Post-Secondary Options in Maine

Public Colleges & Universities

Maine Community College System

Private Colleges in Maine

Greater Portland Alliance of Colleges and Universities

The purpose of the GPACU is to provide students with greater opportunities for learning and strengthen participating institutions through cooperation and shared activities.

What schools are part of the GPACU?

Kaplan University
Maine College of Art
Southern Maine Community College
St. Joseph's College
University of New England
University of Southern Maine

How does the GPACU benefit students?

Students enrolled in one GPACU school can borrow books from the libraries of other GPACU member schools.
Students enrolled in one GPACU school can cross-register for classes at other GPACU schools and still pay the tuition for their home school. For example, a student enrolled at SMCC can take up to five courses at Maine College of Art and still pay the same price as they would if they were attending an SMCC class. Click here for additional details on benefits and to download a cross-registration application. SMCC's GPACU Guidelines can be accessed online here.

SMCC Transfer & Articulation Agreements

Many students begin their educational careers at a community college before transferring to a 4-year college or university to earn their final diploma. Students might make this choice for several reasons. First, community colleges can be more cost effective than 4-year colleges, particularly since students often have the option of living at home. Second, some students do not meet the entrance requirements (either GPA or standardized testing) for 4-year institutions. Finally, some students are not entirely sure that college is going to be the right fit and might be hesitant to jump into life at a 4-year college.

If you find yourself in any of the above situations, you might consider applying to Southern Maine Community College in Portland to begin your college career. Here are just a few benefits that SMCC has to offer students:

SMCC is a member of the Greater Portland Alliance of Colleges and Universities. This means that if SMCC doesn't have a course you want, you can take up to five courses over your college career at other members colleges including Maine College of Art, University of New England, St. Joseph's College, Kaplan University, and University of Southern Maine. The great news is that students get to take these five classes at the same price they would normally pay for their SMCC classes. Click here to find out more about GPACU benefits.
SMCC makes transitioning to 4-year institutions as smooth as possible with a process called "transfer and articulation agreements." SMCC has agreements with 19 other colleges and universities that allows SMCC students to take their 2-year associates degree and transfer their credits to into a 4-year bachelors program at these other schools. For example, a student who wants to eventually earn a degree in Civil Engineering at UMO can spend two years at SMCC in the Pre-Engineering program and then transfer the credits to UMO. The benefit here is that the first two years can be completed at a fraction of the cost of some of the 4-year institutions. Click here to see the schools with whom SMCC currently has transfer and articulation agreements.