Welcome back to the PNPI Explorer blog series, where we examine higher education data in different states. This week’s spotlight is on Rhode Island.

In 2022 in Rhode Island, there were 13 institutions serving 62,632 full-time equivalent (FTE) students. Using the Comparison Tool, we can examine the percentage of students enrolled exclusively in person at Rhode Island institutions. With 71.79% of Rhode Island students enrolled exclusively in in-person education, Rhode Island is more than 20 percentage points above the national average and outpaces all other U.S. states and territories.

The percentage of Rhode Island students enrolled in some distance education has varied over time. While historically far lower than the national average, Rhode Island saw 38.3% of its students receive some distance education in 2020, surpassing the national average of 30.6%. This percentage receded in 2021 and 2022, suggesting that this was a COVID-19 era anomaly.

Find something interesting about Rhode Island that you would like to share with us? Drop us a note via our feedback page or discuss your findings on LinkedIn! Check back next week when we explore data insights about South Carolina.

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