| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Type | Public two-year community college, Rhode Island’s only one; campus and online classes |
| Campuses | Four, all in Rhode Island: Warwick (main), Lincoln, Providence and Newport; plus education centers in Westerly and Woonsocket |
| Students | 12,275 in fall 2024, 38% full time (College Navigator) |
| Credentials | Certificates, a Practical Nursing diploma, and AAS, AS, ASB, AA and AFA associate degrees |
| Program length | About a year for practical nursing and most health certificates; two years or more for associate degrees |
| Tuition 2026-27 | $255 per credit in-state, $380 regional, $756 out-of-state; full-time flat rate $2,792 a semester in-state |
| Accreditation | NECHE since 1969; continued September 2024, next comprehensive evaluation spring 2034 |
| Federal aid | Yes |
| Founded | 1964, as Rhode Island Junior College; current name since 1980 |
| Facts checked | 9 October 2026 |
Rhode Island’s public community college
The Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI) is the state’s only public community college. It opened on 24 September 1964 as Rhode Island Junior College, with 325 students in Providence, and took its current name in 1980. Today it teaches at four campuses in Warwick, Lincoln, Providence and Newport, at two smaller education centers in Westerly and Woonsocket, and online; 12,275 students were enrolled in fall 2024, 38% of them full time. For career training the main draw is health care: registered and practical nursing and nine allied health programs with their own programmatic accreditation, six of them taught only at the Flanagan Campus in Lincoln. Many of its programs are transfer tracks to Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island.
Career programs at CCRI’s four campuses
The catalog lists far more programs than the table, many of them transfer tracks to Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island. The table covers the main career programs and where their major courses are taught; a dash means we did not find it on CCRI’s pages. Each health program fixes its campus, so where a student lives matters: most allied health is only in Lincoln, and the therapy assistant and massage programs only in Newport.
| Program | Credential | Length and schedule | Where | Prepares for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nursing (RN) | AS, 66 credits (11 of them prerequisites) | Four semesters after prerequisites; day or evening/weekend | Day: Knight, Liston, Newport. Evening/weekend: Knight, Flanagan | NCLEX-RN |
| Practical Nursing (LPN) | Diploma, 46 credits | Two semesters and a summer | Knight only | NCLEX-PN |
| Dental Hygiene | AAS, 81 credits | – | Flanagan only | Dental hygiene board exams |
| Dental Assisting | Certificate, 39 credits | Two semesters | Flanagan only | DANB CDA |
| Radiography | AAS, 77–78 credits | 24 months | Flanagan only | ARRT |
| Respiratory Therapy | AAS, 70 credits | – | Flanagan only | NBRC CRT and RRT |
| Diagnostic Medical Sonography | AAS, 66–67 credits | 24 months, five semesters, September start | Flanagan only | ARDMS |
| Surgical Technology | AAS, 61 credits | Two years, full time | Flanagan only | Not stated by CCRI |
| Medical Laboratory Technology | AAS, 75 credits | Three semesters on campus, two at a clinical laboratory | Flanagan only | ASCP BOC |
| Occupational Therapy Assistant | AAS, 72 credits | Evening and weekend; daytime fieldwork | Newport only | NBCOT |
| Physical Therapist Assistant | AAS, 70 credits | Six semesters | Newport only | NPTE |
| Therapeutic Massage | Certificate, 38 credits, 800 hours | 12 months, evening and weekend | Newport only | MBLEx |
| Phlebotomy | Certificate, 19 credits | Two part-time semesters and a three-week full-time clinical | – | National phlebotomy certification exam |
| Medical Insurance Billing Specialist | Certificate, 18 credits | Two semesters, fall start, daytime | Knight only | AAPC CPC, NHA CBCS and CEHRS |
| Fire Science | AAS, 63–64 credits, includes EMT Basic | At least one course online | Knight or Flanagan | – |
| Cybersecurity | AS, 61–62 credits, and certificates | Day, evening or online | All four campuses | – |
| Computer Programming; Networking Technician | AS, 61–63 credits; certificate, 18 credits | At least one course online (Computer Programming) | Knight | Cisco CCNA (networking certificate) |
| Paralegal Studies | AS, 62 credits, and certificate | – | Knight | – |
| Business Administration, Management | ASB, 62–64 credits | On campus or fully online | Any campus or online | – |
Most of the health programs hold their own accreditation: ACEN for the Nursing AS and Practical Nursing diploma (next visit fall 2027), CODA for Dental Hygiene and Dental Assisting, JRCERT for Radiography, CoARC for Respiratory Therapy, CAAHEP for Sonography, NAACLS for Medical Laboratory Technology, ACOTE for the OTA degree, CAPTE for the PTA degree and COMTA for Therapeutic Massage. ACBSP accredits the business programs. CCRI’s pages name no accreditor for Surgical Technology and no American Bar Association approval for Paralegal Studies.
What the main programs cover
Nursing (RN), Associate in Science
Getting in is the first hurdle. Applicants complete BIOL 2201, ENGL 1010 and PSYC 2010 with at least a C, and anatomy and physiology credit can be no more than six years old. They also need HESI A2 scores of 75% or more in vocabulary and grammar and a cumulative GPA of 2.7. Applications open 1 February to 31 March for fall and 1 August to 30 September for spring. Once in, CCRI tells students to expect 55 to 60 hours of work a week.
Practical Nursing diploma
The practical nursing course compresses its 46 credits into two semesters and a summer at the Knight Campus. Applicants need ENGL 1010 and BIOL 2201 with at least a C before they can apply through the points-based health sciences application, and CNA licence holders get extra points. CCRI reports that 77.5% of the 2024 class finished within three semesters, up from 62% in 2022. Graduates who later want the RN can return through the LPN-to-RN option in the Nursing AS.
Surgical Technology
Surgical technology includes a clinical practicum: the program requires at least 500 practicum hours and 120 cases in the scrubbed role. It is a full-time program, and acceptance is conditional, because applicants must finish 14 credits of prerequisites in the spring semester when they apply. Admission also needs a 2.5 GPA and an ACCUPLACER reading score of 259. All lecture and lab courses for the major meet at the Flanagan Campus.
Physical Therapist Assistant
The PTA degree combines 27 credits of general education with 43 technical credits across six semesters, all at the Newport County Campus. Its clinical education adds up to 720 contact hours in clinical settings, on top of the classroom and lab work. One table on CCRI’s information sheet shows 19 of 21 students in 2023 and 16 of 19 in 2022 graduating within the expected time; a second table on the same page gives slightly different rates.
Medical Insurance Billing Specialist
This certificate trains students for the business side of medical offices rather than clinical work. Courses cover the ICD-CM diagnosis codes, CPT procedure codes and HCPCS Level II supply codes that insurers use, and it prepares students for three industry exams: the AAPC’s Certified Professional Coder, and the NHA’s billing and coding and electronic health records certifications. Classes are daytime only and start each fall, so it suits students who can attend on weekdays.
Fire Science
The Fire Science degree follows the national FESHE curriculum model and builds in FIRE 1130, an eight-credit EMT Basic course, so graduates leave with emergency medical training as well as fire science coursework. At least one course has to be taken online. CCRI’s pages say nothing about Firefighter I or II certification, so students aiming at a fire department should ask how the degree fits its hiring. The Public Safety Readiness certificate, which prepared students for fire and police academies, is suspended and not taking new students.
Tuition for 2026-27 and how students pay
CCRI charges by the credit up to 11 credits and a flat rate from 12 credits, with three residency levels; the regional rate is the New England Board of Higher Education (NEBHE) rate. The Rhode Island Board of Education sets the rates and says they are subject to change.
| 2026-27, per semester | In-state | Regional (NEBHE) | Out-of-state |
|---|---|---|---|
| Part-time tuition, per credit (up to 11 credits) | $255 | $380 | $756 |
| Full-time flat tuition (12 or more credits) | $2,792 | $4,186 | $7,900 |
| Mandatory fees, full time | $249 | $249 | $249 |
| First Day Complete course materials, per credit | $21 | $21 | $21 |
By our calculation, a full-time Rhode Island resident pays $3,041 a semester in tuition and mandatory fees, or $6,082 for fall and spring, and $6,586 a year with First Day Complete materials at 12 credits a semester. Some programs add their own charges: a $100 nursing clinical fee and HESI testing fees of $100 and $200, a $100 dental hygiene fee, and lab fees of $10 or $20 in lab courses. Students taking 16 or more credits pay a $100 administrative fee. College Navigator puts the average net price at $6,475 for 2023-24, for full-time first-year in-state students who received grants.
Federal aid and Rhode Island Promise
CCRI takes part in federal student aid. Rhode Island Promise gives two years of tuition-free study to Rhode Island residents who finish high school or a GED at 18 or younger (19 to 21 by appeal) and enroll in the next term. It covers associate degree programs only, not certificates. To keep it, students take at least 9 credits each fall and spring, earn 24 credits in their first year and hold a 2.5 GPA; fall 2026 starters must file the 2026-27 FAFSA. CCRI’s workforce division also runs some free non-credit training for those who qualify, such as a 14-week welding course at a shipyard partner and employer-sponsored CNA classes.
Open admission, selective health programs
The college itself has open admission. The health programs do not: they use a points-based Performance-Based Health Sciences application that does not guarantee a seat, and accepted students need a criminal background check, health requirements tracked through CastleBranch and a mandatory orientation. GPA floors vary, from 2.0 for Sonography and the dental programs to 2.5 for Respiratory Therapy and Surgical Technology and 2.7 for the RN. Schedules depend on the program: OTA and massage run in the evenings and at weekends in Newport, the RN has evening and weekend sections at Knight and Flanagan, and many Knight IT and business programs require at least one online course. In fall 2024, 19% of students took only distance courses.
Accreditation and published results
The New England Commission of Higher Education (NECHE) has accredited CCRI since 1969. After an evaluation visit in March 2024, NECHE continued its accreditation in September 2024, and the next comprehensive evaluation is due in spring 2034. We found no sanction on NECHE’s record.
| Measure | Result | Period and source |
|---|---|---|
| Nursing AS, NCLEX-RN pass rate | 84.81% | 2025; 91.29% in 2024 and 75.00% in 2023 (CCRI RN program page, which does not say first-time) |
| Nursing AS, job placement | 55% | 2024; 64% in 2023 and 91% in 2022 (CCRI, no definition given) |
| Practical Nursing, NCLEX-PN pass rate | 90.00% | 2025; 91.84% in 2024 and 88.00% in 2023 (CCRI) |
| Practical Nursing, job placement | 94% | 2024; 91% in 2023 and 100% in 2022 (CCRI) |
| Radiography, ARRT exam pass rate / job placement / completion | 88% / 100% / 89% | As reported to JRCERT; years not shown |
| Physical Therapist Assistant, first-time NPTE pass rate | 68% | 2023, the latest year on CCRI’s PTA page; 84.6% in 2022 |
| Graduation within 150% of normal time | 26% | Full-time, first-time students who began in fall 2021 (College Navigator); 10% transferred out |
| Retention | 59% full time, 44% part time | Fall 2023 entrants still enrolled in fall 2024 (College Navigator) |
The program figures come from CCRI’s own program pages and the JRCERT listing; we did not check them against licensing board reports. Dental, respiratory, sonography, laboratory, OTA, surgical technology and massage pages do not publish pass or placement rates. Our limited searches in October 2026 found no lawsuits, settlements or regulatory actions against the college from 2023 to 2026.
Before you enroll
- RN placement has dropped. CCRI’s NCLEX-RN pass rate recovered to 91.29% in 2024 and 84.81% in 2025, but its own job placement figure for RN graduates fell from 91% in 2022 to 55% in 2024.
- The campus decides the program. Seven allied health programs are taught only in Lincoln and three only in Newport, and RN students cannot switch campuses once accepted.
- Rhode Island Promise covers associate degrees only, so certificate students, including those in dental assisting and therapeutic massage, pay tuition themselves or use other aid.
- Some program names promise more than they deliver. Applied Engineering and Energy Systems trains engineering and energy technicians and gives no electrician licence or apprenticeship hours, and the Criminal Justice AS is a transfer degree with no police academy certification.
- Only 26% of full-time, first-time students who started in fall 2021 graduated within three years, and 59% of full-time students who started in fall 2023 returned in fall 2024.
Commuting, clinicals and transfer
CCRI is a commuter college; its campus pages mention no residence halls. Several programs build work experience into the degree: two semesters at a clinical laboratory for medical laboratory technology, 720 clinical hours for PTA, 500 practicum hours for surgical technology, and an internship in the Data Analytics certificate. For students who plan to continue, the Joint Admissions Agreement leads to Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island, and Business Management graduates with a 2.4 GPA are guaranteed admission to either.
What students say on Niche
On Niche, Community College of Rhode Island has 3.79 out of 5 from 949 reviews and an overall grade of C+ (checked 9 October 2026). Reviewers most often praise professors who want students to succeed, helpful advisors and staff, and easy access to classes across the campuses with flexible hours. The complaints Niche summarizes are thin student life and activities and weak communication about tutoring and events. The reviews we could see were all positive, so the complaint themes rest on Niche’s own summary, and we could not tell whether reviews were invited by the college. We did not check Trustpilot or GradReports.
Sources
Checked 9 October 2026: CCRI campuses · 2026-27 program catalog · Fall 2026 tuition and fees · RN program overview · NECHE record · College Navigator · Niche
Programs & Courses
Nursing
- Nursing (RN), Associate in Science
- Practical Nursing (LPN) Diploma
Health Sciences
- Dental Hygiene (AAS)
- Dental Assisting (certificate)
- Radiography (AAS)
- Diagnostic Medical Sonography (AAS)
- Respiratory Therapy (AAS)
- Surgical Technology (AAS)
- Medical Laboratory Technology (AAS)
- Occupational Therapy Assistant (AAS)
- Physical Therapist Assistant (AAS)
- Therapeutic Massage (certificate)
- Phlebotomy (certificate)
- Medical Insurance Billing Specialist (certificate)
Public Safety
- Fire Science (AAS, includes EMT Basic)
Business
- Business Administration: General Business (ASB)
- Business Administration: Management (ASB and certificate; also fully online)
- Accounting (ASB and certificates)
- Financial Services (ASB and certificate)
- Marketing (ASB and certificate)
- Entrepreneurship (certificate)
Computer and Information Technology
- Computer Programming (AS)
- Software Development (certificate)
- Data Analytics (certificate)
- Networking Technology (AS) and Networking Technician (certificate)
- Cybersecurity (AS) and Cyber Defense (certificate)
Criminal Justice and Law
- Legal Studies, Paralegal Studies (AS and certificate)
- Criminal Justice (AS, transfer-oriented)
Education and Design
- Early Childhood Education and Child Development (AA)
- Human Services, Early Childhood (certificate)
- Graphic Design (certificate)
Engineering and Technical Studies
- Applied Engineering and Energy Systems (AS; energy technician, not an electrician program)
- Technical Studies (AAS, individually designed, can credit prior apprenticeship)
Campus Locations
Providence (Warwick), RI 400 East Ave., Warwick, RI 02886
Providence (Lincoln), RI 1762 Louisquisset Pike, Lincoln, RI 02865
Providence, RI One Hilton St., Providence, RI 02905
Newport, RI One John H. Chafee Blvd., Newport, RI 02840