How did one community college quadruple their graduation rates?

How did the Community College of Rhode Island quadruple their 2-year graduation rates?

Reported by Education Dive, the Rhode Island Promise program provides high school graduates with free community college tuition contingent on them enrolling full-time. This along with other institutional initiatives has risen their graduation rate up from 4% to 18%.

The takeaway? Full-time college status, while not essential, is such an important element for degree completion. Asking a student to take one course at a time, with no breaks, and no summers off – would still take them 8 ½ years to earn a 128 credit bachelor’s degree. So how can we make that full-time reality financially affordable for those who need it most?



Eric Olsen
