International student enrollment grows at Maine’s public universities amid national decline

Maine’s universities are enrolling more international students for the fifth year in a row, defying the national trend of higher education enrollment declines. 

The biggest reason for the growth is the 250% increase in international students enrolled online, according to preliminary data from Fall 2026. An overwhelming majority of those students will never attend Maine’s public universities in person and thus are not impacted by President Donald Trump administration’s crackdown on foreign students and immigration. 

From imposing fees for post-degree practical training to reducing the duration of international students’ visas and, in some cases, to students with valid visas facing arrest and detention by federal agents, the administration’s policies have resulted in fewer foreign students enrolling in U.S. colleges and universities, according to national data.

But in Maine, the popularity of online programs and the steady stream of students from Canada have allowed the state’s public universities to start the semester with 1,169 international students — the highest in five years — while overall enrollment also grows across all seven campuses. Canadian students, who can attend Maine’s public universities at the in-state tuition rate, account for 393 of the total. Roughly 500 foreign students are pursuing fully online degrees. 

“I think this has been a confusing couple of years for international students,” University of Maine System Chancellor Dannel Malloy said. “And we’ve put a lot of time and effort into explaining how you can be one of our students and what type of program you can be in and what you’re looking for.”

The YourPace program — an 8-week flexible degree program run by the University of Maine at Presque Isle — which allows students to learn entirely online, is how international students are completing undergraduate degrees through Maine’s public universities.

President Ray Rice said the program has grown exponentially since it started in [what year] and is helping meet thousands of students’ needs for specific certifications and in-demand degrees. While a majority of YourPace students are U.S. citizens, it has proven to be a useful tool for international students as the Trump administration tightens restrictions on foreign degree seekers.

Rather than navigating the immigration system, international students enrolled in YourPace have to demonstrate English proficiency and have the required GPA for their program, Rice said. 

“I think that simplicity without the complexity of the current vicissitudes probably make us attractive to a number of students,” he said.

Some popular programs international students are enrolling in through YourPace include business, psychology and organizational leadership.  

However, the growth in international student enrollment does not mean an increase in revenue. The state’s Orono-based flagship, the University of Maine, saw a slight decline from 515 students at this same point in Fall 2024 to 455 now, according to data obtained by Maine Morning Star.

Because of that drop, “there is going to be a reduction in net tuition revenue from international students in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, and that obviously has budget implications,” said system spokesperson Samantha Warren.  

That’s because students enrolled in YourPace pay a flat fee as opposed to the higher revenue the university system charges for in-person international tuition.

The latest policy introduced by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security made student visas time-limited instead of issuing them for the duration of the degree programs. Students will have to apply for extensions if they need more time to complete their degrees or want to gain hands-on training after. 

Warren said the impact of those changes on the University of Maine System is yet to be seen, especially on graduate programs. 

“I don’t think we’re seeing it fully yet, though certainly the overall climate is affecting the number of students who are coming in person,” she added.