Rhode Island’s higher education governance underwent significant restructuring in 2014 with the creation of a unified Board of Education overseeing both K-12 and postsecondary education. Within the BoE, the Rhode Island Council on Postsecondary Education (CPE), serves as the governing board for two of the three public higher education institutions, Rhode Island College (RIC) and Community College of Rhode Island (CCRI). The University of Rhode Island (URI) was withdrawn from CPE jurisdiction in 2019 and a distinct governing board was created for it in the annual budget bill. The Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner is the affiliated administrative agency and charged with carrying out board policies and coordinating system-wide initiatives.
