Maine Colleges Welcome Returning Students

The dorms are filling up fast as students arrive for the start of classes on Monday.

With about 1,800 members, the new freshman class is smaller than in it has been in recent years.

 UMaine president Robert Kennedy said poor economic conditions may have affected first-year enrollment.

However, overall enrollment is up one percent, partly due to an improved retention rate. Kennedy credits that retention to a housing policy that places all first-year students together in the dorms.

Several other Maine colleges will also be welcoming back their students this weekend.

Incoming freshmen at the University of Southern Maine in Gorham will be greeted on Saturday with a carnival and pizza party.

Unity College is celebrating its environmental mission by inviting returning students to take part in a tree-planting ceremony.