Portland Research Group

Case Studies: College Aspirations Research

Finance Authority of Maine (FAME)

Bruce Lockwood managed and conducted College Aspirations Research for the Finance Authority of Maine (FAME). The study entitled, “Futures at Risk???”, was sponsored by FAME and Fleet Education Finance and was released at a news conference with Governor Angus King presiding. Over 1,000 copies of the study were distributed to various factions across the State of Maine.

The study was a comprehensive investigation of the aspirations of Maine students and families with respect to formal post secondary education. The research was comprised of several phases:

• Three Parent Focus Groups (South Portland, Bangor, and Presque Isle)
• Six Student Mini Groups (Saco/Dayton, SAD 3 – Unity, SAD 27 – Fort Kent) – Two groups at each school – sixth graders likely and not likely to attend post-secondary education
• Telephone interviews among Parents of children under age 18 (n=300)
• Telephone interviews among Students aged 12 to 17 (n=300)

Reporting the results included examining the rich detail from the qualitative research and confirming those results with the statistical rigor of the quantitative data produced from the telephone interviews. The report is a rare combination of actual verbatim quotes from the focus groups and mini groups and graphic representations depicting attitudes among a large number of Maine Parents and Students.