• Since 1997, Providence College consistently has ranked among the top two regional universities in the north, according to U.S. News' popular college guidebook, America's Best Colleges -- including a #1 ranking in its 1998 edition, and ranking #2 in the 2008 edition.
• The College's 85 percent graduation rate, considered a "key criteria in judging schools" by U.S. News editors, is the second highest among its 574 peer institutions nationwide.
• Providence College also is listed by U.S. News among the top 15 schools in its category offering the "best value" which relates a school's academic quality to the net cost of attendance for a student who receives the average level of need-based financial aid.
• Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine recognized Providence College in April 2008 as among the nation's top colleges and universities which provide financial aid that "slashes the cost of private education." The editors placed the College 27th among 50 universities in its category (just behind such schools as Georgetown University, the University of Notre Dame, Wake Forest University, and Boston College.) The measurement considered academic quality and affordability, with quality factors accounting for two-thirds of the total.
• In February 2008, the Corporation for National and Community Service named Providence College to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll for exemplary service efforts and service to disadvantaged youth
• Providence College is a member of the Council on Undergraduate Research (CUR), an organization of individual and institutional members representing more than 900 colleges and universities nationwide. The aim of CUR and its affiliated institutions is to provide undergraduate research opportunities for faculty and students.
• College President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. was elected to serve a three-year term on the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities' (NAICU) Board of Directors. The NAICU is considered the leading national association representing private higher-education institutions on policy issues with the federal government.
• April 2008, Father Shanley was among a group of the leaders of the nation's Catholic colleges and universities who attended a special session with Pope Benedict XVI during his first visit to the United States. In his address, the Pope remarked that Catholic education must remain "accessible to people of all social and economic strata." Pope Benedict also noted that Catholic education has "helped generations of immigrants to rise from poverty and take their place in mainstream society." Providence College remains committed to inviting and enrolling applicants from underrepresented populations, including economically disadvantaged students from urban schools and first-generation college students. In recent years, the College has reinvigorated this mission by removing the barrier of standardized testing for applicants and by devoting greater resources to need-based scholarships.

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