Beginning in the fall, students will be able to work toward their high school equivalency diploma (GED) and earn college credits at the same time thanks to The Community College of Rhode Island’s “College Now” transition program.

Through the college’s Center for Workforce and Community Education, students who qualify based on an appraisal can enroll in both a GED class and a three-credit college success course at no charge.

Classes begin Sept. 8 and will be held during the day at the Liston Campus in Providence and in the evening at the Flanagan Campus in Lincoln. For more information, call Angela Salvadore at (401) 455-6140 or e-mail asalvadore@ccri.edu.

Three students at Salve Regina University, junior Carin Heaney and seniors Alexandra Pereira and Samantha Sandland, are spending the summer investigating whether Applied Behavior Analysis can help children with autism become more aware of their social environment. Their work is done under the direction of Associate professor of psychology Sheila O’Brien Quinn

The students have each assumed responsibility for three children and will present the preliminary results of their research on Aug. 3 at the Ryan Center.

The research, supported by a grant from the National Institute of Health, is expected to continue for five years with the goal that 35 children with autism will receive this intensive programming. At least 15 Salve Regina students will be able to participate in the research.

New England Institute of Technology, 2480 Post Rd., Warwick, will hold its summer Tech Nite Aug. 11 from 4 to 8 p.m.

Prospective students will have an opportunity to tour the campus and speak with faculty, admissions and financial aid personnel. For more information, visit www.neit.edu or call 1 (800) 736-7744 or (401) 739-5000.

Johnson & Wales University will hold an open house for its Graduate School and Continuing Education programs Aug. 19 beginning at 5 p.m. For more information on the graduate school, call (401) 598-1015. For the continuing education program, call 401-598-2342.

The office of marine programs at the University of Rhode Island will provide marine science education programs for visitors to a new division of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History. The partnership involves educational activities for Sant Ocean Hall, said to be the largest museum exhibition in the United States.

The partnership is funded in part by a five-year, $2-million grant awarded to URI last year by the National Science Foundation to serve as the central coordinating office for the national Centers for Ocean Sciences Education Excellence Network.

The Hope Commons Dining Center at the University of Rhode Island has won the grand prize in national collegiate food service competition run by the National Association of College and University Food Services, the leading national trade group for college food services.

URI’s dining center, which has drawn interest from schools in many parts of the country, features a main dining hall with multiple stations featuring hundreds of food choices, a retail operation that features Starbucks coffee, pastries, brick oven pizza, ice cream, pizza, special entertainment events and a convenience store.