BIDDEFORD — Officials from the Biddeford School Department and the University of New England signed an agreement Wednesday to create a program that will allow Biddeford High School students to earn enough college credits to enroll at UNE with sophomore standing.

Speaking to a crowd of a few dozen at BHS’s Little Theater Wednesday afternoon, UNE President Danielle Ripich said the partnership will further connect the university to the surrounding community and will benefit UNE, BHS and the state as a whole by keeping “quality students close to home.”

“(The partnership is) one that we’re very excited to launch,” she said. “It will enable high-performing Biddeford High students who enroll at UNE to earn college transfer credits that potentially allow them to complete their bachelor’s degree in three years – thus saving a year of tuition (and) time – and allow them to enter the workforce that much sooner.”

Superintendent of Biddeford Schools Jeremy Ray said graduation and college retention rates are up for Biddeford students, and the school system will only continue this positive growth through forming partnerships like this one.

Ray said he has even termed the new program the Nor’easter Pathway.

“In most situations you don’t want to be in the path of a Nor’easter,” he said, inciting laughs from the crowd, “but this is one where you do. … Our students have an opportunity to enter the university far ahead of their peers from across the country, from neighboring communities and around the world, protecting financial aid packages and providing an opportunity to explore minors or even double majors without the burden of additional semesters.”

BHS Principal Jeremie Sirois said the partnership is similar to ones the high school has made with Thomas College, Southern Maine Community College and St. Joseph’s College, but it is “perhaps the most sweeping in scope and significance.”

“It’s a win-win,” he said of the agreement. “UNE enrolls top-notch students who have demonstrated the smarts and tenacity to complete college-level work and our students earn college credit and have the potential to save money, declare a minor or second major or both.”

Mayor Alan Casavant, chair of the School Committee and a former BHS teacher, also spoke at Wednesday’s ceremony, calling the partnership “transformational” for the school department.

Casavant commended Ripich and UNE’s faculty for working more than ever in recent years to not only improve the university’s standing but also to build its relationship with the Biddeford community.

“This (agreement) means that our kids will have a huge first step in their college education and they’ll get a chance to taste what the demands are of those college courses,” he said, “and I truly hope that because of this there is a renewed interest in bonding the city with the university.”

Ripich said the university could accept students from the new program, which requires at least 13 satisfactory performances on Advanced Placement exams, as early as next fall.

— Staff Writer Angelo J. Verzoni can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 329 or [email protected].