Nursing program at Providence College receives full accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
Nursing program at Providence College receives full accreditation from the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education
The nursing program at Providence College, which was established in 2022, has been awarded full accreditation by the Commission on Collegiate Nursing Education.
CCNE is a national organization that ensures the quality and integrity of baccalaureate, graduate, and residency and fellowship programs in nursing throughout the country. The five-year accreditation is effective through December 31, 2031. It is retroactive to February 11, 2026, the date of CCNE’s campus visit to evaluate the program.
“Accreditation affirms the excellence of the nursing education offered at PC and marks a significant achievement for one of our newest academic programs and strategic priorities,” said College President Rev. Kenneth R. Sicard, O.P. ’78, ’82G. “It is a powerful endorsement of the exceptional work being done by our School of Nursing and Health Sciences and Department of Nursing colleagues, and it reflects the strength of a program that is preparing future nurses to serve competently and compassionately.”
PC’s nursing program substantially complied with all four CCNE accreditation standards: mission and governance, institutional commitment and resources, program quality (curriculum and teaching-learning practices), and program effectiveness (assessment and achievement of program outcomes).
“Achieving CCNE accreditation is an important milestone for Providence College nursing, and I am deeply grateful to the faculty, staff, and students who made it possible,” said Nancy Meedzan, DNP, R.N., interim dean of the School of Nursing and Health Sciences. “Their hard work and commitment to excellence have shaped this program from the beginning. This achievement also reflects the vision and sustained investment of the college’s leadership. I am proud of what we have built together as we prepare nurses who will bring clinical excellence, compassion, and respect for human dignity to every person they serve.”
The college will graduate its first 56 nursing students in May 2027. Following graduation, they will take the National Council Licensure Examination, known as the NCLEX, which all nursing graduates must pass to be licensed.
Accreditation is the culmination of years of planning, assessment, and collaboration, Father Sicard noted. In his inaugural address in October 2021, as the world was emerging from the COVID-19 pandemic, Father Sicard announced his goal to add programs in nursing and health sciences. Under Kyle McInnis, Sc.D., founding dean, the college received state authorization to add a nursing program in September 2022 and admitted its first students in 2023.
Thanks to a lead gift from Madeline Mondor in memory of her late husband, Ben Mondor ’04Hon., an industrialist and owner of the Pawtucket Red Sox, the the 150,000 square-foot, five-story Ben Mondor Center for Nursing and Health Sciences opened in January 2025.
Nursing has become one of the college’s most popular majors, with 328 students enrolled. Thanks to a partnership with the Mass General Brigham University of Health Professions, PC’s nursing graduates have direct entry into the university’s Master of Science in Nursing Program to prepare to become nurse practitioners.
Father Sicard expressed his appreciation to McInnis and Meedzan for their leadership, and to the nursing faculty, staff, and students “whose work over several years helped build a program intentionally designed to meet the highest standards of nursing education.”
“As a Catholic and Dominican institution, Providence College is committed to preparing graduates who combine professional excellence with a dedication to serving others,” Father Sicard said. “Our nursing program embodies that mission in a remarkable way. As we celebrate this milestone, we also look ahead with confidence to the lives that will be touched by the nurses educated on our campus for generations to come.”
