The Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education (commonly referred to as the Board of Governors is one of two State Agencies in Rhode Island used for academia, the other being the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

The Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is one of two state education agencies of Rhode Island; the other being the Board of Governors. It is headquartered in Providence. The Current Commissioner is Deborah Gist....

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Area of Responsibility

The Board of Governors oversees the Public institutions of Rhode Island, being the University of Rhode Island

University of Rhode Island

The University of Rhode Island is the principal public research university in the U.S. state of Rhode Island. Its main campus is located in Kingston. Additional campuses include the Feinstein Campus in Providence, the Narragansett Bay Campus in Narragansett, and the W. Alton Jones Campus in West...

, Rhode Island College

Rhode Island College

Rhode Island College is a nationally ranked, coeducational, state-supported comprehensive college founded in 1854, located in Providence, Rhode Island, USA...

, and the Community College of Rhode Island

Community College of Rhode Island

The Community College of Rhode Island, commonly abbreviated as "CCRI", is the only community college in Rhode Island. It was founded as Rhode Island Junior College, "RIJC", in 1964 with 325 students studying on the former Knight Estate. Today CCRI consists of six campuses and enrolls over 16,000...

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The Mission statement states that "The mission of the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education is to provide an excellent, efficient, accessible and affordable system of higher education designed to improve the overall educational attainment of Rhode Islanders and thereby enrich the intellectual, economic, social and cultural life of the state, its residents, and its communities."

In-State Tuition Controversy

In 2011, the Board of Governors approved a measure for the Rhode Island public education community, which permitted in-state tuition breaks to illegal immigrants. Incumbent Governor Lincoln Chafee

Lincoln Chafee

Lincoln Davenport Chafee is an American politician who has been the 74th Governor of Rhode Island since January 2011. Prior to his election as governor, Chafee served in the United States Senate as a Republican from 1999 until losing his Senate re-election bid in 2006 to Democrat Sheldon...

supported the measure, calling it a "policy change" that would "improve the intellectual and culture life of Rhode Island".