Governor Janet Mills says she applauds the University of Maine system for keeping in-state tuition flat.

The school system announced Friday that the $578 million school budget for fiscal year 2022 will hold in-state tuition rates flat for the seventh time in the last ten years. They say they’ve also reduced the cost of tuition as a percentage of Maine’s per capita income since 2013.

“The strong support of Governor Mills and the Legislature is making it possible for us to provide a more affordable return to normalcy for our Maine students. On behalf of our students, we are grateful,” said Chancellor Dannel Malloy in a statement.

In response, Governor Mills called the announcement a “welcome step forward in keeping public higher education affordable for Maine students.”

The governor’s budget would increase state funding for the University of Maine system by 3%, or about $6 million, in the upcoming fiscal year. Malloy says it was that funding, and a strong fiscal showing for May, that prompted them to reconsider an earlier plan to raise tuition for all students by 2.4% based on inflation.