U-CAN Media Coverage

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Before and after its launch, U-CAN has generated considerable national attention.  Here is a list of selected news stories, with links, that have mentioned or featured the project.

Colleges Make Web-Based Response To College Rankings

Domain News Blog

November 21, 2009

U-CAN is a nationwide effort to provide consumer information to parents and students, including financial statistics, about privately supported institutions.  U-CAN is comprehensive, and makes it an admirable effort; it is considerable work to secure cooperation from so many schools, let alone organize the data in a user-friendly format.  U-CAN is useful, but less than perfect, for considering private colleges.



Economy dominated higher ed news in 2008

USA Today

December 31, 2008

The economy overshadowed just about everything else this year in the world of higher education, and no sector was spared.  Beloit College, a private liberal arts school in Wisconsin, said it must cut 40 jobs by the end of this academic year.  California State University plans to limit enrollments on its 23 campuses next year.  A number of community colleges face budget cuts, at a time when their relatively low tuitions attract more enrollments.



One Size Doesn't Fit All on Higher Education

Wichita Eagle - Opinion Piece

October 8, 2008

The average of about $20,000 in debt load for Kansas college graduates may sound like a big barrier to seeking a degree.  I have said for many years that a college loan is the best investment you can make, and this comes from my own experience as a first-generation college student.  I urge readers to pursue the quality education of their dreams, and to use resources such as the following Web sites to explore their options.



St. John's stands against rankings with U-CAN

Baltimore Sun

October 5, 2008

As high school seniors sort through the morass of college brochures flooding their mailboxes this fall, the president of St. John's College in Annapolis takes comfort in the fact that students have a new and, he says, better tool to search for their perfect school.



College Data on the Web: U-CAN

Higher Ed Assessment Blog

September 30, 2008

As the College Portrait: Voluntary System of Accountability (VSA) rolls out its new web site, I looked at the independent college alternative called U-CAN.  Profiles of accredited, private, and not-for-profit schools are presented on a web site that's old enough to already be in its second version.  U-CAN launched in 2007 with 600 schools displaying data; the updated web site was launched September 17 with 728 participating institutions and advanced search across 17 variables. 



The Competition to Be Transparent

Inside Higher Ed

September 29, 2008

College Portrait, the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities new Web site, brings together Web pages produced by 302 public colleges and universities participating in the Voluntary System of Accountability,  It joins the University and College Accountability Network begun by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities, and the federal government's own College Navigator Web site.



Creating the Anti-Rankings

Inside Higher Ed

September 26, 2008

An early version of College Speaks was presented for the first time in public Thursday at the annual meeting of the National Association for College Admission Counseling.




Monster branches out into college admissions market

BusinessWeek Blog

September 24, 2008

Monster is dipping its toes in the lucrative college admissions market with the launch of new admissions Web site, www.admissions.com. The site is the newest entrant in what is quickly becoming a crowded online college advice market. Just last week, the National Association of Independent Colleges, relaunched U-CAN, their college consumer information Web site, with new features like enhanced search and a consumer guide to how to choose a school.



U-CAN 2.0 Launches Today

NAICU Washington Update

September 17, 2008

"U-CAN 2.0" goes live today, with some important new features, including advanced search allowing users to find schools using 17 new search criteria.



Help for parents and students thinking about college -- and the costs

USA Today - Mary Beth Marklein Blog

September 17, 2008

The National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities has upgraded a website it launched last year that enables families to compare schools using a common format.  More than 725 institutions are featured on the site, which offers details such as tuition, admission and graduation rates, average student aid packages and average debt upon graduation.  The new site also allows users to search by a 17 factors, including tuition ranges, test scores and percentage of applicants admitted.

Earlier news coverage . . .

Inside Higher Ed (Sept. 12, 2008)
Parental views on cost

Chronicle of Higher Education (Sept. 12, 2008)
Private Colleges Are Encouraged to Make Their Case on Costs

Daily Princetonian (Sept. 11, 2008)
U. continues to send U.S. News peer reviews

Burlington, Vt., Free Press (Aug. 23, 2008)
A new set of rankings kicks off college application season

Schenectady, N.Y., Daily Gazette (Aug. 23, 2008)
College officials criticize rankings

Telegram & Gazette (Aug. 17, 2008)
U-CAN 2.0

Center for College Affordability and Productivity Blog (July 20, 2008) 
Three good moves towards transparency and accountability

Chronicle of Higher Education (June 27, 2008)
Colleges Should Go Beyond the Rhetoric of Accountability 

Philadelphia Daily News (May 19, 2008)
No way to rate higher ed

Pittsburgh-Post Gazette (May 4, 2008)
The Rating Game (opinion piece)

USA Today (April 4, 2008)
More colleges make consumer information public

Miami Herald (Mar. 23, 2008)
New websites give just the facts (no web link available)

Georgetown Hoya (Feb. 8, 2008)
House Passes Comprehensive Higher Education Bill

North Jersey Record (Jan. 17, 2008)
College bound? Start now (nationally syndicated column)

New York Times Education Life (Jan. 6, 2008)
The College Info Fest

Christian Science Monitor (Dec. 27, 2007)
The college tour goes online 

Charlotte Observer (Nov. 27, 2007)
Web site's college information is more useful than rankings (no web link available) (opinion piece)

Watertown Daily Times (Nov. 24, 2007)
Clarkson University President Collins supports annual college rankings (no web link available)


Chronicle of Higher Education (Nov. 23, 2007)
Boycotting Rankings Is Not the Answer 

Newsweek (Nov. 16, 2007)
Standardized Tests in College?

Daily Princetonian (Nov. 16, 2007)
New bill to restrict downloads

Daytona Beach, Fla., News-Journal (Nov. 12, 2007)
Web tools help area students find right college (no web link available)

National Journal (Nov. 10, 2007)
Grading the Colleges (no web link available)

USA Today (Nov. 5, 2007)
Beyond rankings: A new way to look for a college

Morristown, N.J., Daily Record (Nov. 5, 2007)
Centenary opens up assessment information (no web link available)

San Francisco Chronicle (Nov. 4, 2007)
College bound

Washington Times (Oct. 29, 2007)
Measuring achievement in higher education (NAICU letter to the editor) (no web link available)

Seattle Times (Oct. 26, 2007)
Are they really the "best" schools?

Bergen County, N.J., Record (Oct. 27, 2007)
A new resource for comparing private colleges (no web link available) (nationally syndicated column)

Chicago Tribune (Oct. 24, 2007)
Private colleges fighting back with their own guide (no web link available)

Norfolk, Va., Virginian-Pilot (Oct. 21, 2007)
Career Connection (no web link available)

Asbury Park Press (Oct. 19, 2007)
New Web sites aid college search (no web link available)

Tampa Tribune (Oct. 8, 2007)
Database Has Score On Private Colleges 

Westchester, NY, Journal News (Oct. 6, 2007)
Need to Pick a College?

Fort Worth Star-Telegram (Oct. 6, 2007)
Private College Resource (no web link available)

Reading Eagle (Oct. 4, 2007)
High marks are given to new Web site on college selection

Philadelphia Inquirer (Oct. 4, 2007)
Rethinking college rankings(opinion piece)(no web link available)

Tampa Bay Business Journal (Oct. 3, 2007)  
Eckerd College joins new college ranking system

Carlisle Sentinel (Oct. 1, 2007)
Private colleges offer data

WPTZ.com (Oct. 1, 2007)
Four Private Colleges Join Web-Based List

University Business (Oct. 2007)
Changing Student Demographics

Burlington Free Press (Sept. 30, 2007)
Four Vermont colleges join consumer information network (no web link available)

Allentown Morning Call (Sept. 30, 2007)
U-CAN helps students and their parents choose the 'right' college or university (no web link available) (editorial)

San Antonio Express-News (Sept. 29, 2007)
Comment: College comparison is now made easy (no web link available)

Baltimore Business Journal (Sept. 28, 2007)
Shop for Maryland colleges online (subscription required)

Newport News Daily Press (Sept. 28, 2007)
Online service quickly compares private colleges (no web link available)


Lansing State Journal (Sept. 28, 2007)
Need to pick a college? Head online (no web link available)

Chicago Tribune (Sept. 27, 2007)
Private colleges get a bit of a boost (no web link available)

Seattle Post Intelligencer (Sept. 27, 2007)
New web site makes picking college easier

Cedar Rapids Gazette (Sept. 27, 2007)
National Web site offers admissions info for 600 colleges (no web link available)

Greenville News (Sept. 27, 2007)
College comparison Web site unveiled (no web link available)

Wilkes-Barre Citizens Voice (Sept. 27, 2007)
New web site brings private colleges to the public

Columbia Daily Tribune (September 27, 2007)
Colleges launch site to rival U.S. News school rankings

Albany Times Union (September 27, 2007)
Colleges unveil own database

Northwest Indiana Times (September 27, 2007)  
U-CAN look it up

Wilkes-Barre Times Leader (September 27, 2007)  
Local schools on new online database

Allentown Morning Call (September 27, 2007) 
College profile Web site unveiled (no web link available)

Asbury Park Press (September 27, 2007)
Need to pick a college? New Web sites can help (no web link available)

Watertown Daily News (September 27, 2007)
Two schools like new college-guide index (payment required)

Chambersburg Public Opinion (September 27, 2007)
Wilson joins effort to make comparisons of colleges easier 

BusinessWeek (September 26, 2007)
A new tool for the college bound 

Inside Higher Ed (September 26, 2007) 
Accountability and the Applicant

Chronicle of Higher Education (September 26, 2007)
Information, Please: As One Consumer Database Debuts, Higher-Education Leaders Ponder Another 

Abilene, Texas, Reporter-News (September 26, 2007)
Local universities seek new national ratings

USA Today (September 25, 2007)
Need to pick a college? New websites can help 

St. Paul Pioneer Press (September 25, 2007) 
New web site to smooth college quest

Chronicle of Higher Education (September 25, 2007)
College Comparison Web Site Debuts

Education Week (September 10, 2007)
Colleges Build Web Sites to Enable Campus Comparisons, Sans Ranks

St. Louis Post-Dispatch (September 9, 2007)
College Rankings: Is it rank, or a rank? (no web link available)

Minneapolis Star Tribune (September 5, 2007)
Colleges are changing the rankings game (editorial)

Chronicle of Higher Education (September 4, 2007)
The 'U.S. News' Rankings Roll On

San Antonio Express-News (August 31, 2007)
Compare college rankings to reality (opinion piece)

Kerrville, TX, Daily Times (August 21, 2007)
Schreiner University makes U.S. News list

Cleveland Plain Dealer (August 21, 2007)
College ranks and college angst (opinion piece)

San Antonio Express-News (August 20, 2007) 
Use college rankings with a grain of salt (editorial)

The DePauw (August 20, 2007)
DePauw U. protests news mag's ranking methods

Carlisle Sentinel (August 19, 2007)
Dickinson president serves on panel challenging college rankings (no web link available)

Time Magazine (August 18, 2007)
Much Ado About College Rankings

Baltimore Examiner (August 18, 2007)
College presidents developing alternative to U.S. News rankings

Greenville News (August 17, 2007)
Clemson, Furman move up in magazine rankings (no web link available)

Washington Post (August 17, 2007) 
U.S. News's College Rankings Face Competition and Criticism

Omaha World-Herald (August 17, 2007)
Colleges promote alternative to ranking

Minneapolis-St. Paul, Star-Tribune (August 17, 2007)
Colleges increasingly avoiding 'Best' label

San Antonio Express-News (August 17, 2007)
Colleges call 'elitist' list distorting; magazine defends it as useful tool (no web link available)

York, Neb., News-Times (August 16, 2007)
Better information for a better college choice (opinion piece) (no web link available)

St. Petersburg, Fla., Times (August 6, 2007)
Do your homework on college rankings (editorial)

Waterbury, Conn., Republican-American (August 3, 2007)
College Dropouts

Sioux Falls, SD, Argus Leader (July 25, 2007)
College guide: Useful or irrelevant? (no web link available)

The Chronicle, Duke University (July 25, 2007)
Ranking the Rankings

Macon, Ga., Telegraph (July 23, 2007)
Wesleyan boycotts college rankings (no web link available)

Bloomberg News (July 23, 2007)
Williams, Amherst Won't Fight System

Indianapolis Business Journal (July 21, 2007)
Some Indiana Colleges Revolt Against Survey

Christian Science Monitor (July 19, 2007)
A better way to rank America's colleges

Columbus Dispatch (July 14, 2007)
Magazine's college rankings done poorly

Lynchburg, Va., News & Advance (July 10, 2007)
Sweet Briar boycotting U.S. News and World Report rankings

Burlington, Vt., Free Press (July 10, 2007) 
College rankings rile some schools (no web link available)


Richmond Times-Dispatch (July 7, 2007)   
Colleges question U.S. News rankings

New York Times (July 4, 2007)
Colleges Join Forces on a Web Presence to Let Prospective Students Research and Compare

Cincinnati Enquirer (July 2, 2007)
Ranking the college rankings (editorial) (no web link available)

Spartanburg, S.C., Herald Journal (July 1, 2007)
Converse, Wofford balk at taking part in U.S. News survey

Chronicle of Higher Education (June 26, 2007)
Private-Colleges Group Proposes Template to Foster Comparisons of Members

Inside Higher Ed (June 26, 2007)
Campus Accountability Proposals Evolve

Philadelphia Inquirer (June 24, 2007)
U.S. News' College Rankings Overrated (no web link available) (editorial)

U.S. News & World Report (June 22, 2007)
About the Annapolis Group's Statement (column)

Cleveland Plain Dealer (June 21, 2007)
Liberal arts schools protest U.S. News survey

Time (June 20, 2007)
A Better Way to Rank Colleges?

CNN (June 20, 2007)
Many American colleges balk at U.S. News rankings

USA Today (June 20, 2007)
Some colleges may opt out of rankings

Inside Higher Ed (June 20, 2007)
More Momentum Against 'U.S. News'

Chronicle of Higher Education (June 20, 2007)
Annapolis Group Challenges 'U.S. News' Rankings

Allentown, Pa., Morning Call (June 20, 2007)
3 local colleges join others in bucking U.S. News rankings (no web link available)

New York Times (June 20, 2007)
Some Colleges To Drop Out Of Rankings By Magazine

Bloomberg News (June 19, 2007)
More Colleges Plan to Snub Annual U.S. News Ranking