US NEWS & WORLD REPORT

RANKED BRYANT #7 IN THEIR REGIONAL UNIVERSITIES NORTH CATEGORY FOR 2023

Warner knows that capital investments, recruitment initiatives, and new programs are necessary parts of the strategic puzzle. But as CCRI’s Parente notes, it’s about providing personalized support, and RIC gets that, as well. Micaela Daley, a 25-yearold East Greenwich resident who has been a case worker with Lifespan for three years, recently applied to RIC’s super-competitive Master of Social Work (MSW) program, ranked in the top 10 nationally. While her application was rejected in April, the program’s director of admissions, Paula

Coutinho, invited Daley in for a meeting to discuss how she might strengthen her odds. “She really took the time to sit with me and explain how I could be a stronger candidate,” Daley recalls of the meeting. Coutinho suggested Daley take a class in the program as a non-matriculating student. If she does well, she can reapply to the program at no cost. “They didn’t just write me o ,” Daley says. She will enroll in the fall for that class and hopes to reapply for the MSW early next year. Consider it all a kinder, gentler approach to the admissions process. And perhaps it’s been long overdue. Gone are the days of the form letter that wishes rejected students good luck in their “future endeavors.”

“The last 10 years have taught us a lot about how we anticipate the trends,” says Dean Libutti, associate vice president for enrollment and student success at URI. “We have to think about the whole student experience – give students a sense of place and identity,” he says. “That’s what it means to be a university these days. Ultimately, to evolve.”