USM will survive and prosper by becoming a ‘metropolitan’ university - DAVID T. FLANAGAN, Portland Press Herald

Despite its desirable locations in the population centers of the state, the University of Southern Maine has seen enrollment declines over the past several years, and as a result faces a projected $15 million budget shortfall for the academic year beginning September 2015. There are many reasons for this shortfall, including the shrinking number of high school seniors, an overbuilt public university and community college system, competition from online and other universities and an overstretched state budget. http://www.pressherald.com/2014/09/08/off-campus-usm-will-survive-and-prosper-by-becoming-a-metropolitan-university/