AUGUSTA (AP) — The number of out-of-state students enrolling at University of Maine System schools is on the rise, good news for a system that is facing significant financial difficulties.

Out-of-state students pay almost three times more in tuition than Maine residents.

The Augusta campus has seen a 30 percent increase in out-of-state enrollments for this fall when compared to last fall; Fort Kent a 17 percent increase; the flagship Orono campus a 13.5 percent increase; and Southern Maine a 7.5 percent increase.

Enrollment of in-state students is on the decline as the number of students graduating from Maine high schools drops.

Officials told the Portland Press Herald (http://bit.ly/1vR89nq ) that boosting out-of-state enrollment in the seven-campus system is critical at time of flat state funding and tuition freezes.