PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) — State higher education officials have approved a new three-year contract for Community College of Rhode Island President Meghan Hughes despite opposition from the faculty union.

The Council of Post-Secondary Education unanimously approved the contract Tuesday after an hourlong meeting.

Council members praised Hughes for her leadership and her implementation of the Rhode Island Promise scholarship program that covers two years of tuition at the school.

The faculty and other unions in a letter to the council say they feel disrespected by Hughes.

CCRI has campuses in Warwick, Lincoln, Providence and Newport and a satellite center in Westerly.