Students need look no further than their personal computers for academic advising, career advice and financial aid. They are all accessible at the push of a button at http://www.colleges.edu.

Students can log into the Web site of any higher institution in California, ranging from private colleges to community colleges, and find out virtually anything about a particular school. Whether it is an online application, a virtual campus tour or an academic preparation guide, students will be able to access it at their convenience.

“This is an initiative done through the cooperation of several CSU, UC and community colleges up and down the state. We all came to the agreement that one Web site where students could search on would be the easiest way for both parents and students to seek information about various colleges and general information,” said Ken Swisher, spokesperson at the chancellor’s office in Long Beach.

“It was from the efforts of the California Educational Roundtable, which has several representatives from various educational institutions, such as the California Department of Education and the California Post Secondary Education Commission,” Swisher said.

According to Swisher, the funds for this project are shared by all of the institutions involved.

The group responsible for the creation of the Web site is Xap, a firm which has completed many other Web site projects similar to this for independent colleges across California.

Swisher hopes that this Web site will help college-bound students in choosing the right college, calculating financial aid awards and just about anything else incoming college students may be concerned about.

“It’s great how these institutions can all work together to benefit the students’ needs,” Swisher said.