait for them to teach it. He said he soon found himself in a laboratory, discovering viruses, and all with fellow freshmen joining in on the adventure. This exhilarated him.
"When school started, you already had this support network around you of faculty, of peers, of other people who were willing to make sure that you succeeded, and you were more comfortable to go to them for help if you needed it," he said.
After starting in 2021 with 225 students in Orono, last year 1,209 students system-wide were enrolled in RLE programs.
Though the programs are traditionally elective, Tracy Michaud added the curriculum to one of her 100-level courses at the University of Southern Maine. Michaud is the chair of USM's hospitality program. Through this enhanced course, she explained, freshman students quickly venture away from the Portland campus, spending hours at area hotels and restaurants, learning from and asking questions of industry professionals. All with faculty there to help, or simply to build a student-teacher relationship right from the start.
"People stay in the program, and I think, in large part, because of that," Michaud said. "Right at the beginning, they know we care and they know that they are part of something bigger than them, that can help them if they need it."
When asked if she thought the RLE model might eventually become the norm for college coursework, she said yes, and added that "engaged learning" was the way USM formed all of its classes at this point in time.