Providence College has earned re-accreditation for 10 years by the Commission on Institutions of Higher Education of the New England Association of Schools and Colleges.
The notification, announced in a letter to College President Rev. Brian J. Shanley, O.P. ’80, follows the recent re-accreditation of the Providence College School of Business by the Association to Advance Collegiate Schools of Business International through 2022.
The College’s re-accreditation by CIHE/NEASC culminated an extensive collaborative effort by more than 100 members of the College community, as well as dozens of community members who provided feedback on the initial drafts of the institution’s final self-study. The self-study, submitted to the commission in September 2017, was followed by a four-day campus visit in October 2017 by a CIHE/NEASC team led by Dr. John E. Bassett, former president of Heritage University.
In its letter, the commission concurred with the visiting team that the College offers a “high-quality, student-centered education.” It also noted that “with an experienced and effective president and senior leadership team, an engaged and committed Board of Trustees, and dedicated faculty and staff, Providence College is poised for continued excellence as it fulfills its commitment to ‘academic excellence in pursuit of the truth, growth in virtue, and service of God and neighbor.’”
The commission directed the College to submit a fall 2019 progress report on its success in implementing the proposed new strategic plan, PC200. The commission also requested that, in PC’s fifth-year interim report (fall 2022), the College give emphasis to its success in:
- continuing to assess the core curriculum, with a focus on using the results for improvement, and achieving a wider understanding among students and faculty of the goals and purposes of the core;
- achieving its goals with respect to diversity and inclusiveness; and
- implementing its school structure and clarifying the roles and responsibilities of school deans and the provost.