Homeschool Dual Enrollment in Maine
Yes. A Maine home instruction student with a notice of intent on file can take tuition-free college courses through the Aspirations Program at University of Maine System campuses and Maine's community colleges, up to a credit cap.
How Early College works for homeschoolers
Maine's Aspirations Program, set up in Title 20-A chapter 208-A, pays for college courses taken by high school students, and the law names students receiving home instruction as eligible. The University of Maine System, which calls these courses Early College, says a home educated student qualifies once the family has filed a letter of intent with the local school district or the Department of Education.
Credit limits
Until the 2027-28 school year, state payment covers the first 6 credit hours each semester and up to 12 credit hours each academic year, and summer courses count toward the following year. Starting with the class of 2027, a student can earn a lifetime total of 18 tuition-free credits, or 24 for a career and technical education student in a designated early college career pathway. Courses at the universities and the community colleges count toward the same cap.
The home educated application
Your child applies in the ExplorEC portal. As the homeschool parent, you complete both the parent consent form and the recommendation form that a school counselor would normally fill out, and the grade point average you enter can be an estimate. The University of Maine and its Machias campus require a transcript the first time a home educated student applies. Freshmen, sophomores, and students taking a course with a prerequisite upload evidence of college readiness, such as test scores or placement tests.
Before your child can enroll
Notice of intent on file
Your child is a Maine resident receiving home instruction, with a notice of intent filed with the school unit or the Department of Education.
Parent approval
You approve the application as the parent and give the recommendation in place of a school counselor.
Space and prerequisites
The campus has room in the course and decides that your child has completed its prerequisites.
Grade point average
Your child maintains at least a 2.0 grade point average, or a C average, unless the campus grants a waiver.
Enrolling in a college course
First step
Create your child's ExplorEC account, choose a course whose prerequisites your child has met, and submit the application with your consent and recommendation.
Course and funding limits
A student who earns an F must retake that course before taking another, and an incomplete must be finished first. Three-week condensed courses are not open to Early College students.
What it costs
Your child pays for textbooks, course fees, and materials. Credits beyond the cap are billed at the Early College rate, now $155 per credit hour for online and in-person courses, and the Aspirations Program pays for one retake of a course graded W, D, F, or L while your child is under the cap.
When to apply
Applications are due one week before the semester or session starts, and late applications are not processed.
A homeschool plan alongside college courses
We teach the subjects your teen takes at home and generate the homeschool transcript from that coursework.
$149/month per child after the trial.