The University of Maryland System administration has been constructing a relational database that enables comparisons between the more than 500 public four-year colleges and universities in the United States. The data base contains information from nationally available sources, including the National Science Foundation, National Center for Education Statistics, College Board Survey, "Chronicle of Higher Education," American Association of University Professors, press releases and membership lists, and the Internet and World Wide Web, and it is constructed to answer questions and provide analysis quickly and efficiently. The database can be used to develop a single table of selected characteristics for each institution or to construct benchmark groups for institutional comparisons. One potential use of the database as a planning tool is to combine such benchmark groups with one's own institutional data to set targets on selected indicators. This process is illustrated through four questions addressed to the database system. Charted results are appended. (Author/MSE)