AUBURN — The New England Board of Higher Education will honor the Maine Community College System’s Early College for ME program at the organization’s annual awards ceremony on March 2 in Boston.

Early College for ME is a comprehensive college transition program that targets high school students who are undecided about higher education but who have the potential to succeed in college. The program serves more than 1,700 high school students a year at 74 schools across the state, providing support and guidance throughout the college planning process, the opportunity to take up to two community college courses during their senior year of high school and scholarships to the community colleges of up to $2,000.

Pauline Moreau is the regional director for Early College for ME whose office is located at Central Maine Community College in Auburn. She works with students from 14 area high schools serving 300 students each year from Androscoggin, Oxford, Franklin and Lincoln Counties to get them to go to college directly from high school. Since its start in 2003, more than 1000 students in this region have received services from the program and 300 students have received the scholarship and continued their education at CMCC.

According to Moreau, critical to the program’s success is the strong advising support that students receive. “Although college scholarships and opportunities for college courses are seen as the face of our program, our students and their parents have told us that, in the end, it is the individual support that they valued the most,” she said. “As the program approaches its 10th year, it is certainly appreciated that the program be recognized at a regional level.”

Anyone interested in learning more about the program may contact Moreau at pmoreau@cmcc.edu or visit the website at www.earlycollege.me.edu.