Expansion Delivers Solutions for Millions of Students, Improving Retention & Persistence
MOUNTAIN VIEW, CA – November 14, 2001 – Academic Systems, the higher education division of Lightspan, Inc. and a leading provider of interactive multimedia instructional programs for college students, today announced widespread product enhancements designed to serve the developmental and general education learning needs of more than six million college students nationwide.
The product expansion, which more than triples Academic Systems1 offerings, will make it easier than ever for developmental mathematics and writing students, as well as general education students, to improve and enhance their skills through the company1s computer-based instructional materials.
The materials, written by many of the country1s most prestigious scholars and educators nationwide, now cover more than 1,700 objectives through 430 Learning Objects. The expanded content correlates to more than 90 percent of the nation1s most commonly used textbooks.
Beyond content expansion, the enhancements also include new functionality that improves ease-of-use for students and faculty and new availability for Macintosh users, greatly increasing the flexibility of Academic Systems1 materials.
3This dramatic expansion of our business truly puts effective solutions in the hands of higher education, giving faculty and administrators greater ability to improve retention and persistence, better manage enrollments and make efficient use of resources,2 said Jim Dredge, CEO of Academic Systems, which has to date served more than 300,000 students at hundreds of institutions nationwide. 3As always, our commitment remains the same – whether for the developmental students we have traditionally worked with or the general education students who can now benefit from our materials. We are about helping higher education help students succeed. These new and expanded solutions aid in reaching that end.2
Content Expansion Triples to Aid Developmental and General Education Students
The product expansion most significantly affects Academic Systems1 academic.com, a web-delivered collection of online content libraries that has more than tripled to include interactive learning objects in Writing, Math I, Math II, Biology and Chemistry, Business, Economics, and Study Skills. academic.com now represents the largest and highest quality library of modular content available to higher education.
Through academic.com, instructors and tutors can direct students to targeted interactive tutorials in key prerequisite and general education subjects. Students find the individualized learning they need for success while campuses gain round-the-clock academic support for students on and off campus.
The content expansion now makes it feasible to use the materials in a wide variety of classes and venues on and off campus. Colleges can offer the materials in lab-based courses, full distance courses and additional sites on campuses, including learning resource centers and instructional technology divisions where faculty are taught to teach online. academic.com integrates easily with all online learning platforms and campus Web sites. In addition, it is both Windows and Mac compatible.
3Academic Systems1 solutions have really helped us meet many critical and varied challenges facing higher education,2 said Dr. Carol Copenhaver, senior vice president for educational and student services at Florida1s St. Petersburg College, which has been using Academic Systems1 solutions for five years. 3Now, with the expanded materials and flexible delivery options, we are able to provide not only the best course materials online; we can also help more students across the institution benefit and succeed.2
Campuses such as SPC previously had the ability to offer only mathematics and English students access to Academic Systems1 award-winning multimedia instructional materials. The academic.com content expansion now greatly expands the ability for other students to benefit. SPC, for example, will now be offering all students unlimited access to interactive Web modules for many different courses as either an assigned part of a class or for their own review of core concepts. Materials will be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from any computer with Internet access.
Core Full-Course Offerings1 Flexibility and Usability Enhanced
For English, Writing, Mathematics and Developmental Education faculty who are dissatisfied with the limitations of traditional textbooks in providing the individualized instruction needed by a diverse student population, Academic Systems also offers Interactive English and Interactive Mathematics. Both are flexible, multimedia instructional resources for developmental and college freshman writing and mathematics students.
These award-winning full-course solutions, which have been in use for six years at colleges across the country, address varied learning styles and actively engage students in improving their writing and mathematics skills.
Academic Systems has now enhanced these solutions to make it easier for faculty and students to access and use the materials both in labs and online. Academic Systems1 solutions are designed to meet a variety of instructional needs within higher education and can now be adopted by individual instructors at the campus level or to serve the broad needs of an entire college or university system.
Both Interactive English and Interactive Mathematics have been widely credited for improving retention and pass rates for students at high schools, community colleges and universities
nationwide.
About Academic Systems
Academic Systems Corporation, the higher education division of Lightspan, Inc. http://www.lightspan.com (NASDAQ:LSPN), has focused on meeting the needs of higher education faculty and students since it was founded in 1992. The company1s interactive, multimedia instructional programs, Interactive Mathematics and Interactive English, offer an enhanced learning environment for college students in developmental and entry-level courses. Created in concert with educators, Academic Systems1 networked courses have demonstrated increases in learning and achievement; the programs have been used by more than 300,000 students. In addition, academic.com, Academic Systems1 new Web-based product, offers a comprehensive online content library for targeted skill development across many disciplines. For more information contact Academic Systems Corporation at 800-694-6850, or visit the Web site at www.academic.com .
“Safe Harbor” statement under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995: This release contains forward looking statements, including statements related to future financial performance and business trends, that are subject to risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, changes in economic conditions in the Company’s market areas; changes in policies by regulatory agencies and educational organizations; the volatility of the Company’s expenses and operating results; market acceptance of the Company’s curriculum based software and Internet products; management of rapid growth; risks associated with expanding the Company’s Internet business; changes in funding for public schools; technological advances and risks related thereto and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. The Company does not undertake, and specifically disclaims any obligation, to revise any forward-looking statements to reflect the occurrence of anticipated or unanticipated events or circumstances after the date of such statements. These risks could cause the Company’s actual results for 2002 and beyond to differ materially from those expressed in any forward looking statements by, or on behalf of, the Company.
