Achol Ring, right, and her boyfriend, Tim Torres, look at a bulletin board Friday afternoon at the University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn Campus. Ring starts classes next week and wanted to check out the campus and where her classes are located. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

LEWISTON — For the first time in seven years, enrollments are up at the University of Southern Maine. The rise is promising for the school’s Lewiston-Auburn campus on Westminster Street in Lewiston.

“When we look at our fall enrollments, we’re seeing between a 2 and 3% increase overall,” USM President Jacqueline Edmondson said. “That’s the first increase that we’ve seen in about seven years.”

This comes as a result of the university’s long-term plans to keep growing over the next years. In late June, the school closed out the fiscal year with a small positive budget, another first since 2019.

Jacqueline Edmondson Photo courtesy of the University of Maine System

In the two years since Edmondson took over the post from Glenn Cummings, she has witnessed an upward tick in the university’s Lewiston-Auburn campus.

“When I visit there, there’s more bustling activity, more people out and about. We have more in-person classes than we had before,” Edmondson said.

This year, the school is rolling out Lewiston-Auburn’s first undergraduate health care major — occupational therapy. “I think it will really help to contribute to the health care and workforce needs in the region,” Edmondson said.

Instructor Mary Anderson, middle, guides students Emma Paquette, left, and Sierra Duggan as they make a wrist splint June 13, 2023, during their Occupational Performance Through Adulthood class at the University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn Campus in Lewiston. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal file

“Lewiston-Auburn is a really special place with so much potential,” Edmondson said. “I really believe the University of Southern Maine is a hometown university. The Lewiston-Auburn campus is part of that identity because we’re really working to be sure we’re connected to the community, that our education is accessible and affordable and high quality.”

Planning is underway to fulfill emerging needs, Edmondson said.

“Housing projections for fall (2024) is that we will be at over 100% occupancy. So, there’s great demand for housing,” Edmondson said. “We have students who live, for example, in Portland or Gorham, and they’re taking classes on the Lewiston-Auburn campus.”

“And there are students who live here in Southern Maine and commute to the Lewiston-Auburn campus for their classes,” she added.

Achol Ring looks into the Fitness Center on Friday at University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn Campus. Ring starts classes next week and wanted to check out the campus and where her classes are located. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal

The university offers housing at Portland Commons and its Gorham campus only.

“We have new spaces, particularly on our Portland campus, and renovated spaces across all three of our campuses. Those physical spaces are important to our students and to our faculty and staff,” Edmondson said.

In addition to potential infrastructure, changes around programs are also meant to make attendance easier. “We have intentional programs like the Promise Scholars Program where that particular scholarship is a top-off scholarship. It makes sure that students can come to our university with no cost to them in terms of their tuition and in some cases housing,” Edmondson said.

“There’s infrastructure, there’s programming, there’s curriculum and there’s intentional work around recruiting students from different parts of the country, around the world, and then also strategically within the state of Maine,” she said.

The University of Southern Maine Lewiston-Auburn Campus on Westminster Street in Lewiston. The school is adding occupational therapy, its first undergraduate health care major. Russ Dillingham/Sun Journal file

“We’re really just getting things started at the Lewiston-Auburn campus,” Edmondson said.

Looking ahead with plans to grow, budget will always be tricky, Edmondson said.

“As a public institution of higher education, there are always going to be challenges related to budgets. As we seek to grow, we have to make strategic decisions about how our resources are deployed in order to make sure that we’re positioned well for future growth,” Edmondson said. “It is not unlike other public higher education institutions across the country.”