A new review of how Rhode Island’s public colleges and university compare with their peers shows that their tuition and fees are well below the New England averages for comparable institutions – but so are the graduation rates for two of the three schools.
The study, based on data from 2005, was prepared by the Center for Labor Market Studies at Northeastern University for the R.I. Board of Governors for Higher Education.
Amid rising concerns about affordability, the news on tuition and fees was good, said R.I. Higher Education Commissioner Jack Warner.
The University of Rhode Island’s full-time tuition and mandatory fees for in-state students were $7,284, 18.8 percent lower than the $8,652 average for New England flagship universities. Costs for out-of-state students were also lower, $19,926, versus an average of $20,370.
Rhode Island College compared even more favorably, at $4,676 for in-state students, 27.7 percent lower than the $5,971 for New England master’s-level public colleges. Out-of-state tuition and fees were $11,988, compared with a $13,166 average.
At the Community College of Rhode Island, in-state tuition and fees were $2,470, 27.2 percent lower than the $3,143 average for public two-year colleges in the region. Out-of-state costs for CCRI were $6,700 versus $7,924 in New England.
(All three schools have since raised their tuition and fees, to $7,724 for URI, $4,958 for RIC and $2,686 for CCRI – all for in-state students – this academic year. Comparable regional averages are not yet available.)
“We’re doing a good job with tuition and fees,” said Warner. “Our state support has only grown about 0.5 percent per year for the past six years, so that means that the increased costs of doing business have all been on the tuition and fees side.”
But in graduation rates, Warner added, “we have some challenges, and we want to see improvements.”
At URI, the share of full-time freshmen who graduate within six years is 55.8 percent, compared with an average of 63.8 percent for New England flagship universities. RIC’s graduation rate is 44.1 percent, compared with 43.9 percent for its New England peers. (Those figures don’t include transfers to other schools.)
At CCRI, 32 percent of students graduate or transfer to four-year institutions within three years, compared with a 35.1-percent average for New England two-year public colleges.
For minorities, the statistics are even worse.
URI graduates only 47.4 percent of the minority students who start there as full-time freshmen within six years, and RIC graduates only 27.7 percent – compared with 56.8 percent and 36.5 percent, respectively. CCRI slightly outperforms its peers, however, with a minority graduation and transfer rate of 30.9 percent, compared with a New England average of 27.3 percent.
Warner said the low graduation rates for minorities are particularly worrisome considering the changing demographics of the state. “Since the coming demographic is more minorities, specifically Latinos, we’d like to see a closing of the gap,” he said.
At URI and RIC, Warner said, new student housing development is expected to have “a positive impact on retention rates.” At URI 800 more students will be able to have housing, and at RIC there will be an additional 360 beds.
Warner said the housing is designed for students in their later years of college, because that is where the problem lies.
“If you look at first-year retention rates we do quite well at all three institutions, so that tells us the dropouts are occurring later,” he said.
“College students face lots of challenges because even though our tuition and fees are lower than most,” he added. “Even with the help of parents and financial aid, students are working more. And a little work is good, but a lot of work impedes progress.”
Mark Motte, assistant vice president for academic affairs at RIC, said the biggest focus there right now is improving student advising. A committee was created last fall to address the issue, which surveys have shown is a major concern for students.
“It’s clear to get students to graduate in a timely fashion, they need very targeted information such as the academic tracks available and the requirements of their major,” Motte said. “[They] need that one-on-one advice.”
CCRI is also addressing this problem, in part through the creation of a new position, an associate vice president for student services, to focus on boosting retention and graduation rates.
But President Ray M. Di Pasquale said another issue the college faces is that more students are coming to CCRI in need of remedial work.
“In 2002, we had approximately 6,000 students here who needed remedial help in writing, reading or mathematics,” Di Pasquale said. “Today, we have over 9,000 who need at least some remedial work. We need to concentrate on the students that enter our door and we need do a better job of keeping them and helping them.”
Warner said he believes that is possible at all of the state institutions.
“We’re committed to continue to fuel the Rhode Island economy with graduates that have the skills they need,” he said. “We know employment growth is going to be in the sectors that rely on college-educated workers.”
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