The Voluntary System of Accountability is a joint project of the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU) and the National Association of State Universities and Land-Grant Colleges (NASULGC). Responding to the challenges of the Spellings Commission, the VSA aims to make publicly available information about a wide variety of factors, ranging from accurate tuition costs to institutional performance in meeting core learning outcomes.

Of particular interest is the "Core Educational Outcomes Task Force," which has "decided on a preliminary set of learning outcomes tests that, at a minimum, measure critical thinking, analytic reasoning and written communication, and that also can be used in a value added format. Those tests are: C-Base, CLA, CAAP, MAPP, GRE and ACT WorkKeys." The Task Force is currently evaluating these tests for possible piloting.