Q&A with CCRI President Rosemary Costigan

Photograph courtesy of Community College of Rhode Island

When Rosemary Costigan graduated from Rhode Island Junior College in 1978, she had no idea she would one day return to the Warwick campus as head of the Community College of Rhode Island. The Pawtucket native had a two-
decade career in nursing and went on to attend Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island before returning to CCRI as a nursing professor in 1999. She was later named the interim assistant dean of nursing and appointed vice president for academic affairs in 2016. Last year, she was named president of CCRI after serving for two years in an interim capacity, becoming the first alumna to hold the post.

Costigan took on the presidency during an auspicious time for public higher education in Rhode Island. CCRI’s Promise Scholarship and RIC’s Hope Scholarship (both covering two years of tuition) have expanded access in the state like never before. At the same time, declining enrollment at private universities and sky-high tuition prices continue to send ripples throughout the higher education landscape. Costigan spoke with Rhode Island Monthly about college access and what these changes mean for CCRI during an interview at the Knight Campus in Warwick.

Can you tell us about your background and how you ended up a student at CCRI?

I grew up in a working-class family in Pawtucket. I was the first generation to go to college. I knew from an early age that I wanted to be a nurse. I had nurses in my family that I looked up to. At an early age, I was able to be exposed to them and really was drawn to that profession. When I got to high school, I was very grateful for my teachers and guidance counselors who helped me navigate the college application process. I was doing it for the first time in my family. I applied to all different types of programs, four-year programs, hospital-based programs. This is in the ’70s, so the hospitals still had nursing schools. And there was a new program, relatively new, that was at then-Rhode Island Junior College, a two-year associate degree. And so I applied to Rhode Island Junior College. And as luck would have it, that was the first college acceptance letter I received. I quickly sent in my deposit, which I’ll date myself, was $25. And the rest is history. And I never looked back. I came in right out of high school and graduated at nineteen.

Was that on this campus?

It was on the Flanagan Campus in Lincoln, and I was the first class to enter into that building. They opened their doors in September of ’76, and I was a freshman.

Are there any memories you want to share from your time at CCRI?

I very fondly remember the support that I received as a new college student and a first-generation college student. I think we underestimate what a first-generation college student has to navigate, just the social environment and the complexities that come along with it. The faculty were phenomenal. They were invested in me. I felt that from the very beginning. I enjoyed all my classes. And I particularly enjoyed a sociology class that I had, which really wound up following me throughout my educational journey, right through my doctoral program sociology framework. It opened doors to me academically that I found very stimulating and carried me for many years right through a Ph.D.

Where did you work after graduating?

I worked at Memorial Hospital in Pawtucket, and I worked there for twenty years. I worked in the intensive care unit. I worked in the operating room. I also went into administration right before I came into education.

What made you want to shift careers from nursing to full-time education?

Nursing drew me because of the impact I could have on an individual. It became a natural evolution, as I continued on with my education, that [CCRI] was the beginning, not the end. I went back and earned a bachelor’s degree from Rhode Island College in nursing. And then a master’s and a Ph.D. in nursing from the University of Rhode Island. As I advanced in my education, I really saw an opportunity to expand that impact by educating future nurses.

Was working in administration of higher ed ever on your radar before working at the college?

No, I wanted to teach. I enjoyed teaching. And part of my role at Memorial before I came into the faculty here at CCRI was helping with the orientation of new nurses and supporting them through their transition into the role. So I had a really strong affinity for teaching. And I was very happy as a faculty member. But opportunities present themselves, and I’m very grateful for those opportunities. And again, it felt very natural for me to take that next step that went from educating students to really having an impact on policy, program [and] the direction of an institution at a state level.

I love that you’ve experienced the whole spectrum of public higher ed in Rhode Island.

Yes, and I always say I’m a product of the state, and I’m very proud of that. I’ve had wonderful educational experiences. I think it helps me in this role, particularly where we service many students who are here to transfer. I’m a very passionate advocate for reducing barriers for students to transfer from CCRI to either RIC or URI or other colleges. But our sister institutions are wonderful partners. And I think my experiences have really helped reduce many barriers.

CCRI was really the forerunner of reducing barriers in the state with the Promise Scholarship. Have you seen measurable progress?

Absolutely. The Promise Scholarship is, I would say, one of the most transformative policies in the state’s history. It has opened the door to more than 19,000 students since 2017. The goal of the Promise Scholarship was twofold. It was to increase access and improve student outcomes, namely retention and graduation. We certainly have seen an increase in accessibility to the college — an almost 100 percent increase from our pre-Promise days of high school students who are coming right in as freshmen to where we are today. We also measure our graduation rates on two- and three-year marks. They are measured for first-time, full-time students. And on both of those, we have tripled and doubled those rates. The two-year we tripled and the three-year we doubled our graduation rates. We’ve also seen significant increases in underrepresented populations, students of color and lower socioeconomic students. The Promise Scholarship really opened doors for students who were most likely delaying or not considering college as an option. When you think of a public policy, a return on investment of that magnitude is very, very impressive.

What about enrollment numbers?

Before Promise, we had started to see a slight decline in college-going students. We definitely had a bump. The pandemic really impacted us in a very severe way. Our students were the service industry. They were the frontline workers. And so we took a hit that our four-year partners did not see. I think the pandemic really showed us that if you had the means, you went. We have definitely seen a drop-off in enrollment post-pandemic, but we’ve stabilized. And year over year, we’re having gradual increases The Promise Scholarship is targeted to new high school graduates. What kinds of programs are in place to help adult students who are returning? For many years, the Pell Grant has been available. That is based on need and criteria. Many of our students, I’d say more than 50 percent of our students, are eligible for some Pell dollars, up to full tuition. A couple of years ago, the General Assembly approved $5 million for what we call Fresh Start. This was for students that had started with us, had some credit, and that credit went from ten credits all the way up to maybe forty-five, fifty credits. And they were able to come back with a grant that would support them returning. And we had really good success with that. Those programs are phenomenal. They’re game changers, they really are. A degree or credential from CCRI really changes the trajectory for not only the individual, but their family and the community.

What is the full-time tuition cost at CCRI?

We’re about $6,000 for in-state. As I say often, I don’t think you could send a child to kindergarten or private grammar school for that.

We’ve been in this really tumultuous time for higher education. On one end, we’re seeing new scholarships opening up space for students of all backgrounds to attain higher education. At the other end, we’re reading headlines about soaring tuitions and private universities closing. Where does that put CCRI?

I think it really places public education in a very strong position. Public higher education is really a gateway to upward mobility. It is a public investment that has private returns for the individual, but overall contributes greatly into the community. We’re fortunate in Rhode Island. We have our three colleges, and one of each type. We have the community college, we have a comprehensive master’s-granting college at Rhode Island College, and we have a research [university]. I think we are very well positioned to serve Rhode Island students, and those from out of state as well. It’s a very good investment.

Do you still live in Rhode Island?

I do. I still live in Pawtucket.

What are some of your goals for the college?

The first goal is really to prepare the college for the future. And that’s looking ahead to say, where are opportunities for growth? Where do we need to stabilize? Setting the college up for success in the future, that’s the overarching goal. The second is really focusing on students. Student first — that is our mantra. We’re laser focused on student success. Last year we partnered with Achieving the Dream. This is a student success initiative with community colleges nationally. And we are focused on improving retention and ensuring that every student that comes through our doors has the support they need and a pathway to graduation. At my installation as president, I said in my remarks, we won’t ask whether a student’s ready for college. We need to look inside and say, are we ready for every student that comes to us? And then the third one is community colleges are very well-positioned to support workforce training. And CCRI has done this since we opened our doors in 1964. And there is going to be a greater emphasis on this over the next ten to twenty years, where we need to be very nimble in meeting our partners in the community, their training needs, short-term training credentials that are stackable that come into the academic degree pathways, and continuing to be engaged with the community in terms of what are the workforce needs and responding to that. CCRI is a very big engine to meet those needs, and we do that every day.

You’re a mom of five children and a grandmother. How many grandkids?

Eight. Six granddaughters and two grandsons. They get a kick out of their grandmother being a president.

When your children were graduating from high school, how did the college landscape compare to your own experience?

I think that’s where I really recognized the challenge of being a first-generation student compared to the experience that my children had. It was those little things about registration and keeping on track with your program of study and advocating for themselves. That was the shift. You don’t know what you’re missing until you see it in someone else. Coming into college for me, I didn’t feel that I was at a disadvantage. But a lot of things made sense to me when I was a mother to college-aged children, and my husband also has a graduate degree, and we were able to help them navigate a very complex system. If you’re seventeen or eighteen years old and you’re doing it yourself, it’s very challenging.

Where is your favorite place in Rhode Island?

I would say anywhere there’s a coastline. Newport, Narragansett, Block Island. I love having access to the ocean. We’re so fortunate. It’s such a beautiful state. And of course, I would be remiss if I did not include the four campuses of CCRI.

Was there anything else you wanted to share?

One of the achievements of this past year was the proposal to build a Workforce Innovation Center, which will be on bond in November with our colleagues from Rhode Island College and the University of Rhode Island. This is a $60 million state-of-the-art workforce training center that will allow us to grow in the skilled trades, advanced manufacturing, technology and business. It will be located right here if it passes on that swath of land that you can see there. It is a 44,000-square-foot building. And it is the first major infrastructure investment that we’ve had since the Newport campus, which was about twenty-five years ago. When the college opened its doors, it was primarily a transferring institution back in the ’60s and ’70s with nursing, a few limited career-ready programs. But we’ve evolved, and demand is there, talking with our partners in the community. And I believe this will be another opportunity for Rhode Islanders to access training programs and move upward in their economic [status] and quality of life and contribute to the economy in Rhode Island. With the shifts that we talked about — the return on investment, the value of college — students today are looking at alternative pathways, and we need to be ready for that.

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This interview has been edited for length and clarity.