PORTLAND — Maine Adult Education Association has announced a unique partnership with Bay Path University, Longmeadow, Massachusetts, to grant a  full scholarship to a woman from Maine who is served by Maine adult education programs.

The scholarship will allow the recipient to enroll in the fall of 2018 and complete her undergraduate degree through the American Women’s College at Bay Path University, the first 100 percent online program in the nation exclusively for women.

Through the accelerated, online format of the American Women’s College, the recipient can choose from more than 20 career-focused degrees and graduate within as little as one and a half to three years. The program is based on a unique award-winning online platform known as SOUL, Social Online Universal Learning, designed specifically to help women complete a college degree by monitoring academic progress in real time and connecting students with classmates and faculty in innovative ways.

Students at the American Women’s College benefit from the Women as  Empowered Learners and Leaders, or WELL, program to develop the skills, confidence and knowledge to achieve their goals and are also assigned educator coaches who support the student from the start to the finish of their degree.

“Given the number of women served by our association who do not yet have a college degree, this is truly an exciting opportunity,” said Shirley Wright, executive director of the Maine Adult Education Association. “We are grateful to Bay Path University for offering such a generous scholarship which will be life changing for one of our women.”

Women who are residents of Maine and have participated in at least 12 hours of services from any Maine adult education program within the last three years are eligible to apply. The recipient will be required to be accepted and meet all admissions requirements for the American Women’s College to receive the scholarship.

To be considered, applications must be received by Thursday, March 15. Five finalists will be selected to complete a second phase of the application process, and the scholarship award recipient will be notified in early June and announced at the annual Maine Adult Education Association Conference on Wednesday, June 20.

Four Webinars will be offered to give potential applications an overview of Bay Path University and the American Women’s College. These sessions will include Information about the academic programs and support services and a brief overview of the admission requirements. The schedule is as followed:

• Tuesday, Jan. 30, 2 to 3 p.m.;

• Tuesday, Jan. 30, 6 to 7 p.m.;

• Wednesday, Jan. 31, 6 to 7 p.m.; and

• Thursday, Feb. 1, 2 to 3 p.m.

To learn more about Bay Path University and the American Women’s College, visit https://www.baypath.edu/maine-scholarship/.