83% of CCRI tuition-free students return for spring semester

Posted 5/4/18

The first students in the historic Rhode Island Promise Scholarship program are in their second semester at the Community College of Rhode Island, and so far the numbers related to their success are …

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83% of CCRI tuition-free students return for spring semester

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The first students in the historic Rhode Island Promise Scholarship program are in their second semester at the Community College of Rhode Island, and so far the numbers related to their success are encouraging according to the college.

CCRI saw a 43 percent increase in the number of first-time, full-time, straight-from-high school freshmen – 1,577 students – this fall as a result of Rhode Island Promise. Of this first cohort, 83 percent made the transition from the fall to spring semesters.

To put this in context, when Tennessee launched its Promise program in 2014, it experienced a 79 percent retention rate for the first cohort of community college students. Tennessee also had more than a year to launch and recruit for their Promise program while CCRI had less than four weeks and no extra marketing dollars.

“Like other states that have launched Promise programs, we have looked to the Tennessee model as a measuring stick for success,” Sara Enright, vice president of student affairs and chief outcomes officer at CCRI said in a statement. “We are very pleased with the early success of our first Promise Scholars, but we know there is still work to be done. We have to continue to be laser-focused on giving these students the tools and resources they need to graduate and transfer efficiently and on time.”

The college has seen a significant climb in first-time, full-time students on track to graduate in two years. Compared with last year’s cohort, CCRI saw a 240 percent increase in the number of students who are on track to graduate in two years – those who have earned at least 15 college-level credits and have a 2.5 GPA after their first semester.

While the college’s focus has largely been on providing services to help current Promise Scholars succeed, the process of recruiting for the second cohort is already underway.

“This time last year, our Rhode Island high school students had no idea that a free-tuition program would be in their futures,” Enright said. “This year we know there will be an increase in the number of students who take advantage of the program, and we’re ready to serve them. We are hiring more advisers to provide personal guidance, we are continuing to take down barriers related to developmental education, and we are committing significant resources to support completion and transfer.”

Rhode Island Promise is a last-dollar scholarship designed to cover tuition and fee costs for Class of 2017-2020 high school graduates and GED credential recipients after financial aid is applied.

Additional information about the Rhode Island Promise program is available at www.ccri.edu/

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The Community College of Rhode Island, New England’s largest community college, has full-service campuses in Warwick, Lincoln, Providence and Newport. CCRI enrolls an average of 15,000 students in credit courses and thousands more in noncredit and workforce training classes and programs.

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