The Colleges and Universities 2000 (C&U 2000) study was funded in 2000 by the National Science Foundation. The purpose of the study is to investigate patterns of continuity and change in American four-year colleges and universities over the period 1970 to 2000.

Since the project began, the research team, led by Professor Steven Brint, has constructed two databases and produced more than a dozen papers, many of which have been published in leading education and higher education journals.