Peterson’s and Bridges Partner to Co-produce First-Ever E-Guidance Center for U.S. High Schools
Peterson’s, a provider of online and print education and career information and a division of Thomson Learning, is pleased to announce an agreement with Bridges.com Inc. (TSE:BIT), North America’s foremost provider of career and educational planning solutions, to provide America’s 20,000 secondary schools career and college planning guidance, test preparation, and financial aid information via an online e-Guidance Center.
The e-Guidance Center program will rollout as a pilot program in September, starting with a select group of sites across the U.S. The two companies will be working together to co-develop and co-sell the e-Guidance Center, which will provide a “one-stop shop” for Bridges’ and Peterson’s market-leading products and services.
“The e-Guidance Center is designed to enable schools to more easily include parents in their post-secondary prep programs for students,” explains Doug Manning, Chief Executive Officer and President of Bridges. “With school counselors having a 1-to-600 ratio of counselor-to-students, it is very helpful to involve parents, where a one-to-one relationship exists.”
Manning is excited about the partner Bridges has signed for this venture and the possibilities presented by this opportunity. “Peterson’s is the premier provider of educational reference guides to U.S. schools. Their outstanding college content, test prep tools, and educational planning resources are an excellent combination with our suite of career planning tools.”
Mary Gatsch, Executive Vice President of Peterson’s, says the two companies are very complementary. In addition, she adds, “Bridges’ Choices and CX Online resources are already used in over 30 percent of secondary schools in our country. Their sales force, career specialists, and customer support teams enable us to take the e-Guidance Center quickly to thousands of schools and families. This is why we think the two companies are an excellent match.”
The launch of this new program coincides with the Bush administration’s ‘No Child Left Behind’ education initiative, which gives parents more choices about the kind of education their children receive and what educational institution they attend. The goal of both Bridges and Peterson’s is to help schools become more successful with their career development programs and to excite students by helping them plan their future and the courses they will be taking.
About Bridges.com, Inc.
Bridges is North America’s leading provider of career and educational planning solutions. Over 14,800 schools, libraries, employment centers, post-secondary schools and rehabilitation facilities subscribe to Bridges’ customized products. Bridges serves the career development needs of millions of students and adults seeking educational or career planning assistance. Its resources are also uniquely adapted to service a wide range of corporate, consumer and global markets. For more information, visit http://www.bridges.com.
About Peterson’s
Founded in 1966, Peterson’s, is one of the nation’s most respected providers of lifelong learning online resources, software, reference guides, and books. The Education Supersite(SM) at http://www.petersons.com — the Internet’s most heavily traveled education resource-has searchable databases and interactive tools for contacting U.S.-accredited institutions and programs. Peterson’s serves over 100 million education consumers annually. Peterson’s is a division of Thomson Learning, one of the world’s largest providers of lifelong learning. Thomson Learning serves the needs of individuals, learning institutions, and corporations with products and services for both traditional and distributed learning. Headquartered in Stamford, Connecticut with multiple offices worldwide, Thomson Learning is a division of The Thomson Corporation (http://www.thomson.com), one of the world’s leading e-information and solutions companies in the business and professional marketplace. For more information, visit http://www.thomsonlearning.com.
