Baltimore, Md., September 25, 2007 --- College of Notre Dame of Maryland joins nearly 600 independent colleges and universities nationwide participating in U-CAN (University and College Accountability Network), a free, consumer-informed college information Web site.

U-CAN (ucan-network.org) was developed by the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities and will be launched September 26. It is the first national consumer information tool developed by colleges and universities—private or public. There is no cost to consumers to access the information and no charge for colleges to participate. U-CAN does not accept advertising or sponsorships.

College of Notre Dame of Maryland was one of the first colleges to sign up to be part of this groundbreaking initiative.

“College of Notre Dame of Maryland is participating in U-CAN because this new initiative will provide prospective students and parents with easily accessible information in one location,” said Mary Pat Seurkamp, Ph.D., president of College of Notre Dame. “Institutional openness and transparency benefit everyone. U-CAN will assist students and their families in making informed decisions during the college search.”

Web-based, U-CAN was designed to provide prospective students and their families with concise, consumer-friendly information about independent colleges in a consistent, easy-to-use format. Information provided includes admissions, enrollment, academics, student demographics, graduation rates, common fields of study, transfer of credit policy, accreditation, faculty information, class size, tuition and fees trends, price of attendance, financial aid, campus housing and student life.

Focus groups with students and parents in cities across the United States shaped the type of information collected and the design of the online profile.

 Congress and the U.S. Department of Education have called for greater institutional transparency and openness to provide students and parents with better consumer information by which to evaluate colleges. U-CAN consists of hundreds of institutional profiles that contain comparable data and targeted links to Web sites that provide more detailed information.