ORONO — Through a partnership between the Maine Department of Education and the University of Maine, tuition is waived for all qualified public high school students in the state to cover full tuition for as many as 12 college credits per year at UMaine.

In addition, a reduced tuition rate of $138.25 per credit is available to students attending Maine private high schools.

Starting Aug. 31, UMaine will offer more than 100 fall courses suitable for qualified high school students. Classes are taught by world-class UMaine faculty and meet general education requirements of the University of Maine System and the majority of colleges nationwide. Students benefit from the flexibility and variety of remote and online early college courses offered this fall.

UMaine has a long history of being a leader in supporting early college programming. UMaine’s signature online program, Academ-e, launched over 16 years ago. The UMaine Early College Program is committed to providing quality teaching and learning, college-level rigor and academic integrity; access and support to under-resourced communities and first-generation students; and multiple layers of support to ensure student success, including a comprehensive orientation experience and academic advising.

Aug. 24 is the fall application deadline; registration is online at explorec.maine.edu. Interested students and parents are encouraged to contact Allison Small, Early College Programs coordinator, 207.581.8004, allison.small@maine.edu, or visit umaine.edu/earlycollege to learn more about the application process.