New college-credit and biomedical programs added at the high school

What happened

On March 5, 2026 the committee approved a contract with the New England Institute of Technology for a two-year pilot giving Smithfield High School students dual-enrollment courses, at $1,067 per student plus books, alongside the existing CCRI Running Start programme at $2,784 per student. The principal told the committee NEIT credits do not usually transfer to other colleges while CCRI credits generally do, and students will need a minimum grade point average and good attendance to be endorsed. In January the district's biomedical science programme was approved by the state, letting Smithfield accept out-of-district students from the autumn.

Why it matters to families

These are ways for students to earn college credit and job qualifications while still at the high school, and the difference in whether credits transfer matters when they apply to college.

The evidence

The March 5, 2026 approved minutes record the 5-0 vote approving the NEIT contract, the per-student costs for both programmes, the warning about credit transferability and the GPA and attendance requirements; the January 8, 2026 minutes record the state's approval of the BioMed programme.

The source