Last August, at the onset of a new academic year, we wrote in this space about a new era we jointly envisioned for the University of Southern Maine. We declared that this new era would be predicated on civility, respect and inclusiveness; an era where the entire campus community would be committed to working together with a focus on student success.

There are three broad elements to student success: facilitating meaningful connections between our students and faculty and staff; providing a path to graduation that is affordable; and creating an enriched academic experience inside and outside the classroom.

So, as we close in on an end to this academic year, how are we doing in these three areas?

To succeed, students need to feel valued and supported and a part of the campus community. It is well documented that there is a direct correlation between a student’s success and the building of a strong relationship with a professor or adviser. Faculty and staff have always been strongly committed to forming these relationships.

In recent months we have launched several new initiatives to further strengthen student connectedness. These new initiatives include living and learning communities in our residence halls; regular activities for our commuter students; enhanced advising and tutoring, especially for our first-generation college students, and a new student services center, which will enable our students to get the services and support they need in one place.

With respect to providing our students an affordable path to graduation, we are making excellent headway here, too.

While USM’s public tuition rate (which has not increased in five years) is an excellent value, students on tight budgets need more to make their educational dreams come true. So we have begun to offer even better stronger financial aid packages, including, for the first time, significant grants to transfer students. Meanwhile, we have just launched a new plan to raise $50 million in new scholarship over the next five years.

For our students who aspire to graduate school, affordability is also about expediting their path to their final degree. Here, USM has also made great progress through a series of arrangements between our undergraduate and graduate programs that shave a full year off a student’s education.

These types of arrangements – which we have established with the Maine School of Law and our Muskie School of Public Service, as well as our programs in public health, business, nursing, social work, occupational therapy, counseling, leadership and more – save our students time and money and enable them to move more quickly into the workforce.

Finally, with respect to an enriched and meaningful student experience inside and outside the classroom, this is where our existing assets have always been incredibly strong.

Our faculty take tremendous advantage of our unique location in the economic and cultural heart of our state to offer our students wonderful internships and other hands-on learning opportunities with area businesses, health care and human service agencies, arts institutions, cruise ships and professional sports teams.

Such community-based learning opportunities are now available in 45 of our 50 programs of study. And we’re moving ahead to make that 50 of 50, so that every USM student has the opportunity to graduate with an authentic, real-world experience in their chosen field of study.

While our faculty takes students out of the classroom and into the community, we are also expanding opportunities to take our students to other countries. Indeed, thanks to a generous bequest from the estate of Carolla Haglund ’51, paired with a grant from the Maine Economic Improvement Fund, we recently announced that every incoming student to USM’s Honors Program will be guaranteed an international experience within their first two years at USM.

So on all three fronts of student success, USM has made great progress. While there are still challenges ahead, there is a very different feel at USM. Indeed, anyone who has not visited USM in recent months will quickly note a palpable sense of new energy, optimism, high hopes and a renewed belief in the promise of the University of Southern Maine.

The best news of all is that we are just getting started.