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Dear Colleagues,
In recent years, the University of Maine System (UMS) has strengthened its support of our public universities’ efforts to attract new learners.
Innovations such as our UMS-wide direct admissions initiative, tuition discounts for major Maine employers, and System investments in expanding online education and student success are complementing university-based recruitment and retention strategies. Together, these efforts have driven our seventh consecutive semester of demographic-defying enrollment growth, and our highest spring enrollment since 2019.
Today, I am pleased to announce the System’s latest effort: the launch of a modernized UMS website and aligned branding. These new resources, developed in partnership with university enrollment and marketing leaders and with feedback from key stakeholders, are intended to:
- Better showcase our System’s collective strengths and impact
- Improve navigation to enhance the user experience, awareness about UMS, and access to high-demand information
- Reflect our changing learner demographics (including more adults), expanded world-class research activities, and vibrant student life through updated visuals
- Direct prospective students quickly to the UMS university that best suits their goals
- Ensure consistency, clarity, and brand recognition
You can view the System’s improved website at www.maine.edu. You will see that the homepage and high-traffic areas of the site have migrated, with the remaining content to be transitioned in the coming months.
The updated UMS Digital Style Guide is available, and new templates, including an updated branding guide, will be released in the coming months. Please know, these System materials are not intended to replace university-specific branding. We encourage you to incorporate any updates on an as-needed basis. You do not need to discard any current materials that reflect the prior University of Maine System brand. If you have any questions about the UMS Digital Style Guide, please reach out to Corina Larsen at umscommunications@maine.edu.
Stakeholders across our System contributed invaluable insights to improve the branding and digital resources I am sharing with you today. I want to especially thank the UMS Board of Trustees, UMS leadership, CIO Robert Placido, UMS-IT, university marketing leaders, and our collaborators at the Maine-based Blaze Partners.
I look forward to hearing any ideas for further strengthening the System during my upcoming campus visits.
Sincerely,
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