The City is very happy to partner with some of our local colleges and universities to offer discounts to our employees who want to continue their education. We currently offer benefits at the University of Southern Maine, Thomas College, and the Community College network.

University of Southern Maine

The University of Southern Maine offers benefit eligible City employees 50% off of the cost of graduate and undergraduate classes and 20% off of tuition for USM’s professional development courses.

1. To take advantage of the 50% tuition reduction, employees should fill out the form below and collect the signature of their department head. That form can then be emailed to the Human Resources Department, or brought by Room 115 in City Hall to get HR’s signature. Once you have the authorization completed, you can then register for your classes.
2. To take advantage of the 20% professional development affiliate discount, contact Human Resources at (207)874-8624 or email to confirm your eligibility and to receive the 20% discount code. You will then need to set up a customer profile and enroll in the class of your choice with USM. When you’re checking out, use the code that Human Resources provided you to get your discount and then complete the checkout and registration process.

Thomas College

Thomas College in Waterville has partnered with the City of Portland to offer benefit-eligible employees their first graduate class for free, and then a 10% discount on all future classes. Thomas allows employees to take up to three courses before having to matriculate into a degree program, and all degree programs are offered as 100% online for convenience.

To receive the free class or the tuition discount, fill out the attached form and have the Human Resources Department sign off. You can then follow the directions on the form to return that to Thomas College and get enrolled in your class.

Maine Workforce Development Compact Program

The City is a participating member of the Maine Workforce Development Compact program, which provides funds to train frontline employees. Employees can access these funds through two different avenues:

1. The City can receive up to $1,200 annually to cover up to 50% of the cost of employee trainings. Departments may use this reimbursement to help defray the cost of continuing work-related education for their employees, or to help an employee who might have a training or class outside of work that they would like to take advantage of. Access to these funds is coordinated through the individual departments and employees should check with their department PAO or HR Liaison.
2. Individual employees can access scholarships to the community colleges through the compact without having to go through the City. In 2023, 2024, and 2025, employees can take advantage of two $212 scholarships each semester or receive 50% of tuition at any of the state’s community colleges. See the attached flier for details on how to take advantage of this program.