About

The NAICU consumer-information initiative -- the University and College Accountability Network (U-CAN) -- is designed to give, in a common format, prospective students and their families concise, Web-based consumer-friendly information on individual private colleges and universities.

U-CAN consists of hundreds of institutional profiles that contain comparable data and links to qualitative campus information. The profiles are displayed in a common template that was developed by NAICU based on consumer feedback. Click here to download a sample profile.

Through focus groups, students and parents told us the information they most need to make an informed college choice. Their comments shaped the format and content of the consumer information template, which includes comparable institutional data, and provide many targeted links to the institution's Web site for more detailed information on specific aspects of the institution. U-CAN will be totally free -- both to users and to the colleges and universities that choose to participate.

U-CAN profiles also include information identified by policymakers as important for accountability. Congress and the U.S. Department of Education have called for more consumer information to help the public evaluate and choose colleges -- a goal that NAICU strongly supports.

The in-depth information included in the institutional profiles includes admissions, enrollment, academics, student demographics, graduation rates, most common fields of study, transfer of credit policy, accreditation, faculty information, class size, tuition and fee trends, price of attendance, financial aid, campus housing, student life, and campus safety.

Through U-CAN, consumers have easy access to information on average loans at graduation, undergrad class-size breakdown, and net tuition for hundreds of colleges. This information, which comes from the U.S. Department of Education's IPEDS survey and the Common Data Set, is currently difficult for consumers to find.

Consumers are able to search institutions by city, state, distance from home, and affiliation. We are exploring the idea of adding more search variables in future phases.

NAICU has been working on U-CAN since mid-2006 in close consultation with the National Association of Independent College and University State Executives, member presidents, and a number of other associations representing independent institutions. Participation by NAICU member institutions is voluntary. We have received positive feedback from our members on the initiative, and already are seeing a high level of campus involvement.

This is just the beginning phase of U-CAN. It will be continually refined to enhance its value to consumers. The evolutionary nature of this important online tool is driven by the need to get this new consumer informational resource operational with a minimum of delay.

U-CAN will be one of many consumer information tools available to prospective students and their parents. More information resources mean better educated consumers and, ultimately, more successful college students.