Report of the Public Higher Education Systems Coordinating Committee. Submitted to the Joint Standing Committee on Education and Cultural Affairs and Governor Janet T. Mills

Public Law 2015, Chapter 261 (LD 1441) created the Public Higher Education Systems Coordinating Committee to recognize more formally the importance of cooperative efforts between Maine's two systems of higher education. The Committee is comprised of the Chancellor of the University of Maine System (UMS), the President of the Maine Community College System (MCCS), and the chairs of both systems' Boards of Trustees. The Committee is charged with promoting efficiency, cooperative effort, and strategic planning between the University of Maine System and the Maine Community College System. This annual report documents the collaborative efforts currently underway across our two systems to meet the educational needs of Maine citizens and the workforce requirements of Maine's employers while being good fiscal stewards of the investments in our respective institutions by tuition and taxpayers. It details how the two systems are working in close collaboration with each other and, through MaineSpark, a statewide coalition of organizations, to increase the higher education attainment rate in Maine so that 60% of Mainers will hold postsecondary education and workforce credentials that position Maine and its families for success by 2025.