Maine Must Improve College Participation and Credential Attainment Rates to Remain Competitive

• To remain globally competitive, the U.S. and each state should ensure that at least 60% of adults ages 25 to 64 have an associate or bachelor’s degree by 2025. In Maine, the current rate is 38.8%.
• Maine ranks 27^th among 50 states in the size of the degree gap it needs to fill. To meet the 60% goal, it will need to produce an additional 88,932 degrees by 2025.
• By achieving rates of the top-performing states, Maine can produce about 41,000 bachelor’s degrees, 30,000 associate degrees and 5,000 certificates by 2025.

Meeting Top Performers Produces Significant Personal Economic Return

Per capita income increases when the state meets top performers

• Under current postsecondary investment patterns, annual personal per capita income in Maine is projected to decrease by $100 in 2025.
• By meeting top performers, annual per capita income would increase significantly more, by approximately $900 in 2025.

Meeting Top Performance Produces Significant Economic Returns to the State

Status quo produces negative returns

Under current postsecondary investment patterns, Maine’s
state revenues will decrease by about $34 million in 2025.

Meeting top performance pays off

By meeting top performance, Maine will generate more annual revenue, topping approximately $320 million in 2025.

State Revenues Exceed Costs When Top Performance Goal is Met

Status Quo: Revenues are lower than costs

Under current postsecondary investment patterns, Maine’s revenues are about $17 million lower than costs in 2025.

Meet top performance: Revenues exceed costs

By meeting top performance, Maine’s revenues exceed postsecondary costs by approximately $265 million in 2025.

This analysis was prepared using the CLASP-NCHEMS Return on Investment Dashboard tool.  See clasp2022.tealmedia.dev/ROIdashboard