Maine Central Planning - Ry Rivard, Inside Higher Ed

Officials at the University of Maine System are tightening the reins on their seven universities to avoid steep budget shortfalls, they announced Monday, calling their vision “One university for all of Maine.” The consolidation will centralize staff jobs and academic programs. It represents the latest -- some say most realistic -- in a long series of attempts by Maine higher education officials to create a more efficient statewide system. Last year, the system said, six of its seven campuses operated in the red. Some of the system’s pushes to save money and merge operations have been controversial, like an effort to close campuses that lawmakers blocked. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/01/27/maine-system-looks-further-centralize-its-staff-budget-and-academic-programs