The Opportunity Maine Program – formally called the Educational Opportunity Tax
Credit – is the boldest college affordability program in the Nation and has a simple, but
powerful message: If you put in the hard work of getting a college degree and commit to
living and working in Maine, the Program will wipe out most if not all of your student
debt. It is a powerful tool to help our citizens afford a college degree and to build the
skilled workforce our businesses need.
How the Opportunity Maine Program works
1. Any Maine resident who earns an associate or bachelor’s degree at a Maine college (public or
private), and has a financial aid package that includes loans, can participate.
2. Upon graduation, a participant who continues to live and work in Maine can claim a tax credit
equal to their student loan payments (capped based on tuition and fees for the UMaine
System or the Maine Community College System, depending on the degree earned). Carryover provisions ensure that participants can fully benefit from the Educational Opportunity Tax
Credit (EOTC).
3. Alternatively, the individual’s employer may make payments and claim the EOTC.
4. For almost all students, the EOTC can effectively wipe out student debt – up to $41,160 for
bachelor’s degree earners and $8,640 for associate degree earners.
The Importance of Higher Education to Maine’s Economy
Nothing affects the strength of a state’s economy more than the proportion of degree holders in
the workforce. We cannot create jobs without investing in our workforce, and businesses will not
grow or locate here if we do not have the workforce they need. Unfortunately, Maine’s proportion
of degree holders runs 15% behind the rest of New England, and incomes run 22% behind.
Annual Income
Unemployment Rate
No High School Diploma
$20,585
13.2%
High school Diploma
$25,915
6.9%
College up to Associate Degree
$30,681
3.8%
Bachelor’s Degree
$39,088
Graduate/Professional Degree
$51,077
2.0%
(Bach/Grad/Prof degrees)
What the Program Will Do for Maine’s Economy
The cost of higher education and the burden of student debt are major barriers preventing Maine
from catching up with the rest of New England. The Opportunity Maine Program can virtually
eliminate this barrier, in a manner closely tailored to Maine’s goals for raising attainment.
157 Howes Cove Road, Liberty ME 04949
Office: (207) 233-2987
www.opportunitymaine.org
Attainment strategy
How the Opportunity Maine Program helps
Enroll more high school graduates
in college
The promise of wiping out student debt can lower or
eliminate financial barriers to enrollment
Enroll more
college
See above. Maine cannot catch up with New England
unless working adults make up a large portion of our
new degree earners over the next decade.
working
adults
in
Raise degree completion rates
Students can only use Opportunity Maine to eliminate
their debt if they graduate. This is a huge incentive.
Get more of our graduates to start
their careers, businesses and
families in Maine
The burden of student debt drives many graduates to
higher-salary regions. Surveys show that many who
leave would stay in Maine if debt were removed from
the equation. Opportunity Maine does this.
Promote in-migration to attend
Maine colleges and settle here
Maine colleges can offer a huge benefit that virtually
none of their New England competitors can match.
This long term investment in the knowledge and skills of Maine’s workforce will result in greater
job, wage, and economic growth. The program will ultimately pay for itself, with the tax credits
that individuals and businesses receive being more than offset by higher tax revenues generated
by higher paying jobs and economic spillover effects.
For Maine’s students
The Opportunity Maine program is a bold promise to reward hard work with educational and
economic opportunity. It will expand the number of Mainers who believe they can tackle – and
afford – an associate or bachelor’s degree. For Maine’s working college graduates, it will provide
an average tax credit of $2,900 for bachelor’s degree earners ($800 for associate degree earners)
for the life of their student loans.
For Maine’s employers
Over time, Maine’s employers will have access to one of the best trained workforces in the
country, and have a strong competitive advantage over similarly situated firms in other states.
By using the EOTC, employers can support existing and new employees gain the education they
need by paying the student loans and taking the tax credit themselves, earning a substantial
reduction in their tax burden.
Realizing the Opportunity Maine Program’s Promise
The Program has the potential to transform Maine’s economy, and the potential is just starting to
be realized. Starting in 2011, colleges are required by law to inform students about the Program
and report their efforts and results to the Dept. of Education and the legislature’s Education &
Cultural Affairs Committee. Starting in 2013, the EOTC will be refundable for those who earn a
degree in the STEM fields and businesses can offer this benefit to their employees whether they
earned their degree in or out of state.
Now that Maine has undertaken the boldest college affordability initiative in the country, we must
follow through on implementing it and make the promise a reality for Maine people and
businesses.
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Fiscal and Economic Effects of College Attainment – Summary of Findings
Philip A. Trostel & Todd M. Gabe
School of Economics & Margaret Chase Smith Policy Center
University of Maine
School of Economics Staff Paper # 566
March 2007
To read the full report, go to www.opportunitymaine.org
Our analysis examines the fiscal (i.e., tax revenues and government spending) effects of college
attainment, as well as the importance of an educated workforce to business and economic
development. The report was written to contribute to the debate about Opportunity Maine and the
likely consequences of a more educated workforce and citizenry in Maine.
On average, earnings rise significantly with educational attainment, producing higher state
revenues. At the same time, educational attainment reduces public spending on Medicaid, antipoverty programs, incarceration and unemployment compensation. The key findings are:
College education pays for Maine people
In Maine, holders of associate’s degrees earn 39 percent more than high school graduates, and
holders of bachelor’s degrees earn 63 percent more than high school graduates. Bachelor’s
degree holders in Maine thus earn $16,245 more on average than high school diploma holders.
Educational attainment is a key determinant of economic vitality
The proportion of Maine’s working-age population with at least a bachelor’s degree is 23 percent
below the New England average (and 30th among the states). Maine’s per capita income is 25
percent below the New England average (34 th among states). Maine ranks last in New England on
both scores.
Although a single explanation oversimplifies a complex issue, there is little doubt that the
development of a higher-skilled workforce in Maine is one of the most important issues, if not the
most important issue, for the state’s prosperity growth.
College education pays for the state
In Maine, the average additional state and local tax revenues per bachelor’s degree are more than
$2,112 annually. Over a 45-year working lifetime, this is about $95,035. The slight progressivity
of Maine’s tax code and additional taxes paid after retirement add to this figure.
College education reduces state and local government spending and taxes

Medicaid is an expensive program, so a college differential can translate into big bucks.
Indeed, the largest fiscal impact of college attainment, other than the increased tax revenues,
appears to be Medicaid-related savings. Nationwide, the fiscal savings in Medicaid is about
$470 annually per bachelor’s degree, and more than $21,000 over 45 years. The figure would
be much higher in Maine.
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
Nationwide, the fiscal savings in incarceration costs is about $358 annually per bachelor’s
degree. Incarceration rates are 11.3 times higher among high school diploma holders than
among bachelor’s degree holders. Maine has particularly high incarcerations costs per
prisoner, so the savings differential is considerably larger in this state.

Nationwide, the fiscal savings in state unemployment compensation is about $46 per year per
bachelor’s degree, adding up to more than $2,000 over a 45-year work horizon. The savings
would be higher in Maine.

Nationwide, the fiscal savings in terms of public cash assistance is about $31 annually per
bachelor’s degree, and is much higher in Maine. In addition, nationwide, high school
graduates are 2.9 times more likely to receive child-care assistance than college graduates,
and 4.3 times as likely to receive transportation assistance.

Nationwide, the average high school diploma holder receives $69 more per year in worker’s
compensation than the average bachelor’s degree holder. The difference is higher in Maine.
College education enhances economic development

Businesses consistently cite an educated workforce as a key determinant of business location,
growth, and profitability. For example, in the Maine Development Foundation’s 2001 survey of
Maine businesses, 42 percent of respondents listed “educated workforce” as the most
important issue for long-run economic growth in the state, well ahead of all the other choices.
28 percent of respondents listed “educated workforce” as the second most important factor.

A highly educated workforce is essential in attracting and creating high-tech businesses and
jobs. Of respondents to a 2003 Maine biotechnology industry survey, 81 percent listed
“educated workforce” as a factor impacting their profitability or growth potential.

Promoting college education is essential in the development of the “creative economy.”

Nationwide, a one-percentage point increase in the proportion of county residents with a
college degree leads to an increase in per-worker earnings of $78.20 to $86.11.
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