While institutions of higher education need to be mindful of student recruitment, enrollment, and progress toward and ultimate graduation, those goals can only be achieved when the services they provide are perceived as adding value to students' lives.   The UniLOA provides critical information to colleges and universities in that it identifies the ways in which and the degree to which their students are growing, learning, and developing. 

• The UniLOA project seeks to assist institutions of higher learning to better understand student growth, learning and development  (GLD) and to provide valuable data to assist them in program improvement and strategic planning.
   
• Because higher education institutions are expected to support student GLD to the highest degree possible, it is imperative that GLD be measured in such a way as to inform institutions of how they can best provide student support.  The UniLOA provides a useful tool by which that GLD can be measured.
   
• The UniLOA exists to assist educators in understanding how and to what degree their students learn. Each institution makes the tacit pledge to support student GLD to assure students are able to function effectively in their lives after their formal education ends.  The UniLOA assists in understanding the magnitude of student GLD.