> Profile of Excellence
> The Class of 2007
> An Invaluable Resource through Vital Community Partnerships

• 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 2007 edition.

• The College's 85 percent graduation rate, considered a "key criteria in judging schools" by the editors, is the highest among its peer institutions nationwide. Providence College also is listed 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.

• U.S. News has cited the College in the service-learning category which lists "outstanding examples of academic programs that are believed to lead to student success." Providence is among the 25 institutions cited most frequently by college presidents, chief academic officers, and deans of admission as having expertise in community service-learning.

• Kiplinger's Personal Finance Magazine recently recognized Providence College 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 26th 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 July 2006, Providence College introduced a four-year pilot program to stop requiring undergraduate applicants to submit SAT or ACT scores as part of the admission application. The College enacted this policy change because it fit clearly with the College mission and a commitment to remain true to its roots even as it seeks to adapt to a changing marketplace.

• Providence was the first institution among its top ten U.S. News peers in each of four geographic regions, and the second Catholic institution among over 200 four-year Catholic colleges and universities in the nation, to adopt a test-optional policy. Prospective students who choose not to submit standardized test scores receive full consideration, without penalty, for both admission and merit-based scholarships.

• The Class of 2011 results are unofficial at this point, but an initial assessment of the new policies is encouraging.  Providence College received almost 9,800 applications for 960 class spaces. The pool included a 6.7% increase in applications from AHANA (Asian, Hispanic, African-American, Native American) students, and a 20.1% increase in applications from candidates who are first-generation college bound. By early May, the College had enrolled a class that included 37.8% more students from AHANA backgrounds and 20.5% more first generation students; the percentage of the class that was Pell Grant eligible increased from 7.3% for the Class of 2010 to 12.3% of the Class of 2011.
  

• A total of 1,288 degrees will be awarded during this year's Commencement Exercises to:
  • 926 students from the undergraduate day school
  • 243 students from the Graduate Studies Program - including two doctoral degrees in history
  • 115 students from the School of Continuing Education
  • Four distinguished guests - including two Providence College alumni - receiving Honorary Degrees

• Undergraduate day school students come from 28 states and two foreign countries(Botswana and Brazil)

• Gender distribution for undergraduate day school students:
  • Female - 58%
  • Male - 42%

• Most popular day school undergraduate majors:
  • Marketing, Management, Political Science, English, Elementary/Special Education

• Members of the Providence College class of 2007 will pursue post-graduate studies in medicine, law, pharmacy, dentistry, business and a host of other professional and academic fields at more than 125 colleges and universities across the nation and abroad including Brown University, Boston University, Columbia University, Fordham University, Harvard University, John Hopkins University, Simmons College, Tufts University, University of Edinburgh, University of Glasgow, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, University of Notre Dame, University of Pennsylvania, and Yale University.

• The list of employers who have successfully recruited this year's Providence College graduates is equally impressive. Corporate leaders include: Citigroup Global & Investment Bank, Deloitte & Touche, EMC Corporation, Ernst & Young, Fidelity Investments, Goldman Sachs, John Hancock Financial, Johnson & Johnson, KPMG, Nestle USA, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Raytheon Corporation, and Smith Barney.

• Not-for-profit service employers include: American Cancer Society, Jesuit Volunteer Corps, New England Center for Children, Northeast Hope International School (China), Teach for America, and U.S. Peace Corps.

• Graduates will teach at public schools in a number of cities including Baltimore, Los Angeles, Miami, and New York City.

• Community service initiatives are a vital part of the Providence College experience. During this academic year, approximately 2,000 students volunteered over 45,000 hours at 85 community agencies, schools, and other non-profit sites in the greater Providence area. Volunteer service is provided through the Office of Campus Ministry, Feinstein Institute of Public Service, Student Athlete Advisory Board, and scores of student clubs, organizations, and classes. Among the most notable are the following programs that included collaboration with the City of Providence.

• This fall, 150 members of Providence College's freshman class spent their first days in Providence participating in the College's 16th annual Urban Action program. Joining 25 upper-classmen leaders, they volunteered 3,000 hours of labor at six sites throughout Providence during the three-day effort.
  • In one of the program's most ambitious and far-reaching projects yet, students collaborated with officials from the City of Providence's Parks Department to improve the status of city-planted trees and restore city parks.  At Neutaconkanut and Merino Parks students renovated trails, painted guard rails, and performed general clean-up. Volunteers also performed tree bed cleaning and mulching on off-campus streets and conducted a tree inventory/assessment in the College's surrounding neighborhoods. Across town, other students beautified the entrance to Roger Williams Park by painting fences and restoring tree bed areas.

• Providence College is an enthusiastic and committed member of the local coordinating council for the North End AfterZone of the Providence After School Alliance (PASA). The College has set the standard for participation by institutions of higher education in the program, which is dedicated to presenting quality after school programs to the city's middle school students.
  • College representatives serve on the North End Coordinating Council.
  • The College is providing on-campus office space and program support to the North End AfterZone's full-time coordinator. This has resulted in rental savings that have been redirected to program activities.
  • College students and staff helped coordinate and host a day-long, city-wide Youth Summit in November to promote leadership development opportunities for middle school youth.
  • Student volunteers assisted in the development and presentation of a number of AfterZone programs at Ezek Hopkins Middle School, Times 2 Academy, Sophia Academy, and the Charles Street After School Program.

• More than 40 Providence College student and alumni volunteers worked with staff members of the City of Providence's Parks Department on the first phase of a $1 million project to restore the historic Esek Hopkins Homestead. These Friars United for Service In Our Neighborhood (FUSION) volunteers removed debris and assisted with landscaping, fence-building, flagpole restoration, and other clean-up duties at the historic site which dates to 1754 and served as the residence of the first admiral of the U.S. Navy.
  
   

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