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RIC’s Run of Record-Breaking Enrollment Continues

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Six female and one male RIC student stand together on the quad during summer orientation.
Rhode Island College Impact

As the college welcomes more than 1,900 new students, total enrollment surges past 6,900.

A surge of new students, both first-year and transfer, led to a third straight year of record-breaking growth for Rhode Island College as the 2026-27 academic year begins. The college welcomed more than 1,900 new students (including both first-year and transfer), driving total enrollment above 6,900, the highest since 2018. Overall, undergraduate enrollment was up more than five percent and graduate enrollment was up 3.8 percent.

“I believe that our campus community is at its best and most vibrant when we are between 6,500 and 7,000 students,” says Dr. Jack R. Warner, President of Rhode Island College. “So, we’re right in our sweet spot: big enough for campus life to thrive but still close-knit enough for professors to know each student by name.”

Those students also chose RIC with a never-before-seen level of enthusiasm. In a survey given to incoming students over the summer, 63 percent of respondents indicated that RIC was their first-choice institution, while another 26 percent identified it as their second choice.

The incoming Class of 2030 had already powered a record-breaking summer at RIC. They delivered the strongest orientation attendance New Student Programs has ever recorded, with more than 1,100 freshmen and 650+ transfer students participating throughout the summer. In total, 95% of new students attended orientation (or had an orientation waiver), including 99% of first-year students and 88% of transfer students – again, the highest ever recorded.

RIC Vice President for Student Success Cindy Kozil stands at a podium wearing a robe and holding up the Class of 2030 plaque.
Vice President for Student Success Cindy Kozil shows off the Class of 2030 plaque at First-Year Convocation.

Similarly, attendance for this summer’s Anchors Away Day – which brought incoming students to campus on August 29 for an opportunity to connect with classmates, meet peer mentors and get acquainted with their classes – was the highest ever recorded. More than 850 students participated.

The results were equally impressive at the program-specific level. The Zvart Onanian School of Nursing (SON), for example, welcomed one of the largest incoming classes in its history this fall, with more than 330 intended nursing majors enrolling. Meanwhile, the online RN-to-BSN program boasted its largest incoming cohort to date, with more than 75 new students enrolling this fall and a second cohort planned for Spring 2027. Total program enrollment is expected to exceed 150 students this year. With the combined uptick in both the undergraduate and RN-to-BSN programs, enrollment at SON is anticipated to reach a record high.

It’s not only new students adding to the momentum on campus either. Eligibility for the Hope Scholarship is growing at unprecedented levels. This year’s junior class represents the first cohort of students who were freshmen after the Hope Scholarship launched – which means they are the first students who were able to actively pursue the scholarship from their first day on campus. Fifty-two percent of them met the academic eligibility requirements for Hope. The numbers speak for themselves: more than 800 students are expected to meet the eligibility requirements for the current academic year (2026-2027) and Hope Scholars are projected to save more than $6.2 million during that time.

“I believe this college is growing because we offer a personal, student-centered experience and unmatched value,” says President Warner. “That combination is hard to beat. I’m confident that RIC’s best days are ahead of us.”