National Rankings Validate Doane's Commitment to Leadership
Doane College's uncompromising pursuit of leadership gained national recognition and honors from national service organizations, college guidebooks and college search Web sites.
Doane College was named to the President's Higher Education Community Service Honor Roll sponsored by the Corporation for National and Community Service. This program was launched in 2006, recognizing institutions of higher education that support exemplary student community service and service-learning programs, thereby encouraging growth in the number of college students engaged in community service and service-learning each year.
Specifically, Doane received distinction for its Hurricane Relief Services following the Gulf hurricanes of 2005. Doane representatives then returned to the area in 2007 as part of Doane's Alternative Spring Break program.
Also receiving national attention is Doane's student fundraising efforts with the American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. This student-led event ranks second nationally and first regionally among colleges its size, for per capita student fundraising. Doane students raised $59 per student, compared to the second-rated regional institution, raising just $8 per student. 
Leadership isn't just a concept at Doane; it is an outcome achieved by ensuring that leadership development experiences define the life of Doane students. The importance of this commitment to leadership is echoed by the Corporation for National & Community Service in its 2006 College Students Helping America report.
According to this report, quality volunteering experiences can have a significant impact on young people's civic attitudes and behaviors. The report expresses concern that large student loans and average student indebtedness is on the rise. As these loans increase, so does the likelihood that a student will stop volunteering and increase work hours to pay for college. This exchange comes at the expense of leadership opportunities.
While national trends are alarming, Doane College provides a much different environment. Doane was named to the 2007 U.S.News & World Report's Top 25 National ‘Least Debt' listing. Doane ranked 19th nationwide for a 2006 class in which those who graduated with debt graduated with 29 percent less than the average student in the state of Nebraska, and 30 percent less than the average student on a national level.
Doane was also named to the New York Times "Colleges with Good Bottom Lines" list. This is a nationwide list of private colleges and universities whose aid packages meet 96 to 100 percent of their students' demonstrated financial needs. Doane is the only Nebraska institution to earn this distinction.
U.S.News & World Report also ranked Doane College in the Top 150 national best liberal arts colleges in its 2008 College Guide. U.S.News ranks schools based on factors such as peer assessment, graduation and retention rates, class size, student selectivity, and alumni giving. Doane earned high marks in multiple categories, including a high faculty-to-student ratio and alumni giving percentage. At Doane, 80 percent of classes have fewer than 20 students and nearly 40 percent of alumni give back to the college.
Doane College was also listed among The Princeton Review's 2008 "Best Midwestern Colleges" on its PrincetonReview.com site. This is the third consecutive year that Doane has achieved this designation. The Princeton Review ratings are based on academics as well as feedback from counselors, students, parents, educators and Princeton Review staff at locations across the country. Doane earned high marks for its Quality of Life, which was echoed by student comments such as, "Doane students are usually not only involved in academics, but in groups and extracurricular activities as well."
Doane College is the first private liberal arts and sciences college in Nebraska.