Changes in the Credit System at UMF

Image taken by Kimberly Farmer.

September 25, 2023

Grace Sommer, Contributing Writer

Faculty and staff at the University of Maine Farmington spent the summer finalizing the recent credit change for the upcoming academic year. Over the past several years, the university has planned to switch from a four-credit to a three-credit system like the surrounding UMaine schools. This change allows a smoother transfer of credits whether students are coming from another UMaine school or are taking a course offered by a different school within the system. However, this switch caused many teaching professionals at UMF to alter their course outlines and the workload they expect from their students. Students can now expect to take an additional course each semester to be considered enrolled as a full-time student, yet do not need as many credits to graduate. 

Patty Gordon, field supervisor of elementary education, has been a part of UMaine Farmington’s faculty for three years, and this is her second year as an advisor for elementary education students. 

“There’s a lot of training for us and a lot of conversations with veteran advisors and the advising center about making this switch,” Gordon said.

 She also discussed there are new sets of procedures, guidelines, and requirements that advisors need to know about to help their students navigate their college careers. 

Professors and teachers at UMF were expected to reduce their course load by roughly 25%, meaning students will receive less instruction than they had in previous years. It also means that class times have been shortened, and students spend less time in the classroom for each course. 

“As a field person in education, the change in the number of classes an undergrad takes affects the time they might be available to go into a school or wherever a field placement may be,” Gordon said.