Instructors Win Career Education Corporation "Educator of the Year” Awards

Career Education Corporation (NASDAQ:CECO) announced today that four outstanding teachers received its "Educator of the Year” award. Faculty from across the nation were selected and submitted for consideration to CEC. Out of 5,303 instructors employed by schools, colleges and universities owned by CEC, 152 were nominated at the campus level in 2008. After independent judging, eight finalists and four winners were selected in four categories: Teaching, Professional Growth, Leadership and Student Success. Additionally, the first Award for Innovation was presented this year.

"During the past year, I have visited many of our campuses and I have been struck by the experience, passion and entrepreneurism of our faculty,” said Gary E. McCullough, president and CEO of CEC. "It is clear to me that our instructors are remarkably dedicated and take seriously their role in making a positive difference in the lives of their students. They make me proud to be a part of Career Education Corporation and our industry."

"This was the ninth time we have celebrated our faculty and there were many fine nominations this year,” said Dr. Donna L. Gray, senior vice president, academic affairs and chief academic officer for CEC. "While all of the applications were reviewed for demonstrations of innovation in teaching methods, delivery, learning assessment, or use of technology in instruction, this year there were many distinctive entries and we felt compelled to create an additional award to recognize innovation itself.”

The Four Educator of the Year Award Winners for 2008

Julia Littlefield, of McIntosh College, received the 2008 Excellence in Teaching award. Julia is a lawyer who has devoted her time to teaching and developing faculty at McIntosh College for the past 17 years. In 2008, she developed a presentation entitled Writing Tips for College Students, a publication that formed the backbone of the mechanical aspects of English Composition and which she delivered to both students and faculty. Julia applied an active learning model to her classroom delivery, leaving aside the "chalk and talk” approach by asking students to apply what they have learned by breaking into small groups for discussions, activities, and exercises.

Tanya MacNeil, of American InterContinental University Dunwoody, won the 2008 Professional Growth award. The award recognizes the development of expertise in either the field of teaching or in the subject that one teaches, benefitting both the student and the teacher by strengthening the classroom experience. MacNeil joined AIU in 1999 as a faculty member in Information Technology and is now in her current position of Associate Dean of Business Technologies. She is currently in a Ph.D. program in Information Systems at Nova Southeastern University. MacNeil says, "The professional seminars I attend enable me to learn new and updated information and skills that I can pass on to my students. Sharing new information with students ensures that they complete classes with not only the basics of core technologies, but also an understanding of industry advances.”

The winner of the 2008 Leadership award was Chef Amy Ponzoli of Le Cordon Bleu College of Culinary Arts Atlanta. The Leadership award recognizes positive role modeling and collaboration with peers and the outside community; the ability to lead new projects while assuming responsibility for the outcome; interest in the improvement of campus life and volunteerism; and the demonstration of a high level of professionalism. Chef Ponzoli has developed the Slow Food on Campus group, the purpose of which is to teach students to appreciate and respect food and its producers, to support the local economy as well as to network with both local and international chefs, who also support this mission. She has developed an organic farm project where students are able to assist with planting and harvesting. Most of the kitchen classes collect vegetable waste that Amy takes to the farm for composting. She has also organized a Summer Harvest Farmers Market, received a grant that provided $1,000 for gardening equipment for the farm, and is a part of Captain Planet, a non-profit initiative started by Ted Turner.

Josef Mancino, of International Academy of Design & Technology - Tampa, received the 2008 Student Success award. Student Success pertains to those activities that help a student reach his or her goals – graduation and placement. Some of these activities may include academic support and counseling, attendance at orientation and graduation and other student events, or promotion of and involvement with students in community awareness. Mancino was recognized for his efforts both as an adjunct faculty member in the Graphic Design Department, as well as his role as Editor and Creative Director of Artistik magazine, the school publication. An exciting competition called "Artistik Envy” has since evolved in which ten contestants were chosen by three advertising agency professionals. Each was asked to create a series of projects around pre-determined themes over three months. Through an online and text-based voting system, the contestants were judged by the public on their ability to think creatively and perform on a tight deadline.

The Innovator of the Year Award Winner for 2008

Dana Legette-Taylor, who is the University Program Dean and also teaches in the Fashion Marketing department at American InterContinental University Buckhead, was chosen as the recipient of the Innovation Award for her development of a 100% online "Principles of Global Retailing” course, which includes online guest speakers and virtual field trip experiences. The focus of the course is to maximize student engagement through the innovative use of multimedia software and Internet course delivery, ending with group projects that were presented through web cams and teleconferencing. All of the entries for innovation were competitive; however, Dana’s course has become the "model” for future online courses in fashion, and as such, has far reaching implications across other disciplines as well.

About Career Education Corporation

The colleges, schools, and universities that are part of the Career Education Corporation (CEC) family offer high quality education to a diverse population of approximately 90,000 students across the world in a variety of career-oriented disciplines. The more than 75 campuses that serve these students are located throughout the U.S. and in France, Italy, and the United Kingdom, and offer doctoral, master's, bachelor's, and associate degrees and diploma and certificate programs. Approximately one third of our students attend the web-based virtual campuses of American InterContinental University Online and Colorado Technical University Online.

CEC is an industry leader whose gold-standard brands are recognized globally. Those brands include Le Cordon Bleu Schools North America; Harrington College of Design; Brooks Institute; International Academy of Design & Technology; American InterContinental University; Colorado Technical University and Sanford-Brown Institutes and Colleges. Through its schools, CEC is committed to providing quality education, enabling students to graduate and pursue rewarding careers.

For more information, see the company’s website at http://www.careered.com. The company's website includes a detailed listing of individual campus locations and web links to its more than 75 colleges, schools, and universities.