Postsecondary commissioner outlines affordability study, funding methodology and higher education priorities

Shannon Gilkey, Rhode Island—s postsecondary commissioner, told the Senate Finance Committee on March 25 that the Office of the Postsecondary Commissioner (OPC) will deliver findings from an affordability study in summer 2025 and begin a second phase to develop a methodology for funding higher education within 6–9 months after that.

Gilkey reminded senators the office serves as the administrative arm of the state—s governing board for Rhode Island College and the Community College of Rhode Island and listed six broad statutory responsibilities for OPC, including oversight, policy coordination and data management.

"We know by 2030, as an example, that 67% of jobs are projected, to need some form of post secondary education beyond high school," Gilkey said, citing workforce projections as a reason for the affordability work and investments in credential tracking and wage alignment.

Gilkey reviewed recent OPC initiatives and state investments: three statewide education centers in Westerly, Woonsocket and a nursing education center; Rhode Island Reconnect (an $8 million pandemic recovery investment that the commissioner said has connected more than 2,200 Rhode Islanders to work); need‑based grants; the Hope scholarship and Promise scholarship; and investments to improve data systems linking K–12, higher education and workforce outcomes. Gilkey said moving the longitudinal data system to OPC has enabled dashboards and research requests, and she said two FTEs proposed in the budget would allow the office to complete outstanding, funded research projects and generate sustainable revenue for the longitudinal data system.

Gilkey told senators OPC will evaluate each affordability strategy for return on investment and report preliminary results this summer, followed by a second phase to develop a funding methodology. "We would hope that'd be the case," Gilkey said when asked about timing; she told the committee she expected a conceptual approach within 6 to 9 months after the affordability study.

She also outlined OPC—s work on transfer, dual enrollment and an emerging focus on artificial intelligence in higher education. The office convened institutional leaders on AI and planned recommendations that would be reviewed by the governor—s AI task force.

Why it matters: The commissioner framed the work as an effort to stabilize and make predictable higher education financing, protect affordability for Rhode Islanders, and align credentials to wages and the state—s workforce needs.

Provenance: Commissioner Gilkey—s presentation and committee Q&A were recorded March 25, 2025.