When Southern Maine Community College opened its Midcoast Campus in Brunswick five years ago this fall, we offered a limited selection of classes. We had only a handful of classrooms and fewer than 80 students.

We’ve come a long way since then. In our commitment to expand educational opportunities for Mainers at an affordable cost, this fall we are offering more classes —about 100 course sections — in more degree programs than ever.

In 2011, students could take Composites, Nursing, Engineering, Business Administration and a limited number of Liberal Studies classes. Now we offer so much more — from Accounting and Computer Aided Design to Teaching, Theater and everything in between.

This fall we’ve made our course selection even more comprehensive. Our new courses this fall include Western art history, medical ethics and law, horticulture, marine design II, and digital drawing, imaging and graphics.

Our full complement of classes allows students to earn their degree at the Midcoast Campus without having to take any courses at our South Portland Campus. When you live in the Midcoast region, driving to South Portland can be an inconvenience and might mean the difference between taking or not taking a class.

Amanda Hart, who’s well on her way to earning a degree in Human Services, is among the beneficiaries of our growth. Amanda is a mother of four with a fulltime job, so it’s important for her to take all her classes in Brunswick, near her home in Bath.

After graduating high school in 1995, Amanda attended the University of Southern Maine for a year and half before taking a break. But her plans changed, and the break lasted longer than expected while she raised a family. During that time, she also began working for Elmhurst Inc., a nonprofit social services agency working with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

In the spring of 2015, Amanda decided the time had come to enroll in SMCC’s Human Services program — in part to learn more about the human services field and in part to secure a bright future.

“One of the reasons I enrolled back in school was because I wanted to be promoted in my field, and without a degree, the chances were slim,” she says.

That decision has already paid off. In March, Amanda was named Elmhurst’s director of residential services, overseeing 10 group homes in the Midcoast, with the understanding that she would continue with her classes and earn a degree.

She plans to graduate in the fall of 2017 and intends to do so by taking all her courses at the Midcoast Campus or online. Then it’s on to a bachelor’s degree at the University of Maine at Augusta, utilizing a transfer agreement that ensures a smooth transition from SMCC to UMA’s University College, located on our Midcoast Campus.

Through educational opportunity, SMCC is transforming lives.

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By Ron Cantor is the president of Southern Maine Community College.