Enrollment Trends for Rhode Island Colleges

Student Population Changes

The average number of students over the past 11 years is 64,891, and 63,326 students were attending the schools in the academic year 2024-2025.

Of the total students, 81.39% are undergraduate students and 18.61% are graduate students. Over the past 11, the number of undergraduate students decreased by 4,356, and the graduate student enrollment increased by 1,736.

The women to men ratio is 1.39 to 1, meaning that there are more women students enrolled in Rhode Island Colleges than men students.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in student population by gender at Rhode Island Colleges since 2015.

• Trends Table
• By Gender Chart
• By Level Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	Total	Undergraduate			Graduate
		Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2014-15	65,946	55,899	24,933	30,966	10,047	4,164	5,883
2015-16	66,097 151	55,777 -122	24,547 -386	31,230 264	10,320 273	4,313 149	6,007 124
2016-17	68,247 2,150	57,395 1,618	24,918 371	32,477 1,247	10,852 532	4,494 181	6,358 351
2017-18	68,008 -239	56,643 -752	24,656 -262	31,987 -490	11,365 513	4,678 184	6,687 329
2018-19	66,329 -1,679	54,855 -1,788	23,951 -705	30,904 -1,083	11,474 109	4,727 49	6,747 60
2019-20	65,302 -1,027	53,876 -979	23,632 -319	30,244 -660	11,426 -48	4,585 -142	6,841 94
2020-21	63,403 -1,899	51,944 -1,932	22,478 -1,154	29,466 -778	11,459 33	4,464 -121	6,995 154
2021-22	62,674 -729	51,142 -802	22,286 -192	28,856 -610	11,532 73	4,487 23	7,045 50
2022-23	62,150 -524	50,733 -409	22,058 -228	28,675 -181	11,417 -115	4,389 -98	7,028 -17
2023-24	62,318 168	50,941 208	21,884 -174	29,057 382	11,377 -40	4,357 -32	7,020 -8
2024-25	63,326 1,008	51,543 602	21,980 96	29,563 506	11,783 406	4,502 145	7,281 261
Average	64,891	53,704	23,393	30,311	11,187	4,469	6,717

Undergraduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Undergraduate students over the past 11 years is 53,704. Compared 11 years ago, the number of Undergraduate students decreased by 4,356 from 55,899 to 51,543.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Undergraduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Rhode Island Colleges since 2015.

• Trends Table
• By Gender Chart
• By Status Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	Total	Fulltime			Parttime
		Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2014-15	55,899	49,963	22,484	27,479	5,936	2,449	3,487
2015-16	55,777	49,925	22,174	27,751	5,852	2,373	3,479
2016-17	57,395	50,325	22,165	28,160	7,070	2,753	4,317
2017-18	56,643	49,774	21,977	27,797	6,869	2,679	4,190
2018-19	54,855	48,325	21,451	26,874	6,530	2,500	4,030
2019-20	53,876	47,798	21,342	26,456	6,078	2,290	3,788
2020-21	51,944	45,632	19,993	25,639	6,312	2,485	3,827
2021-22	51,142	45,334	20,027	25,307	5,808	2,259	3,549
2022-23	50,733	44,909	19,783	25,126	5,824	2,275	3,549
2023-24	50,941	45,583	19,805	25,778	5,358	2,079	3,279
2024-25	51,543	45,687	19,750	25,937	5,856	2,230	3,626
Average	53,704	53,704	20,996	26,573	53,704	2,397	3,738

Graduate Enrollment Changes

The average number of Graduate students over the past 11 years is 11,187. Compared 11 years ago, the number of Graduate students increased by 1,736 from 10,047 to 11,783.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in Graduate enrollment by attending status and gender at Rhode Island Colleges since 2015.

• Trends Table
• By Gender Chart
• By Status Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	Total	Fulltime			Parttime
		Total	Men	Women	Total	Men	Women
2014-15	10,047	6,702	2,967	3,735	3,345	1,197	2,148
2015-16	10,320	6,980	3,074	3,906	3,340	1,239	2,101
2016-17	10,852	7,288	3,195	4,093	3,564	1,299	2,265
2017-18	11,365	7,527	3,286	4,241	3,838	1,392	2,446
2018-19	11,474	7,492	3,241	4,251	3,982	1,486	2,496
2019-20	11,426	7,406	3,130	4,276	4,020	1,455	2,565
2020-21	11,459	7,507	3,141	4,366	3,952	1,323	2,629
2021-22	11,532	7,779	3,212	4,567	3,753	1,275	2,478
2022-23	11,417	7,706	3,107	4,599	3,711	1,282	2,429
2023-24	11,377	7,779	3,102	4,677	3,598	1,255	2,343
2024-25	11,783	8,123	3,227	4,896	3,660	1,275	2,385
Average	11,187	11,187	3,153	4,328	11,187	1,316	2,390

Enrollment by Race/Ethnicity Changes

The percentage of white students is 56.64%. The percentage was 62.09% 10 years ago and Rhode Island Colleges still has a high percentage of white students. 6.56% of enrolled students is Asian and 7.39% is black students.

The following table and chart illustrate the student population trends by race/ethnicity at Rhode Island Colleges over the past 11 years (2014-2025).

• Trends Table
• Interactive Chart
• Downloadable Chart

Year	American Indian or Native American	Asian	Black	Hispanic	Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander	White	Two or More Races
	2014-15	215	2,772	3,726	5,812	58	40,948	1,770
2015-16	188	2,873	3,925	6,149	60	41,015	2,097
2016-17	211	3,069	4,193	6,646	107	42,243	2,037
2017-18	215	3,142	4,254	6,890	66	41,530	2,019
2018-19	193	3,152	4,195	7,027	64	39,860	1,970
2019-20	175	3,337	4,165	7,144	58	38,708	1,869
2020-21	163	3,372	4,165	7,289	51	37,850	1,868
2021-22	173	3,593	4,282	7,236	45	38,060	1,954
2022-23	175	3,752	4,307	7,366	43	36,990	2,117
2023-24	178	3,933	4,511	7,753	41	36,418	2,163
2024-25	164	4,152	4,680	8,372	49	35,871	2,333
Average	186	3,377	4,218	7,062	58	39,045	2,018

Distance Learning (Online Courses) Enrollment Changes

6,084 students are enrolled in online degree programs exclusively for the academic year 2024-2025, which is 10% of total students. The number of online students has increased 505.37% since 2013.

The following table and chart illustrate the changes in the online student population by enrolled type at Rhode Island Colleges from 2012 to 2025.

• Trends Table
• Interactive Chart